10 Healing Ways To Comfort Yourself In Stressful Times
I think more than ever, we all need ways to de-stress and find healthy ways to feel better. I have a long and tumultuous relationship with anxiety and over the years have made great strides in finding ways to heal and soothe myself in difficult times. I am also a licensed mental health therapist, so I am well-versed in what has scientifically been proven to be effective in reducing stress. You might be thinking, ‘Wait, she’s a therapist and has anxiety?’ Yes, therapists can have anxiety too! We are people just like everybody else.
In fact when I was a teenager I started going to a therapist to help me deal with debilitating anxiety, caused mostly by having a terminally ill father. The therapy helped me so much that it made me want to be a therapist too. I’ll never forget my therapist saying to me, “Trust me, most of us therapists became therapists because we’re really messed up. We understand emotional pain because we’ve lived it too.” That always stuck with me and once I was a therapist myself, I realized his words were 100% accurate.
All of these healing solutions I talk about in this article are techniques that I myself use, constantly. They truly work wonders. For each individual, some will work better than others, but there are plenty to try out for yourself. I promise you will find a few (or more than a few!) that bring you true comfort.
Here’s to feeling better.
10 Healing Ways To Comfort Yourself In Stressful Times
1 AROMATHERAPY
So many people are not aware of the powerful and immediate effects certain smells have on our mental state. Odors waft up our noses and stimulate our nose receptors. Those receptors then swiftly send messages through our nervous systems and then to our limbic systems, which is the part of the brain that controls our emotions. Different smells tap into different emotions. Since today we are talking about which smells comfort us and ease our sadness, stress, and anxiety, here’s some aromas that can best help calm us down:
LAVENDER
YLANG YLANG
LEMON
ROSEMARY
You can achieve aromatherapy through candles, essential oils, diffusers, incense, bubble baths, or even lotions. I have diffusers in almost every room (except my kitchens).
2 SUBMERSE YOURSELF IN WATER
If you have a bath tub, hot baths are the easiest way to get regular healing from water. But any water will do: the ocean, hot tubs, pools, lakes, etc. The ocean has the added element of salt, which has special healing properties all on its own, so the combination of salt and water is very powerful. Twenty minutes in the ocean can wipe away all negative energy and activate your body’s personal healing mechanism. If you live near an ocean, schedule some regular visits to boost your immune system and refresh your emotional and spiritual states.
One great thing about hot baths is that you can add aroma to your water, so you’re getting two healing properties in one shot! There are many bath recipes to try to help move your emotional healing along faster. As mentioned above, water and salt create a powerful combination so simply adding epsom salts to your bath is extremely invigorating and curative, both physically and emotionally. Epsom salts are excellent for sore joints and muscles or any kind of body pain.
3 SPEND TIME IN NATURE
Many health experts explain spending time in nature is actually a form of therapy. It’s usually referred to as nature therapy or sometimes ecotherapy. The Japanese call this shinrin-yoku, which in English translates to forest bathing or absorbing the forest atmosphere.
I bet you didn’t know you were receiving therapy the last time you spent some time outdoors around nature! Without even knowing you were improving your mental and physical health. Nature therapy is based on the principles of ecopsychology, which looks at how we are interconnected with the earth and the deep rooted healing effects the earth has on us.
Here are some ways you can spend more time in nature:
Start walking regularly outdoors or even around your neighborhood
Go on a hiking trail
Spend a day at a lake or ocean
Start a garden
Visit nearby parks
Have your morning coffee outside or with an outside view
Take up nature photography
Add more plants in your home to remind you how important nature is (real plants are best but faux plants will also create green spaces and evoke pleasant feelings)
4 CREATE A PEACEFUL SPACE
Create a space in your home just for you that is serene and brings you joy simply by being in it. You don’t need to spend money, simply pick a room/space, clean and declutter it, and maybe even rearrange the furniture. Whatever you need to do to make it pleasing to you. Clean, tidy, and decluttered spaces are good for our brains. Mess and clutter overstimulates our brains and easily overwhelms us and heightens anxiety. Cleaning and organizing our space can greatly improve our mood as well as our motivation levels. Pick a section of your home for a self-care space and make it your next project. Cultivate a space that you feel good in and can relax.
If you know which space you’d like to make your healing spot and you do wish to do a little refresh with new decor, keep in mind there are certain colors that best calm our mood. Even a single can of paint can do wonders!
Here are some of the colors that most generate peaceful and relaxing emotions within us:
BLUE. Blue is the most soothing color to our minds. Looking at blue actually slows down your heart rate and reduces anxiety.
GREEN. The color green is associated with nature and gives us a harmonious and restful feeling.
GRAY. In color psychology, grey represents neutrality and balance. It has a very soothing presence.
