Everyone who walks into my office is met with a collection of toys, fidgets and squishes to help ease their restless mind and sometimes even more restless hands. Fidget toys have become extremely popular lately and you can find one in any style, color or size you can imagine. I think these ‘toys’ can be helpful in many activities that I use in and out of session. You can use them to help ground you, focus on, or just play with as we talk.
One of the first activities I might ask you to do in our sessions is pick up objects around the room until you find something that calms you. Some people like squishy and soft things. Other want hard and cold. Maybe you need something that moves and twists as your mind jumps around. I am always on the look out for something new to add to my collection. When you find the one that works best for you, we test it out by having you hold onto it during the rest of the session. If it helps calm you and ground you, then we found something that works. You might even get to take one home with you to practice more on your own.
I think of coping skills like a tool box. You have lots of tools in that box. You might have a hammer, nails, lever, duct tape, wrench, etc. You don’t use them all everyday but you have them for when you do need it. We will keep adding to your tool box until we find the right combination of things to help calm you down and manage those distressing symptoms that brought you here in the first place.
