5-4-3-2-1 Grounding
Name five things you can see. Four you can hear. Three you can touch. Two you can smell. One you can taste. The narrowing structure is the point.
Why it works
Section titled “Why it works”The 5-4-3-2-1 protocol is the standard clinical intervention for acute overwhelm, panic, and dissociation. The narrowing sequence pulls attention from internal narrative into present-moment sensory data, which is incompatible with rumination. Ninety seconds is the minimum to land cleanly on “one taste” without rushing the earlier counts. It works because the brain cannot construct a catastrophe story while it is busy enumerating wall textures and HVAC sounds.
When to run it
Section titled “When to run it”- After a code review that landed harder than expected
- During or after a difficult conversation
- When the day has accumulated and you have not noticed
- Before a task that demands clarity, when overwhelm would compromise it
Variants
Section titled “Variants”| Duration | Steps | Command |
|---|---|---|
| 90s | 5-4-3-2-1 full sequence | flowe reset 90 --protocol full_sensory |
If 90s feels long, run Feet on the Floor first as an entry point, then this when you have the time.