Ground Yourself, the 5-4-3-2-1 Approach to Tackling Anxiety

Anxiety is something I’m sure we will all face at some point in our lives, whether we be old or young! When you are experiencing anxiety, it often leaves you with a feeling of worry, nervousness, and unease about a certain outcome of a situation you may be facing. I feel now more than ever people are experiencing anxiety due to the pressures of our changing economy and for the younger generation, there is the stress of exams and uncertainty about the future. 

How we all respond to and manage our anxiety will be different, but today I am going to share with you a method that has been proven to be very successful and a method I have found works wonders when carried out in outdoor environments, as we all know how wonderful nature can be for our mental health! 

So, what is this method? We call it the 5-4-3-2-1 grounding technique and here’s how you do it if you feel yourself becoming overwhelmed: 

• 5: Focus on 5 things you can see around you. This could be trees, animals, the people around you, the sky, a spot on the ceiling… literally anything in your surrounding area. 
• 4: Focus on 4 things you can touch. This could be the ground beneath you, an animal, your hair, or soft furnishings for example. 
• 3: Focus on 3 things you can hear. This could be the birds, people chattering, the crunching of leaves, music playing, anything that is an external sound, what you can hear out of your body. 
• 2: Focus on 2 things you can smell. This could be baking, your perfume, or damp grass. You don’t have to sit still for this, you can actively seek this out.     
•  1: Focus on 1 thing you can taste. Personally, I feel like I other think this bit! But think about what the inside of your mouth tastes like, do you have gum? Can you taste what you’ve drunk last? Can you still taste what you last ate? 

So, there we have it! The 5-4-3-2-1 grounding technique. Following these steps allow you to focus on the moment, using your senses allows you to be more mindful enabling you to conquer the anxiety you felt was about to overwhelm you!