In this article, I’m going to guide you through the 5-4-3-2-1 grounding exercise. You do not need any supplies for this exercise and you can do it anywhere.
Why Do This Exercise
Grounding exercises can be used for a variety of reasons, but for our purposes, grounding exercises are often used when a person is feeling dissociated and wants to become more grounded or less dissociated. That is, the person wants to feel more present where they are.
Before Starting
Before we start, observe how dissociated you are. Use a 0 to 10 scale or a 0 to 100 scale, with zero being no dissociation at all and 10 or 100 being completely dissociated. (If you’re a 10 or 100, you probably aren’t reading this article).
It could be you have a couple of symptoms and you might want to rate each. For example, maybe you are an 7 out of 10 on fogginess and an 8 out of 10 on feeling like you have very little energy. At the end, you will want to check again and see if your symptoms have lessened at all.
Write down your number(s) so you can look back to them after you finish this exercise.
First: What You See
First, look around the space you are in. Notice five things that you can see. If you can, name them out loud. If you want, you can even make it more specific and notice five blue things or five small things that you can see.
Next: What You Touch
Next, notice four things that you can touch. Go ahead and touch them now and notice how they feel. Are they rough or smooth? Are they warm or cool to the touch? If you pick them up, are they heavy or light? You might notice your feet on the floor or the seat and back of a chair against you. You might notice the tag in your shirt that sometimes irritates you.
Now: What You Hear
Now, listen for 3 things that you can hear. You might hear traffic driving by, birds singing, or the hum of the refrigerator. Remember those things you were touching? If you tap them, can you hear a noise?
Next: What You Smell
Now, notice or find 2 things that you can smell. It’s okay to “cheat” and grab something from the kitchen, like a banana, that you can smell. You may have hand soap that is scented, or lotion.
Finally: What You Taste
And finally, notice 1 thing that you can taste. It could be the way your mouth tastes right now. Or it could be the taste of piece of gum you pop into your mouth, the taste of your iced tea, or the taste of your lip balm. If you went to the kitchen to find foods to smell, like a banana, you can take a bite of those items for your tastes.
Check Yourself
Now check yourself to see how dissociated you are using the same 0 to 10 or 100 scale as before. Is it less than when you started this exercise? You can repeat this exercise if you see improvement but are still more dissociated than you’d like. Don’t expect that your dissociation will completely clear up. You are looking for improvement, for a decrease in your symptoms.
To Get More From This Exercise
If you want to get more mileage from this exercise, talk to yourself as you are doing each part. When you notice what you see, name them, and then describe each in a lot of detail. For instance, if I was looking at the wall in my living room, I could describe the print hanging on my wall. It’s in a silver frame and it appears to be a scene set in the 1800s in Paris. People are walking on a boulevard or sitting at outdoor cafes. It looks like it’s dusk and the street lights are on. Looking to my side, I see my dog curled up next to me, sleeping peacefully. I can pet her and feel her soft fur and her warm body.
When it comes to the sounds you hear, are they pleasant sounds? Or perhaps you hear the neighbor’s dog barking again. Perhaps you hear a leaf blower and don’t like the sound of it. Or maybe you turn on some music you like and you can describe how you feel as you listen or what about the music you like.
There’s no magic to 5 things you see and 4 things you can touch, and so forth. If you are doing this exercise somewhere and can’t remember whether it’s 5 things you see or 5 things you touch, don’t worry about it! Just look for the things and notice them. That’s the important part.