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Breathe. Ground. Get through the next few minutes.
When everything is too loud, you don’t have to fix it all right now. You only have to get through the next few minutes. Follow the circle with your breath, or name what is around you, one sense at a time. Stop whenever you like.
Breathe with the circle
Breathe in as it grows and out as it shrinks. A longer out-breath is one of the most widely taught ways to settle the body. Breathe gently, through your nose if you can. You don’t need to fill your lungs all the way.
If breathing exercises make you feel worse (dizzy, short of breath, or more anxious), stop and breathe normally. That happens to some people, especially during panic or after trauma, and it doesn’t mean you did it wrong. Try the grounding steps below instead.
Ground yourself: 5, 4, 3, 2, 1
Bring your attention out of your head and into the room. Go at your own pace. Say the things out loud or in your head, or type them if that helps. Nothing you type here is saved or sent anywhere. If you can’t use one of the senses, skip it or use one you can.
Other small things that help some people
- Change rooms. Step outside, or just move to a different room. A new place can interrupt a spiral.
- Say where you are. Say out loud your name, where you are, today’s date, and one thing you will do next.
- Move. Walk, stretch, or shake out your hands and arms for a minute.
- Drink some water or eat something small.
- Wrap up. A heavy blanket, a hoodie, or something warm in your hands.
- Put on a song you know every word to, and sing along if you can.
- Reach one person. A text is enough: “Rough night. Can you talk?” If there is no one right now, 988 is there for exactly this.
When you’re through this one: write down what helped, so it’s there next time. Our safety plan builder has a place for it (part 2, “things I can do on my own”). You can also write a psychiatric advance directive, which says how you want to be treated in a crisis.
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