Soothing Techniques For Self-Care

As an empowerment coach and life educator, I teach families about the importance of self-soothing rituals and calming techniques for each member of the family. If you have been a parent, you will remember the methods you developed to sooth a fretful baby or toddler. You knew what worked and what would just make the child more upset.
Coping With Stress

When you are upset, you also need to have an arsenal of effective ways to calm yourself down and improving your mood. Sometimes unpleasant memories or negative self-talk will spark conflict in your heart. You may feel your heart racing, breathing becoming shallow and your stomach chu
ing.

When you are feeling overwhelmed and stressed you can more easily relax by finding ways to be kind and gentle to comfort yourself.
Five Senses in Self-Care

By utilizing the five senses of feel, taste, touch, smell and hearing you can build an arsenal of empowering experiences. What makes you feel better? What techniques have you developed to calm and soothe yourself? Are they beneficial or harmful?
Touch

Massage
Warm bath
Playing with your pet

Taste

Sipping herbal tea or flavored water
A small helping of a comfort food

Smell

Smelling lavender or vanilla
Deeply breathing in fresh air
Smelling the flowers and smells of nature

Sight

Seeing a funny movie
Reading a good book
Looking at pictures of loved ones

Sound

Listening to music
Repeating positive affirmations out loud
Singing or humming a favorite song to yourself

Is it art, a special chair, a clean kitchen, the color on the wall or a rock in your pocket? What helps you relax when you are distressed and stressed out? Perhaps you need to invite in new ways to calm your troubled heart and soul.
Develop Your Self-Care Techniques

When I was a young mother trying to do way too much for way too many people, I found rejuvenation and relaxation by smelling the essential oil of lavender. One client, Pat, found that she could calm down by touching a tree in her yard. Just leaning against it and breathing deeply was enough to move her into an emotionally healthy place and into being a much more appreciated member of the family.
Self-Awareness Quiz

What can you do to calm yourself when you are in stressful situations?
Which of the five senses- touch, taste, smell, sight, or sound, is the most self-soothing and calming for you?
Do you try to do some calming exercises or techniques daily?