Grounding in the Storm: Why Your 5-Senses Are Your Best Coping Tools

By Jeanette Garza, MA LPC | July 16, 2026

We’ve all been there. You’re in the middle of an emotionally distressful moment- your heart starts racing, your breath feels shorter, your thoughts are spinning and/or you can feel your stomach turning. You know using your coping skills is probably a good idea- but RIGHT now? The thought of trying to recall a breathing pattern, reframe your thoughts or find your
journal feels exhausting.

During moments of emotional distress, our brains go into survival-mode-making any high-effort strategies feels completely out of reach.

But what if the most effective tool for re-centering didn’t require much preparation or extra energy?

Woman curled up on the couch holding a cushion

Truth is: you already carry an entire toolkit with you everyday: your 5-senses. By shifting your focus to what you can see, hear, touch, taste, and smell right now, you can slowly bring yourself back to the present moment. This is a low demand way to self-sooth- no extra effort requried and you can use what’s already in front of you.

Below, you’ll find examples on how you can utilzie your 5-sense to ride out the storm and ground yourself to the present moment:

Vision:

  • Pick a color and go around the room and find things that are your identified color.
  • Go around the room and find an object that starts with each letter of the alphabet, going from A-Z.
  • Spend 2 minutes watching clouds in the sky OR star watching at night
  • Look at calming pictures
    • Tip: start a collection of pictures you find calming of soothing

woman looking up to the sky

Hearing:

  • Listen to soothing music
    • Tip: create a playlist that you can turn to when needed
  • Talk to a trusted person who’s voice you enjoy or makes you happy
  • Listen to a podcast, audiobook or tv show that brings you comfort
  • Go on a nature walk and take in the sounds around you (i.e. tree’s russling, people talking, birds).

Smell:

  • Wear a perfume or cologne you enjoy
    • Tip: carry a travel size perfume or body spray you enjoy in a purse or car
  • Light a sented candle in your room
  • Inhale comforting essential oils (ex. lavender or eucalyptus)
  • Smell your favorite shampoo/conditioner or body wash

aroma therapy

Taste:

  • Treat yourself to your favorite dessert
  • Have your favorite drink
  • Suck on sour candy
    • Tip: Sour candy spray is small enough to store in your car or purse
  • Chew gum

Touch:

  • Take a long hot shower
  • Hold an icecube
  • Pet your dog or cat
  • Wrap yourself in a blanket
    • Tip: A weighted blanket is great for this
  • Give yourself a massage
  • Open a window and feel the breeze or sun on your skin

Combine all 5 to use the 5-4-3-2-1 Technique

      • 5- See: Identify 5 things you can see around you (ex. a pen, magazine, bug)
      • 4- Touch: Identify 4 things you can physically touch (ex. your clothes, your pet, the floor under your feet)
      • 3- Hear: Identify 3 things you can hear (ex. tree’s rustling, traffic, birds chirping)
      • 2- Smell: Identify 2 things you can smell (ex. air freshener, a scented candle, food cooking)
      • 1- Taste: Identify 1 thing you can taste (ex. a mint, taste of your drink)

There are several benefits for learning to self-sooth during emotionally taxing situations, such as:

      • Improved your overall emotional resilience
      • Immediate stress-relief
      • Increased empowerment and independence

How to Know if Self-Soothing is Appropriate

A good rule of thumb to use when deciding if self-soothing is appropriate for an emotional distressful moment is to use a distress scale. If you’re rating you’re distress a 8, 9 or 10, out of a possible 10- then emotions are too high to think clearly. Put away your soothing tool kit until you are back down to a 4 or 5.

When Self-Soothing Isn’t the Right Call

While learning to self-sooth is an incredibly effective tool for managing intense emotions, it isn’t always the right approach. Here is a breakdown of when self-soothing might not be the right call:

1. The Danger Zone

  • If you’re ever in actual physical danger, an abusive environment or a crisis situation, you want to reach out for help from a trusted person- you don’t want to sooth yourself into accepting what is happening.What to do instead:
    • Get to safety
    • Establish boundaries
    • Contact a crisis resource

2. Emotional Avoidance

  • There’s a difference between soothing and surpressing. If you constantly use sensory distractions the second a difficult feeling comes up, you might be avoiding processing it.What to do instead:
    • If the emotion feels manageable (i.e. a low simmer vs a raging fire), use emotional processing. Let yourself feel the emotional and journal about it, talk to a friend or sit with it without trying to fix or change it.

3. Chronic Burnout or Depression

  • Self-soothing is best for short-term relief. If you are experiencing long-term or chronic distress stemming from burnout, clinical depression or anxiety or an external stressor- a short term intervention can lead to more frustration instead of relief.What to do instead:
    • Restructure your routine
    • Practice self-care
    • Seek support from a professional therapist

Final Takeaway:

As a whole, learning to self-sooth isn’t about fixing your problems or erasing your history- its about bridging the gap between the state of emotional overwhelm to solid ground.
By leaning on your 5 senses, you aren’t ignoring the storm- you’re just giving your nervous system permission to pause, breath and reset. Once your fight, flight or freeze mode is off, you can think clearly and decide what comes next.

Your senses are always available to you, completely free and require zero preparation. The next time the world feels too loud, remember: you already have everything you need to bring yourself

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