Our senses are an extremely important part of how we interact with the world. They help us relate to others and understand our environment. We can also use our senses to help soothe and regulate our emotional distress. From a developmental perspective, it makes sense that some of our most fundamental self-soothing mechanisms tend to be fairly primal; things like eating, eye contact, movement, and sound. When we soothe a crying baby we typically engage in rocking, cooing, or some other sensory stimulation to communicate safety to a baby’s limbic system. As adults, our brain’s self-soothing mechanisms are not all that different from a baby’s, we just have a wider repertoire of available behaviors.
If you struggle with anxiety, irritability, or depression you may want to try creating your own self-soothing kit. I usually recommend that it be something portable so you can move it around your space as needed. You can start with items that target each of your basic 5 senses: taste, touch, sound, sight, and smell. Here are some ideas to get you started:
Taste:
Peppermints, breath mints, lemon drops, Jolly Ranchers, tea, or a small snack of your choice.
Touch:
Fidget cubes, dryer balls, fuzzy or silky scarves, squishy toys, hacky sacks, textured stickers, worry stones, Play-Doh, and thera-putty.
Sound:
Consider creating playlists based on your mood or of songs that remind you of a particular time in your life. This is a great opportunity to practice some mindful listening and notice how music affects your mood.
Wind chimes, nature sounds, ambient noise from an open window, rain sounds, and forest sounds (if you want to get really fancy with the forest sounds, check out Tree.fm or timberfestival.org both of which compile recordings of forests from around the world).
Bilateral music has also been shown to reduce anxiety and increase focus in deeper brain regions because of how it alternately stimulates sound in the left and right ears. You will need headphones for this to work. If you’re looking for a playlist, I recommend checking out David Grand on iTunes.
Sight:
Consider collecting pictures that are meaningful to you; they might be of friends and family or even of your younger self. I personally enjoy fun art and pictures of my cat looking silly.
You may also be mindful of your space in general and choose to fill it with interesting things to look at such as crystals, rocks, bits of amber, or plants. If you prefer a more minimal space, you might choose just one item to be the focal point and trade it out every few days or weeks.
If you’re feeling particularly artistic you might try making a vision board or a collage to keep inspiration going in your space and help you visualize your goals.
Smell:
Candles, lotions, and room sprays can be great options for a soothing scent. If you have a more sensitive nose I would recommend opting for milder scents or even creating your own room spray at home using an essential oil or some fresh or dried herbs.
Keep a small container of your favorite spice on hand i.e. cinnamon, rosemary, cloves, bay leaves.
Some stores will sell small roll-on versions of essential oil perfumes that are both portable and mild; just make sure you’re not allergic before applying.
Hopefully this gives you some ideas to get started with. If you’re feeling extra adventurous you might also try keeping a bubble solution on hand to make breath-based mindfulness more fun or take a gander at making your own glitter bottle or jar; because bubbles and glitter are fun for all ages in my opinion. Above all, remember to have fun with it!