As summer winds down and the back-to-school transition sets in, that low hum of anticipation and dread can make it hard to stay present. In this Healing Moment, Jessica walks you through the 5-4-3-2-1 grounding technique, one of the most effective tools for anxiety, dissociation, and overwhelm. Using your five senses, this practice pulls you out of the future-focused spiral of anxiety and back into your body, back into the only moment you're actually in.
Jessica also shares a preview of her upcoming course, Why You Can't Stop, launching this September, including the concept of "productivity as safety" and why your nervous system doesn't track your to-do list, it tracks danger and safety.
What You'll Learn
Why the 5-4-3-2-1 technique works: anxiety lives in the future, and grounding pulls you back into the present
A full guided walkthrough of the exercise, from five things you can see down to one thing you can taste
How to use this tool during seasonal transitions, high-anxiety mornings, or any time your mind won't stop
A first look at "productivity as safety," one of the seven core concepts in Jessica's upcoming course
Timestamps
00:05 — Welcome back and the back-to-school anxiety shift
00:40 — Introducing the 5-4-3-2-1 grounding technique
01:10 — Course preview: Why You Can't Stop and "productivity as safety"
02:00 — Guided practice begins: 5 things you can see
02:20 — 4 things you can feel
02:35 — 3 things you can hear
02:50 — 2 things you can smell
03:05 — 1 thing you can taste
03:20 — Why grounding works: anxiety lives in the future
03:45 — Closing and where to connect
Keywords & Search Terms
5-4-3-2-1 grounding technique, grounding exercises for anxiety, anxiety and dissociation, overwhelm coping tools, back to school anxiety, seasonal transition anxiety, present moment awareness, mindfulness for anxiety, five senses grounding, nervous system regulation, productivity as safety, Why You Can't Stop course, anxious striving, trauma informed therapy, CBT grounding tools, somatic anxiety relief, healing is my hobby podcast, Jessica Colarco LCSW, therapy tools for everyday life, self-soothing techniques
Hey, welcome back to Healing is My Hobby. I'm Jessica Calarco. And as you know, this summer I've been doing a series called Healing Moments with short episodes giving you real tools for healing. August is winding down. School has started or is about to start. The pace is shifting. And for a lot of people, that transition brings anxiety, that low
Hum of anticipation and dread that can make it hard to be present in the very last days of summer.
for exactly that. We're doing:
Because it uses your senses to pull you back into the present moment.
Before we begin, I want to let you know that I have a course launching in September, which I'm really excited about
Inside the course, we explore what we call productivity as safety. It's one of the seven core concepts that the whole program is built around, and it tends to be the one that makes people stop mid-sentence when they first hear it. In short, your nervous system does not track your to-do list, it tracks danger and safety. And for a lot of us, being productive got quietly wired into that safety system a long time ago.
If productivity as safety hits home, I would love to hear about it and let me know. And stay tuned to hear more details about the course Why You Can't Stop launching in September.
So let's get in today's healing moment and do it together right now. Wherever you are, sitting, standing outside in your car, look around you. Take a breath, and we're going to move through five senses. First, look around and name five things you can see. Don't rush. Actually look. Maybe it's the sky, a tree, your hands, a coffee cup, a lamp.
Find five and name them quietly to yourself. Take a breath. Next, notice four things you can physically feel. The weight of your body in your seat, your feet on the ground, the temperature of the air, the fabric against your skin. Four things. Feel them.
Take a breath. Now listen for three things you can hear. Maybe it's traffic, birds, a fan, your own breathing, my voice, three sounds. Really listen. And take in another breath.
Notice two things you can smell. Fresh air, coffee, sunscreen, lotion, something cooking. If nothing comes immediately, take a slow breath in through your nose and notice whatever's there.
you're present, you're okay.:
Always projecting forward into something that hasn't happened yet. Grounding pulls you out of the future and back into your body, back into this moment, which is the only one you're actually in. Use this when the back to school energy starts to spike. Use it in the morning before a hard day. Use it when your mind won't stop. Five things, four things, three, two, one.
Come back to now. I'll see you next Monday for our final prompt of the summer. Take care this week. If you'd like to read about my blog or stay up to date, you can sign up for the newsletter at healingismyhobby.com. You can follow me on Instagram at Healing is My Hobby or on YouTube at Healing is My Hobby. And if you'd like to know more about my clinical practice, you can visit Jessica Collarco LCSW.com or
Or follow me on Instagram at Jessica Colarco LCSW. Keep healing, you're worth it.
