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5-4-3-2-1 Grounding

When you're flooded

For dissociation, derealization, or feeling like you've left the room.

1. Name five things you can see. Actually look at them.
2. Name four things you can feel — chair, floor, fabric, temperature.
3. Name three things you can hear.
4. Name two things you can smell.
5. Name one thing you can taste.

Why it works: It forces attention outward through the senses. You can't scan the room for five specific objects and stay inside a thought spiral at the same time — the two compete for the same attention.