What is meant by “self-soothing”?
This is the ability to be able to calm yourself down effectively and quickly after a distressing incident, without needing to resort to “bad” coping choices such as drinking in excess or taking non-prescription drugs.
Many many people have a drink or two at home to “take the edge off” after a stressful or frustrating day at work.
Is this necessarily bad?
Not necessarily, of course. The problem comes in a person finds they are unable to destress without some chemical help.
This is where self-soothing comes in. It is a skill that is indispensable in our modern, pressurised lives and an absolute prerequisite for effective stress management.
So how does one learn to self-soothe?
Meditation is an extremely effective form of self-soothing. There are many different forms of meditation and places that offer meditation training.
Mindfulness training is also highly effective for managing stress and anxiety. I routinely include mindfulness techniques in my psycholgy practice to enable clients to regain a sense of appreciation and control over their hectic lives.
There are other techniques and ideals I introduce to my psychotherapy clients as well, such as cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT).
I will talk about these in more detail in my next post.