Using the Five Senses to Combat Stress

Written in Collaboration with Shadow’s Edge’s Lacey Vernon

You know how passionate we are about helping young people deal with their mental health challenges, right? Well, here’s one of our favorite wellness hacks to de-stress using your five senses… it’s called Grounding!

Grounding is a helpful technique that gets your mind off of the stuff that is worrying you by making you focus on your physical self.
Your five senses – sight, sound, smell, taste, and touch – are your own secret weapons against stress. It’s a toolset that can be carried anywhere, doesn’t cost money, and is always there when you need it.

The “5-4-3-2-1” Grounding Technique
This is a really helpful technique to use when you are being hit with unpleasant things like intrusive thoughts, an anxiety attack, or if you just need to calm down after something stressful. And it’s easy to remember, too! Just counting down from five is a nice way to remember the following steps:

5 things you can see.
The first step to this grounding method is to look around and list five things you can see. It could be anything in the room or space around you – a pen, a window, grass under your feet, a squirrel nibbling an acorn nearby. Anything you can look at! And really take a moment to take in the sight. If you see a painting, take time to look at the brush strokes and the colors. Let your eyes relax and enjoy those sights.

4 things you can feel.
Now, lets pick out four things you can feel. Do you have a soft, fuzzy sweater on? Or maybe you are sitting on a quilt and can feel the way the stitching is raised up from the fabric. Feel the fabric and really pay attention to how the fibers feel under your fingertips. Or if you are outside, feel the bark of a tree or the crunchy texture of a dry leaf. Just find four things you can touch, and savor the textures, paying special attention to the differences and similarities between each of them.

3 things you can hear.
Pick out three things that you can hear. Is the air conditioning making a soft humming sound? Are there birds chirping outside? Is your pet dog sleeping nearby and snoring softly? Pay attention to the sounds, really noticing them for a moment. Have you heard them before?

2 things that you can smell.
Now we need to pick out two things you can smell. Maybe you are next to a garden of flowers. Smell one and really take time to enjoy the fragrance as it enters your nostrils. Or smell the room you are in – do you smell Febreze, or someone else’s perfume? Just like the previous steps, take time to pay attention to each of these new smells.

1 thing you can taste.
And finally, find one thing to taste. A cup of your favorite herbal tea, a breath mint, chewing gum, a cookie… anything that you can taste. Savor the flavor. Is it sweet, spicy, sour? Really pay attention to the sensations that the flavor brings. Does the flavor affect the tip of your tongue more than the back, or vice versa? Maybe even have some fun with it by pretending you are a professional taste tester!

As you follow along each of the steps of the “5-4-3-2-1” grounding technique, make sure to take your time with each thing you notice in the space around you. Really focus in on each of the sensations. The success of this grounding technique relies on you refocusing your attention on your physical self rather than what’s going on in your internal self (like your thoughts, fears, and anxieties).

We hope this info on the 5-4-3-2-1 grounding technique can be useful for you!