Self-Soothe with Six Senses
Use your six senses (vision, hearing, smell, taste, touch, and movement) to comfort yourself during emotional distress.
Self-Soothe with Six Senses is a distress tolerance skill that uses your senses to bring comfort and calm during emotional pain. By deliberately engaging each sense with something pleasant, you activate your body's natural relaxation response.
This skill works because sensory input directly influences your nervous system. When you intentionally focus on comforting sensations, you interrupt the fight-or-flight cycle and bring yourself back toward baseline.
The Six Senses
- Vision — Look at something beautiful or calming. Nature scenes, art, photos of loved ones, a candle flame, stars.
- Hearing — Listen to soothing sounds. Music, nature sounds, rain, a favorite podcast, wind chimes, a purring cat.
- Smell — Inhale comforting scents. Essential oils (lavender, eucalyptus), fresh coffee, baking bread, flowers, clean laundry.
- Taste — Savor something pleasant. Hot tea, chocolate, a favorite meal. Eat slowly and mindfully.
- Touch — Feel something comforting. A soft blanket, warm bath, pet fur, cool breeze, stress ball, weighted blanket.
- Movement (Kinesthetic) — Gentle motion that soothes. Rocking, stretching, slow walking, yoga, swaying.
Build a Self-Soothe Kit in advance — a box or bag with items for each sense that you can grab during a crisis. Having it ready removes the barrier of figuring out what to do when you're overwhelmed.
Tips
- Focus completely on the sensation — practice mindfulness while self-soothing
- Give yourself permission to feel comfort without guilt
- Experiment to find which senses work best for you
- Combine senses for stronger effect (warm bath + music + candle)
For more ideas, see dbt.tools: Self-Soothe and DBT Self Help: Self-Soothe.
Real-Life Examples
Scenario: You just got devastating news and you're shaking. You can't think straight and need to calm your nervous system before you can process anything. Skill in action: You use Self-Soothe with your five senses: You wrap yourself in a weighted blanket (Touch). You make chamomile tea and breathe in the steam (Smell + Taste). You put on soft instrumental music (Hearing). You dim the lights to a warm glow (Sight). You're not fixing the problem — you're stabilizing your body so you CAN eventually face it.
Scenario: You're overwhelmed after a long day of caregiving. You have nothing left to give but you feel guilty taking time for yourself. Skill in action: You give yourself permission for 15 minutes of deliberate Self-Soothing: a hot shower (Touch), lavender body wash (Smell), your favorite playlist on low volume (Hearing). This isn't selfish — it's refilling an empty tank so you can keep showing up for the people who need you.
Scenario: You're anxious about a medical appointment tomorrow and can't relax no matter what you try. Skill in action: You create a sensory toolkit for the evening: soft fleece socks (Touch), a scented candle that reminds you of a happy time (Smell), a familiar comfort show on TV (Sight + Hearing), and a square of dark chocolate eaten slowly (Taste). The goal isn't to eliminate anxiety — it's to be kind to yourself while you carry it.