YELLOW. Yellow is the most energetic of the warm colors. It signifies happiness and hope. It’s no coincidence that it’s also the color of sunshine! Yellow makes us feel optimistic and cheerful.
WHITE. The color white is associated with light, goodness, purity, safety, cleanliness, clarity and freshness. It is an amazing color to be surrounded with in times of stress. It makes times feel more simple and clear and often helps clarify our thoughts.
5 WALK THERAPY
It has been proven over and over again by countless studies that walking has multiple health benefits with both our physical and mental health. Walking just 20 minutes alleviates symptoms of anxiety, depression, anger, and fatigue.
An idle body can cause an anxious mind. Unused and pent up energy in our bodies can present itself as anxiety in our minds. Just like I’m sure you’ve heard so many times before, the mind-body connection is very strong. Physical activity distracts you from negative thoughts.
Walking decreases our stress hormones (such as cortisol) and at the same time increases our ‘happy’ chemicals (such as endorphins). This is a huge WIN-WIN situation. And let me add this is an all-natural solution and totally free! More wins.
A truly magical way to practice walk therapy is to start going on Moon Walks. My family and I started going on Moon Walks when the covid-19 pandemic started. We needed some special stress-reducing time to help ease our tensions. We loved our Moon Walks so much that we still do them every night. We love them, even my teen daughters!
If you are brand new to walking/exercising or have had a long hiatus from regular activity, remember to take it slow in the beginning. Gradually increase your walking time each week. Don’t overdo it right out of the gate. You don’t want soreness or a pulled muscle discouraging you before you even get started. As always, consult your doctor before starting any new fitness regimens.
6 WARMTH THERAPY or HYGGE THERAPY
Wrap yourself in something warm, cozy, and cuddly. Being warm and cozy evokes feelings of safety and comfort. When we feel comforted and snug, our brains no longer have any reason to search our environment for threats. Our brains continuously perform environment scans, whether you know it or not. It is part of our internal survival mechanism. When we feel comfy and snug, our brains turn off that danger signal and we can more easily feel calm and peaceful.
You may have heard the word, Hygge, that’s being thrown around a lot now. Hygge is a Danish word that describes a quality of coziness and comfortability that creates warm feelings of contentment or well-being. So when you hear about Hygge Therapy or living a Hygge Lifestyle, it simply means incorporating lots of things and activities into your life that evoke warm, comfortable, and safe feelings and emotions as well as using cozy material items that make you physically feel better.
Here are some Warmth Therapy / Hygge ideas:
Foam mattress topper (This changed my life! I have never slept better.)
Warmth therapy applies not only to the physicality of soft and fuzzy material items, but also to warm feelings that a soothing atmosphere can create. Low lighting or amber lighting can make us experience warm and pleasant feelings. An environment that has a warm ambiance helps improve our moods and again brings on safe feelings.
Did you ever catch yourself staring at the gorgeous amber light that pours into your windows in the evening right before sundown? Such beautiful shades of gold and orange that warm up our homes. You can create this kind of lighting anytime with amber light bulbs or even a healing Himalayan salt lamp!
7 DO SOMETHING KIND FOR SOMEBODY
Performing acts of kindness produces oxytocin in our brains. Oxytocin is also called the 'love hormone' or sometimes even the ‘cuddle chemical’ because of the happy and pleasant feelings it creates. Research has shown that even witnessing kind acts can increase oxytocin!
Studies have also shown that performing acts of kindness causes psychological flourishing. Psychological flourishing includes but is not limited to feelings of positivity, self-esteem, optimism, meaning/purpose, resilience, and vitality.
Putting love and kindness out into the world is very powerful and it creates a positive energy that has movement and is often continued by the kindness recipient (think pay it forward).
One of the best ways to get our minds off of our own problems is to help others with theirs. It also often reminds us that sometimes our problems are much smaller than so many others’ problems. If we all would practice kindness all the time, imagine how much easier life would be to deal with.
8 MASSAGE THERAPY
Get a massage!
Research has proven that regular massages are a highly effective way to reduce anxiety and stress levels, improve emotional resilience, and induce and enhance feelings of well-being.
When you get a massage, endorphins, serotonin, and dopamine are all released into your system. This is the happy hormone trifecta! These hormones give you a wonderful sense of wellness and relaxation. There are countless prescription drugs (as well as illicit drugs) that are created to make you feel the same way a massage does! If you can get all these incredible feels with a simple massage, I say go for it!
It’s important to mention that massage therapy doesn’t just improve our mental state, it also provides multiple physical health benefits! Reduced pain, ease of headaches, improved circulation, elimination of toxins, improved sleep, boosted immunity, and reduced fatigue are just the tip of the iceberg!
If you can’t afford regular massages, no worries! You can also experience most of the benefits by giving yourself regular foot massages. The reason foot massages are so magically potent is the same reason why reflexology works. Every single part of your body is represented on the bottom of your feet. Each spot on your foot corresponds to particular organs and systems of the body. Pressure applied to these spots bring relaxation and healing to the corresponding area of the body.
