DBT in Practice: Self Soothing Skills

Hi all,

This is my first blog post for the new year and I wanted to discuss a skill today that I feel that we can all benefit from at times - especially coming out of the hectic-ness of the past few months and looking ahead to the rest of the year - Self Soothing!

I know that self soothing can seem like a really simple concept and we all have our own ways already of doing this (for me it’s spending time with my cat and having a cup of sleepy time tea), but sometimes when we are very overwhelmed and distressed it can be helpful to have a bit of a menu of different self soothing strategies to use.

Before we talk about self soothing using the five senses I did just want to make a quick point -

Self soothing and other distraction techniques can be incredibly useful, but if you are finding that you are never actually sitting with your distressing emotions and going straight to these strategies, it may be worth noting this with your psychologist so you can build some other skills in mindfulness of difficult emotions as well.

So without further ado, here are some ways to self soothe using our five senses

With Vision

• Look at the stars at night

• Buy one beautiful flower

• Go people-watching or window-shopping

• Sit in the lobby of  beautiful old hotel

• Watch a sunrise or sunset

• Take a walk in a park or a scenic hike

• Set a pretty place at the table using your best things

With Hearing

• Listen to something soothing or invigorating

• Pay attention to the sounds of nature around you

• Sing your favourite song

• Make a playlist with your favourite music (and share it with someone if you’d like)

• Turn on the radio

• Be mindful of any sounds in your environment

• Learn to play an instrument

With Smell

• Burn incense or light a scented candle

• Make cookies, bread, or popcorn

• Smell flowers

• Use your favourite soap or try out a new lotion in a store

• Mindfully make a cup of coffee and inhale the aroma

• Put on perfume and breathe it in

• Open the window and smell the fresh air

With Taste

• Eat some of your favourite foods

• Sample flavours in an ice cream store

• Eat an old childhood favourite (like Mac and Cheese)

• Suck on a piece of candy

• Chew your favourite gum

• Treat yourself to a special food you don’t usually spend money on - a strawberry matcha or smoothie

• Really pay attention to the taste and textures of your breakfast

With Touch

• Take a hot bath or shower

• Pet your dog or cat

• Have a massage

• Hug someone

• Put clean sheets on the bed

• Wrap yourself up in a blanket

• Take a drive with the car windows rolled down

Thank you all so much for reading, and I challenge you all to try out a different self soothing strategy you wouldn’t have tried over the next few weeks!