MORE THAN THERAPYTHE RESOURCE LIBRARY

MODULE 16 / 24 · Distress tolerance · 15–25 MINUTES

Self-Soothe

Use personally comforting sensory experiences without demanding that distress vanish.

Try the worksheet

Understand the skill

Self-soothing offers care through sight, sound, smell, taste, touch, or an accessible alternative. Sensory comfort is individual and culturally situated; a commonly recommended stimulus may be unpleasant for someone else.

Practice step by step

  1. Notice which sensory channels feel safe or accessible today.
  2. Choose one gentle option already available.
  3. Attend to it briefly while allowing other feelings to exist.
  4. Check comfort and adjust, stop, or add a supportive connection.

TRY IT · SOLO OR WITH A GROUP

A practice activity

Comfort kit design: create a small physical or imagined kit with three preferred sensory choices and one no-cost alternative. Explain what you want others to ask before offering it.

Group option: Work from a fictional example for five minutes, rehearse or compare choices for five minutes, then discuss one useful adaptation. Pass, write, observe, or work alone.

Your practice worksheet

Writing is optional. Responses stay in this open tab and are not submitted or automatically saved. Closing or refreshing clears them. Avoid names or identifying details. Printing or downloading includes your words.

Use paper or discuss the prompts if you prefer.

Recovery connection

Build comfort options that do not depend on substance use, such as a familiar playlist, soft fabric, or a warm nonalcoholic drink if suitable.

Facilitator notes

Ask permission before scents, food, touch, or sound. Provide unscented and quiet alternatives.

Adaptation and care: Consider allergies, sensory sensitivities, swallowing needs, and personal associations. Stop any stimulus that increases distress.

Between-session practice: Choose one manageable situation to try this skill. Notice the context, what you did, and what helped or needs adjusting. An attempt counts as practice even when feelings do not change.

Background and sources

DBT skills concepts originate in Marsha M. Linehan's work. These are original More Than Therapy activities, not reproductions of official worksheets or endorsed materials.

References inform the skill framework; they do not validate these particular exercises. Life-structure modules are DBT-informed applications, not additional standard DBT core modules.