The Anxious Mammal Mental Health
Keith E. Lyons
Trauma Therapist
TM
LCSW, CCTP-II
EMDR Trained Provider
Click on the picture of the item to link to one option to buy. If the link no longer works then just search the internet or a site similar to Amazon to find another version of the same item.
Singing Bowl: These come in many sizes and thicknesses. Different bowls produce different sounds and wavelengths that represent different shakras. You don't need to know all that to use them, however .They make a very relaxing sound to meditate to. Or you strike them and practice focusing on the sound and letting it go. This is just one, but there are many to choose from.
Misters: This particular store has a lot of great stuff. But I particularly like their "Magical Misters". They have many blends for many benefits, including many relaxing blends. They are great to spray throughout the day or right before bed or meditation. My favorite is the one called Happiness, but I have yet to be dissapointed.
Lavender Candle: This candle smells amazing and is very relaxing. There are many candles you can try, stick with calming smells like lavender or chamomile, and avoid citrus. This is just one brand, search around for your favorite smell.
White Noise Machine: These are great to help with sleep at night. You can use the noise to focus on to stay out of your head, and to create a soothing noise. They also help create a steady level of noise so every little noise outside doesn't wake you up. A fan turned on high can work just the same.
Melatonin: This is a hormone produced in the brain stem naturally to help you get to sleep. Sometimes taking a boost can help with this process. I prefer the liquid because it seems to work better than pills. There are also gummies you can get and a company called Cloudy (as of 2021) makes inhalers so you diffuse the melatonin and it hits you quicker.
Essential Oils: There are many sites to get essential oils, but I really like Eden's Garden. They have fair prices for high quality oils. The best for relaxing are lavender, chamomile, and grapeseed. But they have their own "relaxation" blends to try too.
Mindfulness Cards: I keep these on hand and use them daily. There are 52 cards so one mindfulness activity to practice each week for a whole year.
Tea: Chamomile tea is excellent to help you relax. Try having a cup at night when you are in bed reading a book (not on your phone!) to help your mind and body relax so you can get to sleep.
Ocean Light: Turn your room into an underwater oasis at night with relaxing sounds and a blue, water like light. This is a very calming and natural way to decrease anxiety and get to sleep.
Adult Coloring Books: These are excellent for focusing your attention on the present and getting out of your head. They are also very calming and when done you end up with a very cool picture to enjoy.
Sleep Mask with Music: This is great to put on and block out light plus you can put on soothing sounds or a guided meditation, or even put on a podcast and turn off the TV to get the light out of your eyes to sleep at night.
Buddha Board: These are all about brushing water designs and then watching them dissipate and disappear along with your anxiety. It is about focusing on the present and practicing letting go.
Bath Salts: Take a hot bath and throw in this lavender bath salt to cleanse your body and calm from the aromatherapy.
Weighted Blanket: The heaviness of the blanket can be very comforting when you feel very anxious in the body, and at night to sleep better. This particular one goes up to 25ibs.
Oil Diffuser: I like diffusers for essential oils over candles or other options for three main reasons: (1) Most bottles of oil are same price or cheaper than a nice candle and last much, much longer (2) Essential oils have many health benefits and are better to inhale than chemicals from candles and other air plug ins (3) These machines have relaxing lights, turn off automatically, can run for 6-8 hours on only 3-5 drops, and fill the room with natural scent.
Little Renegades Mindfulness Cards: I use these for my kids, they are a great way to introduce mindfulness and stress management to kids as young as 3 years and as old as 13 years.
Light Therapy: I use this daily for 10 minutes during a meditation. It provides energy and is a great way to boost mood. I will even put on ocean sounds and a fan and meditate as though I am at the beach.
CalmiGo: This popular device made by a Veteran owned company has been very successful at helping people who experience panic attacks. First, you inhale through the nose and take in lavender from a scent pod on the device. Then you breathe out through the mouth until all lights are lit and the device vibrates. It helps control breathing while inhaling lavender to calm. It is pricey ($175)*, but you can get deals and payment plans and it has a 30 day* free return.
*info as of 3/12/21
Cloudy Melatonin Diffuser: I use this myself when I have a hard time sleeping. It contains melatonin (hormone naturally produced by brain stem), grapeseed, chamomile, and lavender and help to increase sleepiness quicker than pill, gummy, or liquid forms of melatonin. It can also be used during the day to help relax and calm. They have other products too, 3 of which I personally use at home. Just FYI, the mist that you may exhale smells like sweet grapes :)