[okiedokie]

What are they and how do you get 'em?
Thanks,
Okie

[Sarah116]

You can find a way to soothe yourself, I like to curl my spiral curls around my fingers, think of funny jokes and things I like, whatever I am wishing for at the moment, thinking deeply, hitting myself or pinching my arms and hands, say something nasty to myself, or whatever it takes at the moment. Like if you are in a busy place and symptoms start.

[sabby]

A couple of skills I use are -

I don't know if you have noticed, but when stressed, we tend to either breathe faster and less deeply or we can also hold our breath, thus robbing our system of oxygen...

1. Paying attention to my breathing....slowly in through the nose then slowly exhaling out my mouth. This generally lowers the heartrate which in turn will lower blood pressure. It also cleanses your body with much needed oxygen, especially when stressed.

Also, when going to bed, no matter how tired I am, if my mind won't shut down and I'm anxious, I can't fall asleep. This may sound silly, but it really works especially if you stick to it and practice...

2. Laying in bed on my back with my arms at my side, I begin to tell my body it's time to sleep. I start with my toes and work my way up saying "good night" toes, it's time to relax and sleep..."good night" heels, relax....the day is over, so on and so forth. Usually by the time I hit my shoulders and neck, I'm tired enough to fall asleep. Slow breathing through this excercise also helps a lot.

When I'm upset about something and I can't seem to think straight....

3. I find a few moments and a place to go that is quiet and private (whenever possible). I close my eyes, pay attention to my breathing and think of whatever it is that makes me happy and relaxed. Maybe a memory of a great vacation, or playing with my grandson and the smiles he puts on my face, or maybe it's just a visual of some beautiful scenery.

I hope these ideas help you if you try them. I'm sure there are tons more ideas out there. It's a matter of finding what works best for you Good Luck!

Hugssssssss
Jean

[drclay]

sabau2:

I just wanted to say Hi! Your ideas for self-soothing are very good. I agree that we often have to work out our own way to relax.

I would throw in a couple of methods: Relaxation (very similar to your technique except there is a tighten of muscles and then a loosening of the muscles--working all over your body) and Meditation (focusing on a candle or on a sound or saying to replace the worries or stress). Like you say there are many. Find them at http://www.psychologicalselfhelp.org...chap12_10.html and at http://www.psychologicalselfhelp.org...chap12_10.html

Thanks for your good ideas. I hope you stay around to help all of us on this forum.

drclay

[_Fly]

I have a routine of chanting prayer -- a meditation of sorts.

[gardenergirl]

I often use meditation, yoga, and aromatherapy. I particularly like child pose, rag doll, and downward facing dog poses for calming and soothing. I can almost always count on using breath following meditation. And the scents of lavender, mint, and geranium (among others) help soothe. A hot bath using fragrant bath salts helps, too.

If your situation doesn't allow for these, simply closing your eyes (or partially closing) and taking five to ten deep, slow breaths can also help.

These are things that I find helpful. I think that as far as developing self-soothing skills, it's good to try out suggestions from others or from workbooks, lists, etc. and start creating your own "self-soothing took-kit" of what works best for you, since we're all different.

Good luck,

gg

[Hopefull]

I use a visual relaxation trick to help myself go to sleep. I am also somewhat familiar with progressive muscle relaxation (tense a muscle and hold it for a while, then release the tension) Do this for each muscle group. I am not big on breathing exercises though because it reminds me of hyperventilating.

I generally use music. Or poetry. And having my animals helps a lot. I'm very touch oriented and I find that petting a dog or cat helps me.

I also have a book of daily meditations that is almost worn out from use.