We’re in the thick of the holiday season and soon into a new year. With joy — and stress — all around us, a quick tool to reduce anxiety can come in handy.
Here's a way that you can pause and be mindfully present by individually focusing on each of the 5 senses with the 5-4-3-2-1 method. You can follow the prompts as you read about this exercise.
Ready?
- Start with things you can see. Look around. What are 5 things you can see? Anything in your line of sight…
- Moving to touch. What are 4 things you can touch? Your clothing, your phone, the steering wheel…
- Then 3 things you can hear. The radio, the snowfall, anything you can hear…
- 2 things you can smell…
- And lastly, what’s 1 thing you can taste?
You can repeat this as often as you need. Consider focusing on the sense of sight or touch if you’re short on time to bring you back to the present moment. This exercise can be a good way to re-focus and be mindful when the holidays get hectic.