Do you find it hard to calm down or self-regulate yourself in moments of distress? Or you are probably wondering how psilocybin can help in your self-soothing process? Then you’ve landed in the right place.
Self-soothing has been one of the primary life skills in this modern era. With all the chaos, stress, and lack of supportive communities that everyone is moving through in the present day, people are looking for ways to navigate their emotional health more than ever before.
While learning healthier coping and self-regulating techniques can help you find emotional equilibrium, plant medicines like psychedelic shrooms can support the nervous system on a physical and emotional level.
Many people develop an innate ability to self-soothe from their childhood but there are also so many people who struggle with self-soothing throughout their adulthood. But, strategies for self-regulation can be built by practicing no matter your age or circumstance.
Read this article to learn about the activities and techniques you can practice along with microdosing mushrooms to self-soothe.
In times of experiencing uncomfortable emotions and feelings (like– anger, fear, anxiety, grief, stress, heartbreak, etc.), more often than not people choose to unground themselves and escape instead of riding the waves of these emotions and situations.
But that is just a temporary approach until the same feelings catch up to you.
To calm and reset your mind and body, a better coping method is to use self-soothing activities and techniques which ground you in the present moment in a safe way.
So what exactly is self-soothing?
Self-soothing is when you tend to yourself to regulate your nervous system to bring yourself to a parasympathetic state from a sympathetic state ( fight, flight, or freeze).
Combining mushroom microdosing and other self-soothing activities can be a doorway to regulate the nervous system in moments of overwhelming emotions and situations.
But first, you might be asking yourself – why is self-soothing even necessary?
Necessity of self-soothing
You may find it extremely challenging to center yourself in the present and to regulate or calm yourself if you regularly battle mental health problems, post-traumatic stress disorder, a demanding life, or a lot of emotions.
Whenever you are experiencing distressing emotions, your mind can get caught up in a negative thought loop, re-experiencing past incidents or even jumping to conclusions and getting fearful about the future.
Going through traumatic experiences can also make someone anxious, hyper-vigilant, angry and panicky. Or even develop ADHD or go into a freeze response and find themselves procrastinating most of the time.
Life gets pretty hard if you are constantly ungrounded and dealing with symptoms. You might find moving through life and even doing the basic tasks incredibly exhausting. You might feel numb and disconnected from yourself or find yourself always swayed away by emotions.
To cope with these situations, you might want to behave reactionarily and take action on impulses that further worsen the present.
Coping methods like– overeating, alcohol, drug abuse, disassociating, etc. end up harming instead of healing. They are called pathological or avoidant self-soothing. On the other hand, practicing healing techniques and building progressive behaviors can benefit you from the inside out.
Self-soothing brings your body to homeostasis and allows it to be in the present moment.
Practicing self-soothing activities can:
- Slow down impulsive urges
- Increase pain tolerance
- Improve cognitive functions
- Reduce physical discomfort
- Decrease the recurrence of symptoms like– anxiety, panic, fear, stress, etc.
- Rewire the brain for a better belief system
- Increase ability to feel and observe emotions without always acting from emotions
- Make it easier to stay grounded in the body
- Enhance the effect of treatment for complex issues like– PTSD, chronic depression, ADHD, etc.
- Help with taking better decisions and actions
- Lessen the time it takes to bring yourself into a parasympathetic state
- Increase sense of present moment and vitality
Here are some self-soothing activities and tools you can apply to support your healing process.
7 Self-soothing Activities To Practice In Moments Of Distress
Expand your self-soothing toolkit with these activities and techniques
But keeping them in your memory might not be helpful because, in moments of frustration or exhaustion, you might not be able to remember them. So, the strategy is to save the article and come back to it when you need it.
The more you practice these methods you will naturally rewire your brain to remember what you need to do. Perhaps even take notes and keep them with you for a moment of need.
Try them all for a while to discern what works for you and then put it in your permanent toolkit for self-soothing.
1. Talk to yourself in a soothing way
Words are like spells.
They can either build you or break you.
In moments of distress, our inner critic can be harsh. Be conscious about your inner critic, see where you are being unkind and work on changing the way you talk to yourself.
Have a conversation with yourself and check in with your body. Talking to yourself is deeply rooted in somatic therapy; it helps you bring awareness to your body and nervous system.
