Self Care Box

@Hope0011

Great! Thank you for sharing!

Wonderful ideas @Hope0011 😀

Hi @Hope0011 . What a great discussion thread you’ve started here on the forums! Great job! I’m so proud you’ve decided to get a self care box organised for yourself, via a suggestion from your mental health worker. As a person who has had experience with this sort of coping strategy- I’ve got a few things I use for myself and my mental illnesses- I find they’re a great tool to have and to utilise. I’ve also come across them at a PARCS facility and at a community mental health service a few years ago so this is a well known coping strategy for people with mental illness to have and experience.
Your collection of items is amazing. Very well thought out with a wide variety of different things. Well done⭐️!

In my own collection of things in my self care box, I’ve got some of the following items:

- Size 4mm and 4.5mm knitting needles so I can create different things like beanies and blankets.

- A ball or 2 of wool

- A knitting counter

- A crochet hook

- A can of lavender room spray

- A ball of soft yarn to hold (a sensory item to ground myself)

- A pen or 2

- A notebook and sketch book

- Some pencils, crayons, textas and a pencil sharpener

- a list of positive and happy songs that I can listen to on my iPhone via Apple Music

- Some photos of different images

- A few bottles of essential oils that I can use with my oil diffuser

- A letter to myself that I wrote when I was feeling strong after a bad period that my old psychologist suggested

- A photo of my cat

- Some photos of holidays away that I experienced with my housemate

- A photo of my sister

- Some inspiring quotes on images that I found from the internet

I think it’s great that you’ve made the self care box designed especially for you as you’ll be the 1 that utilises it and that’s important. I’ve seen some boxes in facilities that workers have designed with things that they think a person with mental health should like but in fact, are very limiting with not much thought put into them and therefore, not much use to me when I’ve needed to utilise it which was disappointing. It’s like the person in charge of the box did things according to a text book or what they think a person should like without consulting others with various mental health conditions and therefore, was limited with what they put in the box. I have since made suggestions to the facilities but haven’t been back there so I don’t know what’s happened to the boxes in question.

I hope this helps you!

Judi9877☺️💐

My box would also contain:

- weighted blanket

- stretchy toy

- kinetic sand

- scented candles

- diamond art

- word searches

@Judi9877 @Hope0011 @Shaz51

Yes

word searches

Colouring books and pens

Finger nail polish for me too @tyme , @Hope0011 , @Judi9877

I love it @Judi9877

Thanks for sharing.I forget that she also suggested a letter to my future self - thanks for the prompt.

Yep, I agree with some of the text book ideas, way too generic. I guess it is a start but then perhaps follow up and involvement is required to create something absolutely individualised.

What do you keep your special things in?

@tyme I love this too. Thank you for sharing.

One of my daughters just LOVES diamond art. I might see if I can find one before Christmas for her.

I have kinetic sand here too, but completely forgot about it.

I have never tried a weighted blanket but often feel like it would be great.

@Shaz51will it be too hot up north to use a blanket?

@Judi9877

Fingernail polish is an awesome idea!!! @Shaz51

Now I've just gotta stop chomping my nails!

@tyme @Judi9877

As a kid, I always bit my nails @Hope0011 ..... well until I got braces... I couldn't bite my nails then!

Yes too hot now for a blanket unless you have the aircon on cold @Hope0011 , @tyme