How to Self-Soothe Yourself (Seven Ways to Soothe Yourself )
Are you interested in how to self-soothe?
Whether you’re struggling with a project at work or dreading an upcoming visit to the doctor, there are many times in your life when you need to soothe yourself.
Self-soothing techniques lower your stress levels and give you greater calmness and strength. Many of them also bring more pleasure into your life.
The following are several strategies for soothing yourself, and many of them can be used at a moment’s notice in a variety of situations.
1) Enjoy the soothing qualities of water
As a primal element, water sustains you. Along with keeping you alive, it can be used in numerous ways to soothe anxiety and help you restore focus and calm.
Holding your hands under cool water from a faucet is one way to soothe yourself. Concentrate on the temperature of the water and what it feels like against your skin.
Another soothing tactic is to dip a washcloth in cool water and drape it across your forehead or along the back of your neck.
Even drinking some water can help, especially if you focus on the sensation of swallowing it and the relief it gives you.
You don’t have to limit yourself to water in liquid form. Holding an ice cube, for example, can make you feel more grounded when you’re struggling with strong anxiety.
The sound of water is also incredibly soothing. Near where you live, is there a beach, a park with a stream, or a town square with a fountain?
Even if there isn’t, you can enjoy the murmur of water from any location by playing a recording on your phone or computer.
Another idea worth considering is buying a small fountain for your home. It can sit on your desk or on a shelf and produce the most relaxing sounds.
2) Get some exercise
One of the best ways to soothe yourself is to move around. When you’re at your desk or curled up on your couch, you may feel as if you’re stuck with your emotions.
It’s as if you can’t escape from your agitation. Movement helps free you.
The many benefits of exercise include a greater sense of peace. Instead of brooding and feeling stuck, you experience a surge of endorphins, chemicals in your body that ease pain and lift your mood.
To enjoy these benefits, you don’t have to launch into a strenuous exercise routine. It can be enough to stretch your arms and legs, go for a walk, or turn on some music and dance.
Calisthenics exercises, like jumping jacks and squats, are additional possibilities; they can be done from anywhere and don’t require equipment.
Along with exercising in response to moments of anxiety, it’s beneficial to incorporate exercise routines into your life on a regular basis.
Sticking to an exercise regimen will help you manage your overall levels of stress. Popular activities include yoga, swimming, running, and lifting weights.
3) Use breathing to find calm
One of the best ways to soothe yourself involves a basic bodily function: breathing. Even when performed for a few minutes, breathing exercises can produce a significant calming effect.
Many of these exercises can also be carried out discreetly. Whether you’re in a crowded elevator or lying awake in bed at night, you can work with your breath to relieve anxiety.
One example of a breathing exercise is to inhale and exhale slowly while focusing on your breath and how it’s affecting your body, including the way your belly expands and contracts.
If you want to add more to the exercise, you can think of a soothing word or mantra each time you exhale. You can also visualize your unpleasant thoughts and emotions leaving your body with each exhalation.
There’s a variety of breathing exercises to choose from. You can easily experiment with them before settling on the ones that work best for you.
Some exercises may require lying down, while others are fine for standing or sitting. For the most reliable effects, it’s best to practice an exercise and make it habitual.
4) Visualize something peaceful
Self-soothing techniques are especially useful when you can rely on them in various situations.
Visualization is a flexible and usable technique in many locations, such as a dentist’s office or when you need to take a quick break from a stressful work project.
What you visualize can be quite simple. You can focus on a soothing color, such as a shade of green or blue that you love. Picture the color gently expanding across your vision or even flowing through your body.
Other times, you may want to picture a more complex scene. Maybe it’s a room where you feel safe and relaxed. It can be an actual room or a place you’ve imagined. Decorate it as you like.
Your visualizations can also include motion and additional sensory details. For instance, you can picture yourself walking on a trail through a forest.
As you follow this peaceful path, imagine the scent of pines and the faint chatter of birds. Maybe there’s a breeze against your face.
5) Please your nose
The power of scent sometimes gets overlooked. You don’t always realize how the smell of your surroundings affects your mood.
Consider the kinds of scents that relax you. There are numerous body lotions, for example, and you can pick one that smells like roses, jasmine, or cinnamon rolls.
Immersing yourself in a bubble bath scented with lavender can also feel like bliss.
You can make it a mission to seek pleasant smells all around you. Breathe the air deeply after it rains. Savor the aromas in a bakery. Pause to indulge in the scent of freshly brewed coffee or an herbal tea.
Certain scents also come with comforting associations. For example, you can wash your sheets with laundry soap that your parents or grandparents used. If your association with the scent is pleasant, it will soothe you as you sleep.
6) Do something that makes you smile
So much stress comes from life’s serious obligations. When you need to soothe yourself, make some time for fun activities.
Even a short break from your work or from other responsibilities can make you feel much better.
Watch a comedy, or read a book with a light and fun plot. Work on a crafts project, play with your pet, or listen to upbeat music. Indulge in some culinary exploration, maybe baking a dessert with a recipe you’ve never tried before.
Soothing yourself can also mean reaching out to people whose company you enjoy. For example, you can play a silly game with your kid or call up a friend to hang out together.
A little voice in your head may tell you you’re wasting time. But what you’re doing is enjoying life and making lovely memories.
7) Hug yourself
For reassurance and stress relief, a hug can work wonders. However, you may not always feel like getting a hug from someone else.
There may also be no one in your vicinity to give you a hug when you need some soothing.
Although it sounds sappy, giving yourself a hug is an excellent way to ease stress or sadness.
Where you position your hands, how you fold your arms, and how hard you squeeze yourself during the hug are details you need to figure out with some experimenting.
The result is a firm and comforting embrace that reminds you of your strength and the ways you can give yourself unconditional support.