Sooth the Self with your Senses
What for you is associated with comfort, peace and calm ? Perhaps it is looking at a beautiful sunset or enjoying a full body massage.
Sensations processed through your sensory systems can be used as a coping skill to show care to self to feel better.
Often during times of high stress, our attention to self care and activities we find soothing, goes out the door. The more overwhelmed we feel, the more likely we are not to make time to care for self.
Perhaps you don’t feel like you deserve to feel good. In fact embedding regular moments of self soothing into your day and weekly routine, helps us deal more effectively with stress and intense emotions.
It is important to persist even if you don’t feel relief entirely, as it is your expectations that can get in the way of how it feels and how likely you are to make regular time to self sooth.
Lets look at our 5 senses and brainstorm ideas to add to your calm down repertoire.
Vision taken in through the eyes is about what you like to see. Could be nature, art, photos or a movie. Turning off the lights or switching on a lamp, instead of overhead lighting is soothing. The same way wearing sun glasses can make sitting in the sun more enjoyable.
Hearing sounds through the ears can have a powerful impact on overall body tension and blood pressure. What music and sounds are calming for you? Be aware of volume and moving away from unpleasant sounds to sooth your ears.
Smell taken in through the nose on an express train to your emotion brain centre can change your mood just by smelling your favourite meal, a fragrant candle or nature smells. Harness opportunity to smell pleasant aroma by making them available in your environment. Be prepared to buy that expensive candle that you love to smell and pay attention to how you feel.
Tasting foods that are sweet, salty, chewy or crunchy, depending on your preferences, can help restore your energy levels and bring a sense of calm.
Last but not least is touch, received through the biggest body organ, our skin. What fabrics do you like the feel of? Water hitting your skin when you shower and seeking out touch from someone or something such as wearing clothes you feel comfortable in .
Next time we will look at ways to improve the moment…
