S.O.B.E.R. Stress Response
Five Steps To Help With Stress
Welcome
Hello and welcome to Creativity for Caregivers. I’m glad you’re here.
How We’re Doing
Now that the weather’s better, we are venturing back out to the playground. This giant alligator slide goes down in history as the absolute favorite slide of all time. The Brothers were a bit hesitant at first, so I went down with them and they thought that was completely hilarious and wonderful.
Check-In
It’s time for our group check-in. Let us know how you’re doing today.
If you want to simply raise your hand and say, “I’m here.” That’s okay, too. Do what feels best. [The Wheel of Emotions post has info on naming feelings.]
How are you doing today?
S.O.B.E.R. Stress Response
Today’s creative self-care activity is to make our own “S.O.B.E.R. Stress Response” sketch. This is a helpful tool to take a moment before responding to stress.
Here’s what it stands for:
Stop whatever you are doing.
Observe what’s happening in your body and mind.
Breathe in and breathe out, and focus on the present moment.
Expand to your whole body and your surroundings.
Respond mindfully with awareness rather than on autopilot.
I like to think of the 5 steps as petals on a flower.
Let’s use this black & white blank version above of the outline of a flower. Grab a few colored pencils, your watercolors, some markers, highlighters…whatever you have within easy reach. Or use your phone / tablet’s “mark up” to digitally color.
Number the petals: 1-5.
Write down the 5 steps of the stress response tool. Say each word aloud as you write it. Choose a color to signify what each word means to you.
Visualize yourself going through these five steps the next time you experience stress. Practice saying this stress response in the mirror a few times. Keep this drawing with you to help you get started.
How Was It?
How did this creative self-care activity make you feel? Let me know in the comments.
Lupita Artwork
This is the painting I made from today’s activity.
Lupita stops when she’s confronted with a really stressful moment. She picks up her stress flower and counts the steps of the S.O.B.E.R. stress response tool. Each petal symbolizes a different step. She Stops, Observes, Breathes, Expands, and then Responds. This helps her have a moment of pause to respond mindfully instead of on autopilot.
What I’m Reading & Watching
I love looking through photos on National Geographic like these:
Fresh Air archive - Arts and culture interviews:
Morning music / video to start the day:
Thank you! See you next time. And remember…
Blessings,
~Emily Lupita
The sun is shining, it's 65 degrees. Beautiful day. As someone who isn't big on nature (mostly by forgetting it's there) I have nudged myself just to Go Outside. It is a big stress reliever.
The weather is nice here and the roses are blooming. I took a few minutes to investigate the flowers around my place and even smelled a few beautiful pink roses.