5-4-3-2-1 Grounding
When anxiety spikes and your head won't stop spinning, this walks you back into your body and the room around you — one sense at a time. Nothing's saved; it's just for right now.
Step 1 of 5
Back in the room — now the harder bit
The 60-second quiz works out which pattern keeps pulling you out of it, and hands you the matching free tool.
What 5-4-3-2-1 is for
When your attention is spiralling, naming things you can physically sense pulls you back into the room. It's a long-standing grounding technique and it needs no preparation.
When to use it
- Your thoughts are racing or spiralling
- You feel disconnected or panicky
- You need to reset before doing something hard
How it works
Work through five things you can see, four you can touch, three you can hear, two you can smell and one you can taste. The point isn't the answers — it's that noticing them uses the attention that was spiralling.
Free, works in your browser, nothing to install and no account needed. These are organising tools, not medical advice.