How to Tame Your Nervous System:

When our stress levels go up, we feel that in our bodies because the “alarm” from our nervous system is going off. In order to reset the switch, we have to get in touch with our 5 senses. Therefore, thinking ahead and putting together a “self-soothe kit” or “comfort box” can do wonders for chilling our bodies out. 

In short, you’re wanting to find items that you can put in this emotional ‘first aid kit’ that are soothing and relaxing. Thinking about the senses: touch…vision…smell…taste…and hearing. 

As you put your kit together, make two: one for home and another for on the go (purse, work, car). I refer to the portable one a ‘stealth-soothe kit’ as there is no need then to feel embarrassed since no one will notice. These are more practical than we think!

Some suggestions for home:

• Take a warm bath
• View family pictures on your phone from that last fun trip you took or your fantasy vacation. Bonus points if you can print them out and actually put them in a photo album
• Chew gum or savor a piece of your favorite candy
• Create a chill-out playlist or a YouTube channel full of the funniest videos you come across.
• Spray some cologne or perfume that helps you recall a fond memory
• Schedule a massage or float
• Have a notecard for reminders: walk the dog, call a trusted friend to vent, write down your favorite easy recipe

On the go:

• Have a grounding rock/worry stone
• Put some essential oils on your wrists or temples
• Rub the palm of your hands with your thumb
• Plug in some headphones and zone out to a meditation app, look up some cute puppies on Pinterest, or watch that recording of your baby laughing

And if you have kids, create one this weekend for both yourself and them. And remember, it’s a simple two step process:

1. Recognize what we’re feeling
2. Utilize some of your self-soothing items to catch that ‘ahhh, that’s nice’ feeling. This is called the relaxation response and it’s activating your parasympathetic nervous system, or the brake.

This process then becomes not only an important “therapy skill” but a crucial life skill! No one should leave grade school without knowing how to do this and having kits at our fingertips.

We can also use these items as prevention! When our bodies are chronically stressed they become a depository for that stress. Over time we start to break down, a process called ‘allostatic load.’ By shutting off the alarm (taking our foot off the gas pedal) and pressing on the brake we tell our bodies we’re not in a life-threatening situation and can relax.

I’ll leave you with one last thought:

If we owned a Ferrari but never took it in for maintenance, it would underperform…to say the least)

Our bodies are extremely resilient, wondrous machines too. But we have to know how to know both use them and how to maintain them to live optimally.

Now I’d like to hear from you. Leave some comments below of what you put in your kits!