Anxiety: Physiological Behaviors and Grounding

Besides using breathing exercises, we can utilize our senses to ground ourselves when we feel our body reacting to our anxiety. By grounding we might think of it as an activity to reset our bodies back to 'normal.'

The most well-known grounding exercise is called the 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 Method:

1. Acknowledge 5 things you can SEE (ex. a clock on the wall, a table in the room, a silver spoon, a glass of water, and a fan on the ceiling)
2. Focus on 4 things you can FEEL (ex. your soft sweater, the wind on your face, the wooden chair you sit on, and the wooden pencil in your hand)
3. Notice 3 things you can HEAR (ex. cars passing by, birds chirping outside, and a show on TV)
4. Recognize 2 things you can SMELL (ex. your perfume and the smell of grass)
5. Name 1 thing you can TASTE (ex. the orange juice I drank)

With all of these, if you can't come up with enough things, just start to name things you would like to sense. This activity is more for us to bring our mind and body back to the present so as long as we are continuing to focus on our senses during this exercise, it should be helpful in bringing your body toward a more balanced state.