These spots are also found on the hands. So you can also do hand massages with similar results! Some people are uncomfortable or not bendy enough to do foot massages for any length of time, so hand massages are a great alternative!
It is best to use a lotion or oil when giving yourself foot and hand massages. They don’t have to specifically be massage products, almost any lotion or oil you have in your home already will do; however, I use this stress-relieving massage oil and it is absolutely AMAZING!
If you use aromatherapy lotions and oils, you can have that added healing aromatic effect on top of the healing properties of the actual massage.
9 MUSIC THERAPY
It’s no secret that music has potent effects on us. We all have certain music we tend to listen to depending on our mood. Most of us have different playlists we reserve for when we feel a certain way. Sad music, party music, even music to motivate us when we’re working out. Each mood demands its own beats.
Most of us, however, don’t have a soothing music playlist. Well it’s time to make one! Some of the most soothing and relaxing music out there is without lyrics. In fact many massage therapists play soothing instrumental music softly in the background while they massage their clients. Without lyrics we don’t get distracted by what the artist is talking about and instead focus on the rhythmic and soothing cadence of the music.
Now this is not to say you can only be soothed by instrumentals, you can listen to whatever floats your relaxation boat! But most of us don’t really even think of soothing or meditation-type instrumental music when we need to relax and calm down, so I wanted to mention and remind you that it’s an option and maybe you should try it!
Or maybe you’d love to listen to nature sounds such as falling rain or thunderstorms instead of music.
You don’t have to buy any music. These days there are free options to listen to music! You can open a free Spotify account if you don’t have one already. Simply put ‘meditation music’ in the search and tons of free playlists will pop up. Apple Music also offers free accounts. Also if you already have an Amazon Prime membership, you have access to unlimited free music. If you don’t have Amazon Prime, you can try out a 30-Day Free Trial HERE.
10 MEDITATION OR PRAYER
I know that many people are scared off by the word meditation. I think a lot of people (maybe even you!) have an abstract idea of what it is and assume that it is complicated or hard to achieve. It is SOOO much easier than you think it is! It’s literally sitting (or laying) and doing nothing! Creating moments in silence where you concentrate on absolutely nothing is actually one of the best things you can do for your brain. We need silence and nothingness in order to give our souls a chance to just be. We live in such a high-paced world with so many demands and stressors and obligations looming over us all the time that it has caused an epidemic of racing mind syndrome.
Above all else meditation brings us inner peace, but it has also been proven to reduce stress, lessen anxiety, increase emotional health, enhance self-awareness and self-love, generate kindness, help fight addictions, reduce physical pain, lower blood pressure, reduce memory loss, and so much more.
There are countless meditation tutorials on YouTube, along with guided meditations. Guided meditations are great for the beginner because you simply listen to someone and just follow their words. But it won’t be long until you are meditating all on your own by just being still and quieting your mind.
Prayer and meditation are very similar and both result in the same benefits, in both physical and mental aspects. Prayer is usually directed toward a specific higher power and meditation is more directed to the universe; however, they are one in the same. It just depends on how you look at it and what your specific beliefs are. I’m sure you have heard the phrase ‘the power of prayer’ before. It can be a powerful and potent way to bring forth feelings of hope, optimism, and a sense of comfort.
Both prayer and meditation are scientifically proven to reduce stress and improve our physical and emotional well-being. And they are both free and you can do them ANYWHERE! If you don’t do either are have gotten away from the practice, I encourage you to revisit this wonderful and spiritual (not necessarily religious) way to find some inner peace and reconnect with yourself, your soul, and whatever higher power you hold close in your beliefs.
I wish you more good days than bad, more smiles than frowns, and truly peaceful moments that make you feel safe and loved. I hope you find one, two, or ten ways to feel better from this article.
xo, Gabby
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Resources:
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1755296612000099
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27100366/
https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/12-benefits-of-meditation
https://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/meditation/in-depth/meditation/art-20045858
*The information on this site is not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional medical or mental health advice, diagnosis or treatment. All content in this article is for general information purposes only. I am not a doctor, nor am I a dietitian. Talk to your physician before making any changes in your diet or exercise regimen. The information found in this article is from various sources which include, but are not limited to, the sites listed above. I encourage you to do your own research and talk with your physician before making any changes in diet or exercise. What has worked for me may not work for you. This information in this article or on this website should never replace or serve as medical or mental health advice.
NEVER DISREGARD PROFESSIONAL MEDICAL ADVICE OR DELAY SEEKING MEDICAL TREATMENT BECAUSE OF SOMETHING YOU HAVE READ ON OR HAVE ACCESSED THROUGH THIS WEB SITE.
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