A self soothe box a tool is derived from Dialectical Behavioural Therapy (DBT), designed to help ground you and avoid an escalation into a full blown crisis and help to ground you, make you feel more relaxed and help reduce emotional distress. It can be used with distress tolerance skills such as TIPP and ACCEPT or just as a stand alone tool to help you in those difficult moments.
when should you use a self soothe box?
Whenever you begin to feel a strong emotion such as anxiety, panic, anger or any other distress, reaching for your self soothe box can help distract you from the emotions you are currently experiencing. The stimulation of each of your senses can help ground you and help you focus on something other that how you are feeling in the moment.
The idea is to create a box will a collection of different items that will stimulate each of your senses.
We can break these things down into categories:
see
For this element of your box you could incude thigns such as family photographs, maybe pictures of your pets, drawings from little members of the family, letters from loved ones, anything that will help stimulate a positive memory. If photographs aren’t really your thing, then including a item that reminds you of something positive would be a great alternative!
Including a small craft project or colouring book can help shift your concentration without being overwhelming. Paint by numbers, crosswords, wordsearches, puzzle books, etc are also great!
things you could include:
+ photographs
+ quotes/memes/drawings
+ a letter from a loved one
+ cards from friends
+ a list of things you love
hear
Including a CD or similar filled with all your favourite positive songs can help shift your mood in times of distress. Creating a playlist on your phone is a great alternative for an on-the-go solution, you could fill it with happy songs, meditation playlists, white noise, etc.
things you could include:
+ harmonica or other small instrument
+ list of your favourite songs or a reminder of a spotify playlist you have
+ your favourite CD
smell
Things such as candles, mini perfumes, scented gel pens, etc would all be great additions here! Pick scents that are attached to a positive memory if you can for a stronger calming effect as our sense of smell is closely linked to our memories. Utilising this can be extremely helpful!
things you could include:
+ scented candle
+ perfume (the mini testers are great!)
+ incense
+ bath bomb (you could incorporate this one into both sight and touch in the bath)
+ a lavender bag
+ Essential oil roller ball
taste
Pick things with a stronger taste such as sour sweets, strong mints, menthol chewing gum as well as things you really love. The stronger the tastes the bigger the effect.
things you could include:
+ bubblegum/ chewing gum
+ sweets
+ sachet of coffee or hot chocolate
+ flavoured tea
+ your favourite chocolate bar
touch
Including something you can touch, such as a stuffed animal will help your body to relax. Including a variety of different textures can help aid this and override your body’s fight or flight responce.
things you could include:
+ fidget toys
+ instant disposable ice pack
+ stuffed animal
+ heat pack
+ playdoh
+ hand cream
Misc
Other miscellaneous items you could include:
+ a list of phone numbers and helplines
+ a copy of your crisis plan
+ the number of your care coordinator, community mental health team and crisis team
+ dbt crisis cards/skills cards
+ a letter to yourself (choose a time where you are feeling ok and write a letter to yourself and seal it)
[…] 006. open up your self soothe box […]