Self-Soothing Skills

Pictured: The second cup of coffee that I tell myself won’t make me more anxious, but usually does.

This morning I woke up anxious. My schedule was all off. Normally, I am at work but had to stay home for a repairman to fix a leaky pipe. Normally, I have one cup of coffee, but today I had two (cue more anxiety). Normally, I play with my dog, but he was too hyper with the repairman here to remember how to play fetch. I was left feeling restless and on edge.

I was scheduled to write a blog post today and I decided to write about self-soothing because it seems that I need to be reminded of this important coping skill too.

My understanding of self-soothing skills comes from Marsha Linehan’s Dialectal Behavioral Therapy (DBT). According to DBT, self-soothing is best done through our five senses: touch, taste, smell, sight, and hearing. Simply pick an activity in any of those sensory categories that is likely to feel pleasant or calming. For example, I chose to self-sooth with sound and smell. I opened the window in my bedroom and really focused on hearing the birds and smelling the fresh air. Later, I might go for a walk and focus on seeing for the beauty in my neighborhood to practice sight self-soothing. Or I might spend time petting my dog (once he calms down from our much needed visitor) to self-sooth with touch.

If you notice yourself feeling on edge, down, or just in need of an emotional hug, I would encourage you to try self-soothing with your senses. Listening to music, looking at a favorite photo, or smelling your favorite scent all have the potential to help you feel a bit more at ease.

Happy self-soothing!