How do you comfort yourself without using food…?
Someone asked this in a lovely fb group I’m part of and IT IS SUCH A GOOD QUESTION I thought I would share some ideas here.
First. Check that you aren’t actually hungry. Eat something that combines slow releases carbs with some protein and fruit/veg.
Then.
Watch something wholesome and uplifting. Allow yourself to just escape for a bit. Dog videos are great for this! Hilda. Steven Universe. Dark Crystal. The Clangers. These are some of my favourites.
Listen to music. Maybe dance a bit. Sing along if you want to.
Have a warm bath or shower. Maybe make it fancy.
Drink something warm with some nervines or adaptogens in.
Go outside.
Do something creative.
Reach out to a friend.
Stroke a pet.
Do something that feels magical and helps you reconnect with the good and beauty in the world.
See if you can tune into the part of you that is calling for comfort and get more specific about why and what they need. Sometimes it’s my inner child having some kind of safety based freak out so my job is to soothe and calm my nervous system, help them settle back down and stop trying to run the show.
Sometimes it’s my maiden self. She’s adult. But she feels deeply and is the part that hurts when I haven’t been honoured or when the world feels cruel or too mundane. This is where I feel grief sometimes.
Sometimes it’s my animal self. It’s way more primal when they’re involved. Non verbal often. A sense that something is off. Physical pain or illness or wounds. They need tending to before any kind of thinking processes can come back online.
Sometimes it’s simply my heart. It breaks. Tears come. There’s a deep pain and sometimes I can sit with and acknowledge it and sometimes it’s overwhelming and I need to tune out for a while.
All these different parts of me need something a little different, so the first step is always slowing down to ask which bit of me needs comforting…
If you need some help comforting yourself and feeling cosy, A Year of Wild Wisdom is my sweet and nurturing online course, designed to help you move through the seasons with more gentleness and ease.