How to Learn a Valuable Lifetime Skill: Self-Soothing
Mastering the art of self-soothing is a valuable lifetime skill that can transform your life. It's about learning to navigate through life's storms with resilience, equanimity, and grace. Let's delve into the process of acquiring this empowering skill.
Key points
Many emotionally neglectful families aren’t able to teach their children how to soothe themselves
- Self-soothing can get you through some of the most challenging days or moments of your life by helping you manage feelings of hurt, anger, sadness, or grief.
- It can make you more resilient as a person.
Examples of Self-Soothing
Self-talk: Talk to yourself in your own head about what you’re feeling or its cause
- Cry: Cry helps you maintain biological homeostasis and regulates your heart rate when you are upset
- Exercise: Cook something creative or healthy
- Play with a child
- Call a friend
- Sit quietly and look out the window
- Meditate
The Good News
Self-soothing is not complex or difficult to learn.
- For most people, it’s mostly a process of self-discovery, trying different ideas, and observing the outcome.
- As you go through the process, you’ll get to know yourself better on an emotional level, and learn how to soothe yourself.
Try different strategies at different times
Watch for strong feelings of anger, hurt, sadness, or any other feeling that is too sharp or painful to manage
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