10 Effective Self-Soothing Techniques

10 Effective Self-Soothing Techniques

What Is Self-Soothing According to Psychology?

Self-soothing aids in the recovery of equilibrium after an intense stress response and resets body systems. Everyone requires calming after experiencing shock, trauma, or upset. The act of reaching for an alcoholic beverage or a tub of ice cream is a common self-soothing action. These self-soothing techniques, however, can lead to other issues.

There are instances when other people are not present to provide the necessary social support or calming. Although difficult to exercise when they are most needed, self-soothing abilities are incredibly vital. Temporary overwhelm frequently affects our ability to make decisions and practice healthy self-care.

A look at self-soothing in DBT

One of the third-wave behavioral therapies, dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) has mindfulness-based interventions and origins in the Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy movement. DBT was initially developed to treat individuals who experience extreme emotions, especially those with borderline personality disorder (Linehan et al., 2006).

DBT is becoming more and more popular as a treatment option for the emotional dysregulation that may be present in a variety of mental health issues, including as depression, bipolar disorder, eating disorders, and substance addiction issues, as well as life crises like stress, burnout, loss, and trauma.

Clients receive training in radical acceptance, distress tolerance, and self-soothing methods from a DBT therapist (McKay, Wood, & Brantley, 2019). The goal is to inform the client about the efficacy of their previous coping mechanisms for emotional dysregulation, such as substance addiction, binge eating, or social isolation.

In essence, the client is urged to acknowledge that, at the time, their previous coping mechanisms were the best means of controlling intensely upsetting feelings. Learning self-soothing methods that can control emotions without turning to self-defeating actions is a necessary step in developing distress tolerance.

Asking clients to put together a self-soothing toolkit or box is one technique to assist them in developing self-soothing abilities.

A self-soothing box typically contains items or reminders of how to calm all five senses: calming scents like scented candles, essential oils, or body lotion; calming tastes like herbal teas or favorite snacks; calming things to touch like a favorite sweater, wrap, or stress ball; calming sights like pictures of loved ones, pets, or favorite places; and calming sounds like a favorite song or guided meditation track.

1. Listen to Relaxing Music 

Music can be beneficial in stressful situations, such as waiting in a surgical waiting area, according to numerous studies conducted over the years.

Many people employ this approach without knowing recognizing it is a self-soothing technique.

You can do this by listening to any music that you feel to be soothing or by exploring online music tracks created specifically for this purpose.

2. Take Slow, Deep Breaths 

By taking deep, steady breaths, you can release some of the tension your body accumulates under pressure. Take a few slow, deep breaths to slow down time and clear your mind.

One specific technique you might utilize is the 3-4-5 breathing. Take three deep breaths, hold them for four counts, and then let them out slowly for five counts.

3. Think Of Happy Memories 

Stress can be relieved and the notion that everything in life is awful can be banished by thinking back to a period when you were truly pleased.

Having a joyful memory on hand is a good idea because it might be challenging to think of one when our minds are in a bad place. Pay attention to the events, people, and emotions you were experiencing at the time.

4. Soothe Yourself With Pleasant Activities

It can be hard to want to do something we enjoy while we're feeling overwhelmed. But this is exactly what we need.

Think about a relaxing activity you like to do. Avoid high-stress activities like social media use or competitive video game play.

Prepare some hobbies that you can start doing as soon as your stress levels raise. A puzzle that has been left out for you to complete, knitting materials by your favorite chair, or even just a pair of shoes by the door for a walk could be examples of this.

5. Self-Soothe With a Cold Shower/Swimming 

You might be accustomed to the practice of taking icy cold showers to decompress. Although this is a little over the top, cold water can lower anxiety by releasing some stress-related hormones.

The neurological system is similarly activated and the body is told to relax when you submerge your face in cold water after a stressful event.

6. Mindful walking

Get centered by mindfully exercising your body. Try taking a 15-minute short awe stroll while deliberately engaging all five senses, especially in nature or a lovely park or garden.

Awe is a profoundly uplifted and calming sensation of amazement that reduces stress while boosting vitality (Bai et al., 2021). For instructions, go to the Mindful Awe Walk video below.

7. List Positive Things 

When you feel like everything is going wrong, it can be helpful to make a list of all the good things in your life.

Because they are constants, we tend to take too many things in life for granted, thus it's important to remind ourselves of what we have.

8. Sit with Your Pet 

Pets make wonderful companions and are natural stress relievers. They frequently approach us when we are stressed because they can sense it.

It can make us feel a little better to sit with our pets, snuggle with them, or pet them.

9. Practice Meditation 

Our emotions may be controlled with just 10 minutes of meditation. Our brains can change as a result of mindfulness training to become less reactive to stressful experiences.

10. Self-compassion

Speak compassionately to yourself aloud. Talk to yourself like a good friend would. Give yourself the grace to be off-balance and the space to just be as you are for a while.