Summary

A comfort box, or self-care health kit, is a personalized collection of items designed to provide emotional and physical support during times of distress.

Abstract

A comfort box, also known as a self-care tool kit, serves as a proactive measure for managing emotional crises. It is a customizable container filled with items that cater to the five senses, such as pictures, food, textured objects, scents, and sounds, as well as other essentials like art supplies, crisis line information, and hygiene products. The concept is accessible to anyone, regardless of whether they have a mental health condition, and it encourages individuals to prepare for moments of emotional distress by identifying potential coping mechanisms. The comfort box not only fosters creative thinking and acknowledges the universality of distress but also acts as a tangible reminder of personal happiness and can facilitate conversations about mental health with loved ones.

Opinions

Comfort boxes are seen as beneficial for emotional preparedness, akin to a first-aid kit for mental health.
They are considered a proactive plan, best created in advance of emotional distress.
The personalization of a comfort box is emphasized, with the freedom to design and fill it according to individual preferences.
The use of a comfort box is not limited to individuals with mental health problems; it is suggested for anyone as a precautionary measure.
It is suggested that the act of making a comfort box can be therapeutic and encourage creative expression.
The inclusion of items related to the five senses is highly recommended to engage multiple aspects of well-being.
The article implies that even a simple comfort box with few items can be effective during a crisis.
The comfort box is presented as a positive tool that should be normalized and discussed more openly in society.

What is a Comfort Box or Self-Care Health Kit?

Are you sometimes feeling anxious or exhausted? Do you find yourself wishing you could feel good instantly?

Perhaps you need a comfort box, alternatively labelled a self-care tool kit, for when emotional crises occur, for better or for worse.

You don’t necessarily need to have a mental health problem to have a comfort box. In fact, anyone of any age can make one, just in case anything bad happens.

Photo by RoseBox رز باکس on Unsplash — This could be a comfort box.

However if you do have some kind of emotional distress, it will be hard to come up with coping skills in the heat of the moment as more cognitive resources are used. It’s best to create a comfort box ahead of time.

Pros of the Comfort Box

You can learn to identify your potential coping mechanisms.
It is a proactive plan for potential mental health crises.
You can design the box however way you want.
You can put anything inside of it, including physical first aid items.
It fosters creative thinking.
It acknowledges that distress can occur in anyone’s life.
It’s a reminder of the things that make you happy.
It can be a conversation starter with close family and friends.

Making a Comfort Box

Comfort boxes can be any shape or size, but are usually the size of a shoe box, a purse or a backpack. If you’re using a box, any design can be drawn inside or outside it, based on what the box means to you.

You can design it in various ways by adding:

Meaningful quotes
Positive affirmations
Drawn or printed pictures
Stickers and badges

Photo by Josh Carter on Unsplash — Stickers and badges are great.

What Goes into the Comfort Box

Anything that improves your emotional and physical safety can go inside the box. These include items that are associated to our five senses:

Sight — Letters, cards, and pictures of nature, family, and pets.
Taste — A packet of gum, nuts, granola bars, or even some tea bags.
Touch — A stress ball, a stuffed animal, a small blanket, silly putty, tissues, or even a calming jar.
Smell — Candles, scented lotion, sunscreen, perfumes, oils, etc.
Sound — Bells, whistles, dice, trinkets, etc.

It can also include other essential items, including but not limited to:

Art journals, coloring books, pens, and highlighters.
An extra set of headphones and/or a backup phone charger.
Pamphlets for various crisis lines, flash-cards, etc.
A list of positive affirmations, current goals.
A hygienic kit, including make-up, eye-masks, and body spray.
Regular first-aid items including band-aids.

If you’re overwhelmed at the sheer volume of items mentioned, you don’t have to use many items during a crisis. If your box only contains a blanket, band-aids, and water bottles, that’s ok as well.

I think comfort boxes, bags, and purses have a place in society. What kinds of things would you put in your comfort box?