Life is stressful, so having safe spaces is essential. Having a back-up plan of safe spaces is very helpful when you’re in a potentially de-stabilizing situation. Having safe people and safe spaces can be very helpful, but not always realistic. So, when external safe spaces are not available, here’s how to create 12 multisensory safe spaces for internal safety & stability.
Important: This article has resources about restoring wellness, and is based on my research and my experiences. This information is not meant to take the place of counseling or therapy. If at any time you feel uncomfortable or need to talk to someone, wellness resources can help you find a counselor and other resources that may be helpful.
Disclaimer: Please note that this blog contains affiliate links. This means that if you purchase through these links, the price will be the same for you. And I’ll receive a small commission that helps support my blog and my family. Hope you have a blessed day!
What is Safety?
First, to get a bigger picture of safety, what’s does unsafe usually mean?
Unsafe = fear, danger, risk, harm
So, fear would be opposite of feeling safe. I am usually afraid when I am in danger, or feel like I am in potential danger.
Being around toxic people, conflict interactions, and tense environments can seem potentially dangerous and risky.
De-stabilizing situations can cause a person’s reaction to spiral, increasing in anxiety, triggers, fear, addictive patterns, and unhelpful behaviors.
So, now let’s tackle what safety usually means:
Safe = protected, unharmed, secure,
Being in a safe environment
Having safe people around you
Making safe choices
Having an inner peace of safety and stability
Feeling comfortable to be yourself
Having confidence to follow your dreams
Now that we understand what safety is, we can focus on how to create safety.
Back-Up Plans
I came away from a Sandtray Therapy training with a playlist of our favorite anthem songs. These songs lift me up, give me hope and stability, and surround me with safety. These songs are now part of my back-up plan to lift me up when I’m in a de-stabilizing situation.
This reminds me of how Alcoholics Anonymous and other 12-Step Addiction Recovery Groups focus on always having a back-up plan. So, when a recovering alcoholic is feeling tempted, their back-up plan includes having 10 people ready to call to help them.
It’s important that these 10 people give encouragement, hope, and a reason to stay on track.
Just like back-up plans give:
Support
Hopefulness
A way to stay safe
Moms Carry Back-Up Clothes
How many moms carry back-up clothes for their little ones in their diaper bag? The back-up clothes sure come in handy when your little one gets all messy and suddenly has to change.
Having a back-up plan is like having an extra set of clothes to wear when you spill coffee all over you. Back-up plans can help when you’re feeling unsure, surprised, or scared.
Unique Multisensory Safe Spaces
Check out these 12 ways to create safe spaces, each with specific examples and ideas. Then maybe you will be able to find ways to create your own personalized safe space.
In the list below, there are style attributes in parenthesis ( ) listed next to each safe space, These attributes describe different learning styles and unique qualities people prefer. Sometimes, people need a coping skill that matches their learning style or unique preference.
Multisensory approaches can meet people’s unique needs, offering specific coping skills for different situations.
Multisensory approaches:
Mind/thoughts
Body/kinesthetic
Spirit/spiritual/mindfulness
Heart/emotions
Auditory/music
Verbal/auditory
Sensory/touch
Nature/spiritual/kinesthetic
Other times, it can help to try something new, especially if you’re in a dry spiritual season of life. Life transitions bring new changes and a need for learning new coping skills.
Create 12 Multisensory Safe Spaces in Mind, Body, and Spirit
May these coping skills bring you peace, safety, and stability to move forward and grow on your journey of life.
1. Playlist of Songs: empowering(music/auditory, spiritual/mindfulness)
Start with 1 favorite song, add a 2nd inspiring song, add a 3rd comforting song
Sing out loud, helps gain mastery and empower confidence
Write the words out to your favorite 3 songs, these are your theme songs
So, why not come up with list of resources that create safety. Start with familiar resources that feel safe, empower hope, and encourage you. Then brainstorm ways that could be calming, kind and caring to yourself.
Real Life Application:
Considering the 12 Multisensory Safe Spaces:
Which is the most helpful?
What resources help you feel safe?
How does these resources help you feel calm?
What resources help create a comfortable space for you?
Which resources empower you and help you feel confident?
What fills you with hope and inner peace?
Which safe space are you the most likely to use?
Write these items down, you’ll be more likely to remember them and actually use them.
How was this information helpful?
I hope these 12 Multisensory Safe Space ideas are helpful for you, creating a sense of safety and peace right when you need it. If this information is helpful, please share it with a friend.
I’d love to hear from you and how these 12 safe spaces help you.
Join the Wellness Tribe
I’d love to hear about your journey towards wellness! What obstacles are in your way towards wellness? What helps you gain wellness?
