Grounding Your Anxiety in 5 Steps—Stop It From Soaring!
Written by Marci Renée
Photo by Avel Chuklanov on Unsplash
We just took off!
I didn’t used to be afraid to fly. Since the age of nineteen, I have boarded airplanes to whisk me off to the other side of the world—crossing borders, continents, oceans, and time zones.
The pilot announced a heavy turbulence zone for the first forty-five minutes of flight. That did not help my anxiety level.
I’m honestly not sure what happened, where this fear came from. All I know is it was real. The thrill of being in the air was long gone for me. On the other hand, my 8-year-old son sat next to me, eager to experience the sensations of ups and downs, bumps and drops.
I was not.
I felt the rumble of the engine, the speed of the wheels turning on the tarmac. As we lifted off the ground, I felt it. It was building before take-off, but now it was here in full force. My heart raced, and I could feel beads of sweat forming on my upper lip.
I caught myself muttering quietly to myself, “Breathe. Don’t forget to breathe.”
It felt like panic, but I refused to let it overtake me.
I needed to find hope for my anxious mind.
Where are My Tools?
I remembered the new tools that I now carried in my tool belt, the ones I learned in the “Hope For Anxious Minds” workshop. We even practiced them during our session.
This time, it wasn’t a workshop. I wasn’t sitting at my desk, interacting with people all over the world through a computer screen. I wasn’t on Zoom.
Rather, I was in the air, flying 30,000 feet over the planet Earth, and I was scared. Anxiety was taking over. The heat and the panic were rising—right there in the pit of my stomach. I felt that horrible sensation of being out of control.
“Get out your tool now,” I whispered firmly underneath my breath. “5-4-3-2-1 Ground! Get out those five steps to ground your anxiety before it gets any further out of control!”
Photo by Clint McKoy on Unsplash
One Step at a Time
I walked myself through the process, slowly and intentionally.
“Look for five things you can see,” I told myself.
I named them out loud, hoping my son wouldn’t hear me and ask what I was doing.
“I see the bright blue line on the floorboard in the aisle. I see my hands clutching the armrests of the chair. I see that woman’s white and orange tennis shoes. I see my husband’s black watch. I see my wedding ring on my finger.”
“Good, keep going,” I told myself.
Self talk seemed to be helping.
Name four things you can hear.
“I can hear the loud roar of the airplane engine. I can hear the airline stewardess giving us instructions in Arabic. I can hear the vibrating of the overhead compartments. I can hear a baby crying in the front of the plane.”
“That’s it, keep going, ground yourself.”
Name three things you can touch.
“I can feel the bottom of my sandals on my feet. I can feel the rough material on the chair’s armrest. I can feel the soft seat beneath my body.”
Grounding. I could feel it coming back little by little. My emotions were no longer taking over at high speed. Little by little, my heartbeat slowed, and a calm was beginning to invade. I didn’t feel so out of control. Maybe I could control something.
Name two things you can smell.
“I can smell that weird airplane smell,” I said, chuckling silently. “I can smell some food that they are preparing to serve.”
Name one thing you can taste.
“I can taste the lingering spices from my last meal—I could use a piece of gum.”
I pulled a wrapped piece of gum out of my purse. That helped.
By the time I got to the end of the exercise, after only a minute or two, my anxiety level had dropped from a 10 to a 4. That was significant.
“Keep breathing,” I repeated to myself.
I smiled at my son next to me. It was going to be okay.
Be Ready
The next time you feel anxiety and panic rising, when your emotions seem to take over, ground yourself with the simple 5-4-3-2-1 exercise.
1. Name five things you can see.
2. Name four things you can hear.
3. Name three things you can touch.
4. Name two things you can smell.
5. Name one thing you can taste.
I have also used this exercise on “5-4-3-2-1 Awareness Walks” with my kids. They love them.
Sometimes, we are so hurried and busy that we forget to engage our senses, opening up our eyes, ears, nose, and mouth to the world around us. This is a simple tool that brings us back to the reality around us. It helps us to be present in the moment.
I have discovered that the more I practice the 5-4-3-2-1 exercise under normal, everyday, calm conditions, the more equipped and ready I am to use it in stressful situations life throws at me.
Put it in your belt. It’s one of those quick and easy tools that you can pull out when you need it.
Remember: “5-4-3-2-1 Ground!” It’s kinda like an airplane during landing . . . “5K feet . . . 4K feet . . . 3K feet . . . 2K feet . . . 1K feet . . . touch down.”
Guest author, Marci Renée, along with her French husband and four boys, is a global nomad who has traveled to more than 30 countries and has lived in the United States, France, Morocco, and Spain. She loves to travel, speak foreign languages, experience different cultures, eat ethnic foods, meet people from faraway lands, and of course, write and tell stories. She is a published author of children's picture books, memoirs, short stories, and poetry.
You can find Marci and her books on her website.
"The Cultural Story-Weaver," at www.culturalstoryweaver.com