Comforting and encouraging words can make you feel safe and relaxed. Now, that doesn’t mean you have to say untrue words, but rather, try to talk with yourself as someone who loves you, cares for you, accepts you and gives you space to allow the natural unfolding of your process.
Some comforting words might look like this:
- I am here for you.
- I see you.
- You are deeply loved.
- You are allowed to rest and relax.
- It’s okay to feel what you feel.
- Emotions don’t make you weak, they are messengers of your body.
- I see it is difficult for you, you are allowed to slow down.
- I believe in you.
But be conscious about not falling into a fixing mode. Simply, give space for feeling the emotions and the words.
2. Move Your Body
Moving the body releases endorphins and hormones that soothe your body and emotions. If you are spending most of your time sitting or laying, the energy channels tend to stagnate.
Your bodies cells hold onto the trauma, stress, or memory until it is moved.
When you move your body, the trapped energy and emotions can be released. Find a method to move your body that you enjoy. Moving your body shouldn’t be a punishment but an enjoyable grounding and strengthening process.
Running, swimming, dancing, tai chi, yoga, sports, weight lifting, stretching, etc. are some examples.
Mindfully move your body to feel your body during movement practices and maintain a constant rhythm of deep breathing.
Slow movements are usually more calming and grounding for the bodily system.
3. Connect To Nature
Earth has a frequency of its own that is in alignment with all living creatures and thus, incredibly healing for all the living cells on earth.
Most people in cities are disconnected from nature and live in an unpleasant environment full of artificial noises and pollution that weakens their health.
Studies show that spending even 20 min in nature balances our biochemistry and brings it into the flow with nature. Our connectedness to nature influences and improves our mood, life satisfaction, cognition and positive attitude.
But, it’s not always easy to connect to nature in the world we live in right now. Here are some ways you can connect to nature:
- Go for a walk in nature away from noises and walk barefoot on the grass to connect to the earth.
- Go for a swim in bodies of natural water.
- Bring nature close to you by keeping and growing a lot of plants in your house, balcony, or garden.
- Use all your senses to connect to nature. Smell the air and flowers, listen to the birds, watch the details in nature, touch the animals and trees and taste fresh fruits and veggies.
- Sunbath and sun gaze in the early mornings.
- Do more activities outside. Such as– exercising in nature, playing in parks or fields, going on hikes, going for a boat ride, etc.
4. Practice Breathing Techniques
Breathing is one of those activities that we have done since the moment we were in our mother’s womb but never mastered.
Notice how you are breathing at the moment; is it shallow or deep?
Shallow breathing doesn’t allow us to oxygenate our body thoroughly and release the gaseous waste of our body completely. As shallow or chest breathing doesn’t oxygenate the blood properly, and consequently, increases heart rate, feeling of anxiety, dizziness, etc.
You might have noticed when you are having uncomfortable feelings, anxiety, panic attacks or when you are going through stress, your breathing is shallow. When you change your breathing pattern, the body can tap into the parasympathetic state and relax.
Deep breathing techniques allow you to oxygenate the body and balance out the levels of gaseous elements like– oxygen, carbon dioxide, nitrogen, etc.
Breathing exercises that you can do every day:
- Deep belly breathing
- Alternate-nostril breathing
- Box breathing
Practicing at least 20 min a day will change your nervous system regulation for the better. Whenever you need to self-soothe, just calm down your breath first.
5. Express Your Emotions
Expressing the emotions that are present at the moment is another way to soothe yourself and release any tensions you might be feeling.
How often do you express your emotions? If your answer to that is “not so often” then you are might be emotionally stagnant.
Because expressing positive emotions is generally more accepted, most people try to hide the other emotions that are labeled as negative or bad (such as– anger, sadness, frustration, fear, irritation, etc). When you shame yourself or have received shame from society for feeling those feelings, your ability to express them gets blocked.
Now expressing and reacting isn’t the same.
Reacting from an intense emotion might lead to a worse outcome – while healthily expressing them allows you to make space for them and release them.
Some ways to express your emotions for self-soothing:
- Write in a journal often to release the load you are carrying.
- Try painting to express yourself if you are struggling to find words.
- Practice screaming when you are alone to express anger or rage.