I hope you join us on your journey of improving your wellness. This tribe is a gathering place to improve wellness & connections, receive life-giving coping skills, and restore health in mind, body, and spirit.
I love essential self-care activities that are simple, affordable, and enhance wellness. Especially self-compassion and spiritual wellness activities that can decrease anxiety, perfectionism, and judgment.
How can practicing self-care activities help you grow in compassion and spiritual wellness?
Let’s see how many affordable self care activities can be done in 15 minutes and relieve stress!
In this blog post:
This blog post shares essential self-care activities that are affordable, simple, and enhance wellness:
Compassionate Self-Care
4 Compassion Breaks
10 Compassion Affirmations
Spiritual Self-Care
10 Spiritual Wellness Activities
7 Contemplative Spiritual Practices
Disclaimer: This article has educational resources about restoring wellness through trauma recovery, and is based on my research and my experiences. This information is not meant to take the place of medical treatment, counseling or therapy. If it would be helpful to talk to someone, wellness resources has information on how to contact a mental health professional in your area.
Compassionate Self-Care
#1 Self-Care Essential Activity: Self-Compassion
The first essential self-care activity may seem easy to do, yet sometimes we don’t even know we’re missing it.
Who do you give love to?
I am really good at giving love to others. So it surprises me when I realize I am not giving love to myself.
Compassion and Self-compassion can be defined as giving love to others and giving love to yourself. The difference is who you are giving compassion to, whether it’s to others or to yourself.
Are you hard on yourself?
Can you relate? When you make a mistake, are you hard on yourself or loving to yourself?
Trauma Recovery & Low Self-compassion
Before I realized I needed self-compassion for inner healing, I didn’t even know I was being so hard of myself.
Let’s start at the beginning of when I learned about self-compassion being vital in my own trauma recovery journey.
Many people are hard on themselves; especially trauma survivors. When someone experiences a trauma, they may blame themselves for somehow causing or not stopping the traumatic event. So, from that point on, trauma survivors may have a hard time giving themselves compassion and giving others compassion.
Opposite of Compassion
So what happens if we are stop giving compassion to ourselves and others? The opposite of compassion is hatred, cruelty, indifference. Other similar terms could be judgment, criticism, and insignificance.
Judgment and criticism can be familiar daily battles. For me, It is especially difficult to admit and accept that I expect way too much from myself and that I cannot reach my own expectations.
I think I can always do better, always improve. But this expectation drives me into perfectionism.
For example, I have a hard time admitting anything negative. Especially when things are too difficult for me to handle (anxiety), or when I cannot reach my own expectations (perfectionism).
Anxiety and perfectionism just burden me with more judgment.
Self-compassion is a healing path
Self-compassion heals self-judgment.
Having self-compassion gives me permission to accept when I’m being judgmental and critical with myself. Then I am able to give myself compassion and love myself even when I make mistakes.
I can be aware and accept things that are less than positive while giving myself self-compassion.
It’s important to choose to see things positively, and this is where self-compassion continues to becomes a pivotal healing path for me. I can choose to love myself during difficult times, using self-compassion breaks.
10 Quality spiritual self-care & wellness activities in 10-15 minutes:
10-minute meditation
praying while driving (with eyes open 🙂
reading a sacred text
a walking prayer, where you walk and talk to God (quietly to yourself or out loud 🙂
sitting outside in nature for 15 minutes
laying down and resting
being still and listening
mindfulness practice (being present and aware, with acceptance and kindness)
coloring a mandala
prayer doodling
Spiritual practices, such as mindfulness can help you grow in self-awareness, stay in the present moment, and grow in emotional regulation and self-control.
Mindfulness can be simple or in-depth if you choose. So, you can practice mindfulness during the day and night to help relax and calm the body, mind, and spirit.
How does taking care of myself help me grow spiritually?
You may hear that to grower close to God, you need to give up something. Many people will sacrifice themselves for others, and stop focusing on themselves.
So, this focusing on self may sound counter-productive. It may feel like you’re going against the norm and could be an obstacle to grow closer to God.
Consider the possibility that enhancing your self-care could help you grow in compassion.
The practice of slowing down and practicing spiritual practices builds self regulation and compassion for self and others.
How does sharing compassion with others help me grow spiritually?
The more compassion you have for yourself, the more compassion you will have for God and others. Loving God, loving yourself, and loving others helps you growspiritually.
Practicing self care can help you grow in compassion and grow in your relationship with God.
I hope you join us on your journey of improving your wellness. This tribe is a gathering place to improve wellness & connections, receive life-giving coping skills, and restore health in mind, body, and spirit.
