08/20/2026
🌿 Feeling overwhelmed? Try grounding.
When anxiety, stress, panic, or difficult emotions take over, it can feel like your mind is somewhere far away from the present moment.
Grounding is a therapeutic technique that can help bring you back to the here and now.
Krystal "Dawn" McNemar, LCSW offers her clients one simple technique we often teach is the 5-4-3-2-1 Grounding Exercise:
👀 5 things you can see
👋 4 things you can touch
👂 3 things you can hear
👃 2 things you can smell
👅 1 thing you can taste
Take your time. Notice the details. Breathe slowly.
Grounding isn't about making difficult emotions disappear. It's about helping your nervous system slow down enough that you can respond instead of react.
It can be especially helpful when you're experiencing:
• Anxiety or panic
• Racing thoughts
• Emotional overwhelm
• Stress
• Feeling disconnected or “checked out”
• Trauma-related distress
💚 Sometimes the first step isn't figuring everything out. Sometimes it's simply coming back to the present moment.
At Acadian Counseling Center, we help clients develop practical coping skills they can use both inside and outside of therapy.
Save this post for the next time you need to feel a little more grounded. 🌿
📍 Lafayette, Louisiana
💻 Telehealth available throughout Louisiana
