Ever Heard of This Grounding Technique?
It's life changing — for you and your loved ones.
So, panic attacks. Lovely bastards, aren't they?
They sneak up on you in the middle of a zoom call, under the shower, while driving, or even when you’re sitting at home minding your own business on a Tuesday afternoon.
Cold sweats, tingling extremities, rolling stomach, tunnel vision, pounding heart, shaking body. It’s like nothing you’ve ever felt.
The worst part is experiencing it for the first time alone, not knowing what to do next to get yourself out of this hell-bent ride. And once it does pass, there's still that awful dread of it happening again.
Having dealt with panic attacks as a teenager and two other episodes in the last few years, I was always left feeling helpless because I didn’t know how to soothe myself. Instead, I’d have to wait for the episode to pass — sometimes enduring up to 3 hours of shaking, tingling, and feeling like I’m about to collapse.
After my last panic attack back in 2020, I started researching ways to deal with potential future episodes. Fortunately, I came across the 5–4–3–2–1 ‘grounding’ technique, a simple and gentle method that helped me in moments of anxiety, PTSD, and lurking panic.
What is the '5–4–3–2–1' grounding technique?
To be clear, there are many different ways to ground ourselves when feeling overwhelmed by our thoughts. Some techniques resort to visualization and others to mantras. But the most common ones resort to sensorial grounding.
I use the 5–4–3–2–1 technique to engage all five senses. It forces me to shift my focus away from obsessive and fear-based thoughts and return to the present moment through physical anchoring. This nowness will start to ease any feeling of disassociation triggered by panic and bring awareness back into my body. By doing so, I'm telling my mind that I'm safe.
Here’s how the technique works. When I feel like I'm entering a state of trauma, distress, or general panic, I head somewhere quiet (if I can) and begin identifying in my surrounding:
5 things I can SEE
4 things I can TOUCH
3 things I can HEAR
2 things I can SMELL
1 thing I can TASTE
— if I can’t identify a taste, I can think of a flavor I like instead.
And while grounding myself, I keep the below in mind:
- It helps to take deep breaths at the start of each phase of the grounding technique. Engaging mind (identifying) and body (deep breathing) together can help reach a state of calm much more quickly.
- I also noticed that it helps to talk aloud when naming the things around me. Listening to the sound of my voice can be very sobering and soothing.
- It's not a black-or-white exercise. Online research encourages users to switch things around. Instead of naming 5 things I can see, I can name five things that exhibit a certain color or shape (blue objects, round objects etc.). Bottom line: Do whatever works best for YOU.
Don't just learn the technique for yourself. Learn it to help others as well.
I'm not exaggerating when I tell you just how life-changing it can be to learn this technique to help others too, especially people who have never dealt with these distressing episodes. That said, it's important to get familiar with the symptoms of a panick attack:
- Pounding heart
- Sweats or chills
- Shaking or trembling
- Breathing difficulties
- Feeling weak or dizzy
- Tingling or numbness in extremeties
- Rolling stomach or feeling nauseous
- Feeling of losing control, detachment
- Sense of danger
- Abdominal or chest pain
You may find yourself one day hanging out with a friend and realizing that they’re succumbing to a panic attack. At that moment, they look at you with wide-eyed terror and say: ‘Something’s wrong. I don’t know what’s happening to me.’
Before anything, make sure you ask if they’re experiencing any chest pain or ache shooting down their left arm or up their jaw and ear. Acute panic symptoms are often confused with a heart attack. While pain can be experienced by some when in panic, it shouldn't be debilitating.*
*I’m not a medical expert. I’m just drawing insight from my own research. It’s ALWAYS best to seek medical guidance if you’re unsure about your symptoms.
Once pain is (hopefully) ruled out, make sure you call your friend by their name and get them to look at you. It’s also important to explain to them what they’re experiencing and reassure them that they are not in any danger. Then, ask them to take a deep breath and gently guide them through the technique. Here's an example of how to start the conversation:
'Hey X, look at me. You're having a panic attack right now. I know how scary it feels but you're perfectly safe. Try to take a deep breath with me. Great, now can you do something for me? Can you name five things you see around you? Take your time.'
What’s great about this grounding method is that it turns into a sort of conversation between you both. You ask a question and they answer — this can make it seem like a normal chat and therefore block out any unwanted attention from passersby or a crowd.
This situation doesn't only apply to friends and family. Anyone around you — coworkers or even strangers — can unexpectantly succumb to this state. So if you happen to come across them, and if they’re willing to accept your help, guide them through recovery using the 5,4,3,2,1 method — and witness how your knowledge can turn into a saving grace for someone else.
The takeaway
Grounding techniques like the 5–4–3–2–1 method are similar to first aid training — they become powerful antidotes when someone loses control of their body and mind. While panic attacks are not life-threatening, they can quickly turn into a disorder that takes over a person's life.
Dealing with such debilitating conditions should no longer be endured in solitude. Let's start cultivating more collective healing in the face of personal demons.
