Sensory Coping Skills: The Coping Box Series Part 2

Sensory coping skills are a great thing to add to your coping box! There are so many options for what you could use, so today I will introduce you to a few.

What are sensory coping skills?

Sensory coping skills are used to calm and ground oneself. Instead of focusing on expressing yourself, like we did in the last post, these coping skills are focused on the five senses.

These skills are great when you are feeling overwhelmed and need to calm down.

Sensory coping skills for a coping box

Here are some examples of sensory coping skills that you can keep in a coping box:

1. Lotion: This is great for tactile stimulation. Plus, you can choose lotions that smell good. You can use it to give yourself a gentle hand or foot massage while you rub it in as well.
2. Bath bomb: For those of you who find baths relaxing and have a bathtub where you live, this could be a great option. I have always wanted to try one!
3. Hard candies: These are a useful tool to give yourself a strong flavor to focus on. Make sure you keep them in a Ziploc or other closed container in case they melt as well as to avoid bugs.
4. Essential oils: There are many essential oils designed to be calming, such as lavender. Make sure to buy a quality brand, especially if you intend to apply it to your skin.
5. Stress ball: A personal favorite of mine! There are different versions. The one I currently use is shown in the picture above. It’s just a small, squishy stuffed buddy that I think was designed to clip on to a backpack or bag. Bonus points for this one because it’s bubble gum scented!
6. Fuzzy socks: I have so many pairs of fuzzy socks and I love them! They’re also great to seal in lotion if you applied it to your feet.
7. Play-Doh/Slime: The texture of Play-Doh and slime are very different, but both extremely satisfying. There are recipes online for how to make your own if you don’t have any.
8. Fidget spinner: A lot of people have had great luck with these for helping them stay calm in the midst of anxiety.
9. Spin top: There’s something immensely satisfying about spinning these and watching them go!

Some final thoughts

It’s great to have a mix of coping skills in your box, so try to pick a variety of things from different categories, such as expressive, sensory, and distraction. I will be talking about distraction coping skills in my next post.

Let me know if there are any other sensory coping skills you keep around that work well for you! You can find my contact info here.

I hope you enjoyed this second part of my series on putting together a coping box. As always, please leave a comment or share a link on social media if you enjoyed this post.

Until next time,

Danna