- Stomp your feet on the ground to regulate the nerves.
- Don’t hold yourself back from crying. Crying releases endorphins to soothe emotional pain.
6. Pamper Yourself
Don’t overlook a good self-care day or even for a few hours. Taking care of your body and mind is a basic need that deserves to be met to feel satisfied and happy.
Some self-care activities can look like this:
- Enjoy a relaxing bath.
- Do something that brightens your soul and lightens your heart.
- Engage in deep rest.
- Cook a nutritious meal.
- Drink mushroom blends to relax the nerves.
- Play relaxing music.
- Give yourself a self-message.
7. Hug Yourself
Touch activates the sensory neurons that send our brain the messages that our body receives via touch. A loving touch can calm you down, lower your cortisol level (stress hormone), release oxytocin, and increase your emotional bond with others.
Today, humans touch machines more than they touch other humans and most people are severely touch-deprived.
In moments of distress, fear or anxiety if you can’t find anyone to hug you then hugging yourself is one of the best options for self-soothing.
It actually is – try it for yourself!
To hug yourself, cross your both arms across your chest and give yourself a good squeeze. Hold yourself as long as you need and feel your body grounding. Try to do it several times a day to make yourself feel loves throughout the day.
8. Practice Techniques To Rewire Your Brain
Brain rewiring or neuroplasticity is to create new neural pathways to adapt to new thought patterns and new ways of responding. Although our brain naturally rewires itself after every small or big experience we go through, we can rewire our brain intentionally as well.
Usually, to change negative thought patterns, heal nervous system dysregulation, learn new things and come back from the mind’s dark pits quickly, brain rewiring methods are used.
Through rewiring, it is as easy to generate negative changes as positive ones.
That is why it is important to be conscious of the habits you are teaching your neurons and make sure that you are not teaching your neurons negative habits and patterns.
When you need to self-soothe from destructive urges, unhelpful behaviors or fearful thoughts, try to practice one of these techniques:
- Practice EFT tapping to soothe yourself and change your thought pattern
- Practice the change you want in your habits, behavior or patterns
- Do mindful exercises
- Create something new
- Try something new
- Do somatic practices
- Practice meditation
To rewire your brain, consistency is key.
Experiencing permanent change depends on the satisfaction after the new change, the necessity level for the new change and the outcome after the change takes place.
Microdosing Psilocybin For Self-soothing
Plant medicines like magic mushrooms are gaining their reputation back as therapeutic substances rather than as illegal tools to escape reality. And researchers are opening their minds to these plants and doing more studies on mushrooms and their healing effect on the body and mind. As the shrooms are making their entrance into mainstream media, more people are growing their curiosity about these sacred medicines.
Magic mushrooms can be used in complex trauma healing treatments, or daily for your healing journey. When looked at as a healing tool, magic mushrooms can be one of the most potent ones and has long-term effects.
Psilocybin:
- Improves nerve and brain health
- Supports the growth of neural connections to heal brain damage
- Greatly decreases symptoms of psychological illness
- Boosts your immune system and increases oxygen levels in the blood
- Increases bodily and spiritual awareness
- Opens up neuron pathways to perceive the world differently
- Makes it easier to access the flow state and increases creativity
- Connects you to the natural world more
- Increases clarity and groundedness
Why microdosing shrooms?
Microdosing is using a small amount of magic mushrooms to avoid a full trip and to use it more like a daily dose of herb or medicine.
Repeated use of small quantities of magic mushrooms has a relaxing and releasing effect on the body. It might seem like microdosing is all about having fun and relaxing, but it is often not the full story.
It loosens you up to release the strongly held trauma in the body which is sort of a magical experience.
So, when you are microdosing as a method to self-soothe, you will need to combine the activities that are discussed above to pacify the symptoms that come up during the process.
Learn microdosing methods in detail here.
And if you need support to find a reliable retailer for microdosing products, reach out to us here.
Conclusion
Self-soothing in essence is to build your relationship with yourself and then use that lens to build a relationship with the world.
When self-soothing activities and psilocybin are used together, a full spectrum of healing is possible.
People who have complex and chronic issues to heal might find basic self-soothing activities to be slow in showing long-term results. That is when psilocybin can speed up the healing process and show you the result that you have been looking for years.