Loading page
About this tool
A guided 5-4-3-2-1 sensory grounding walkthrough with paced breathing and calm backup techniques for anxious moments.
5-4-3-2-1 Grounding Exercise is a guided walkthrough of the 5-4-3-2-1 grounding exercise: it takes you one sense at a time through five things you can see, four you can feel, three you can hear, two you can smell and one you can taste, with a paced 4-second-in, 6-second-out breath cue between steps. If the sensory version is not landing, three alternatives are one tap away — physical grounding, counting backwards from 100 in sevens, and self-soothing prompts. It is a self-help walkthrough, not treatment; if anxiety is frequent or severe, speak to a doctor or a qualified mental-health professional.
Open 5-4-3-2-1 Grounding Exercise on AltFTool — it loads instantly in your browser.
On 'Before we start', optionally rate yourself from Calm to Overwhelmed and switch on No-typing mode or Skip the breathing pauses.
Press 'Start with 5 things you can see', fill or tap each slot, and use Next sense to move through feel, hear, smell and taste with a breath cue between.
At the end review What you noticed, answer 'How do you feel now?' with A bit better, About the same or Worse, then choose Go again or Copy what I noticed.
The breath cue runs a 4-in, 6-out rhythm with a visible countdown, so the out-breath stays longer than the in-breath instead of drifting fast.
Physical, cognitive and self-soothing tracks are built in, so a blank on 'two things you can smell' does not end the attempt.
No-typing mode, skippable breath cues and a reduced-motion setting let the same exercise work when typing, breathing prompts or animation would make things worse.
It is a sensory exercise where you deliberately name five things you can see, four you can feel, three you can hear, two you can smell and one you can taste. The descending count gives attention a concrete task in the present moment, which is why it is widely taught as a first response to acute anxiety or panic.
Usually two to five minutes, depending on how long you dwell on each sense. There is no timer forcing you forward, and blanks are allowed — you move to the next sense whenever you're ready, filled slots or not, and the breath cue between steps runs a 10-second cycle you can repeat as many times as you want.
Name something you like instead — a smell or taste you are glad exists. The prompts say this explicitly, because the point is to occupy attention with something concrete, not to pass a perception test.
Yes. What you write and your before/after ratings are stored only in your own browser's local storage; nothing is sent to a server and there is no account. Clearing your browser data removes the log. If you are in crisis, please contact a local emergency number or a crisis helpline rather than working through an exercise alone.