Jim's Cafe - Thursday, July 10, 2025

Hello all,

I thought I would open the cafe today.

Im having a hard time at the moment like many of us, and I was thinking about self smoothing objects that I have and I really need to get some more. Ive heard of some people having a mental health first aid type kit with self sooth items in it to help sooth the senses.

Something I have in my car is a dill vegetable soft toy holding a sign saying' i think your a big dill'.

Question: what self sooth items do you have and where do you keep they?

Tags but everyones welcome:

@JMG @Baywasp @seabird @Lisa the Goatgirl @Angie @FFurry @Gard @puffymilk @AvidFan @maybeicanheal @bubblebear @Witty_Sarcasm @Lane @1964dodge @SillyOldBear @Mid Night @may71 @AmberMarie @Reality @Shinzon1 @cinnnamonflakez @Citizen Insane @LumberJack @Licorice @Lifeisthis @JanisSPK @Inanimate @ClassicsFan @Bergerac @full @KM76710 @Atreides @HappyKitty @DowntheRabbitHole @cymbele

My only one, really, is a foot bath.

I love certain scents and television shows, for that sort of thing, as well.

Excited to hear about everyone else's, and get some ideas.

Thanks so much for opening, and for the tag, @Inastorm

@Shadowlands @Atreides @Somebody Else @Harrow @Kiwi2016 @JanisSPK

My teddy bears, of course. I do snuggle with them. They are all over my house and I keep one in my car.
Hot bubble baths and scented candles.
Reading the Bible.

I have a squishy cube that I squish sometimes, I have an artificial rock thing that provides a good sensory experience when I run my thumb over it. I have one of those tangle fidget toys. Also I have teddies which I cuddle at times

Cool cafe topic, thanks for posting one for today @Inastorm and for tagging me too

I have lots of things that help me feel calm/soothed.

- Various stuffed animals
- My sweet kitty (just being near her is comforting and soothing)
- Funny shows and movies
- Watching funny yt videos (especially of cats and other animals, so adorable)
- Playing games on my phone (solitaire, word search, hidden object and a match 3)
- Reading
- Thera-pets cards
- Yummy food (I try hard not to abuse food, it’s hard sometimes though).

Hi Inastorm. It's rough for me right now. Thank you for tagging me. This is a nice café, I appreciate the reminder to self-regulate with soothing sensory experiences.
A few examples:
Touch: a soft, thick cotton throw, kept on my bed.
Sound: favourite app with rain and ocean sounds, kept on all my devices.
Taste: sometimes fresh coffee, sometimes black tea with milk, kept in the kitchen.
Sight: 2 photos, one of son & one of my daighter, kept in my wallet. Also: Gazing at plants and trees.
Scent: varies but favourite atm Light Blue, on my skin
.......

I hope for everyone's mental and physical well being.

Lots of stuff…it used to be a big thing for me to have my dogs of course and there’s warm showers and baths with oils, or just opening a bottle of certain oils and smelling from it, walking outside in the backyard or more at dawn, heating pad in bed, watering my plants and veggies, meditation and spiritual musics. And old 60’s and 70’s rock and roll too. Dancing by myself or with others, yoga, clean sheets, a piece of chocolate on occasion and just me knowing about it. And being here and reading what others share💝
Thank you for the tags!!

Hey, thanks for tagging me Ina
I've only got two things really, my teddy Lucas and a fidget spinner.
But spicy food, music, watching video essays on youtube and hugs also help calm me down a bit.

This has me a bit stumped. I guess I don't really think of that. I do have an electric blanket, but I washed it and it doesn't work anymore. This gives me lots to think of, I might go out later and see what I can find, they used to have these squishy stress balls I liked. I like perfumes but it's expensive so I only put it on for going out once in a while.

I bought something from my sis in laws flower shop, because I stopped by and thought I should help her sell some things, it's an aloe and watermelon spray with green tea extract and sodium lactate. I was suprised how well it hydrates my face with a mist once in a while. I bought a cactus from her even though they're never my favourtie, most blooming plants are almost done. I'm like my mom, I look to see how many buds are left yet to bloom on the plant. I'll definitely think about other things to get, thanks for this cafe @Inastorm and for tagging me~ hugs

Thanks for opening the cafe and for tagging me @Inastorm.

Cos i've got the 'tism, stimming is pretty major for me. It's one of the few autistic behaviours i still let myself engage in.
My main one is silk. I was a menace as a kid, cos my parents had to keep telling me to stop stroking random women's silk clothes.

These days, i own a few large silk swatches, and i always have one with me when i'm in my usual spot, so i can rub it between my fingers. I'm thinking of maybe getting a smaller swatch of silk to take out in public. I also vocal stim, so i'll randomly repeat bits i've heard online to myself. I've tried a fidget cube, and some worry stones, and they were nice, but they don't quite do it for me the way silk and my vocal stims do.

Aside from that, certain music, certain tv shows (looking at you especially the Good Place), and certain Youtube videos, especially anything by the Best Friends, are all comfort zones for me.

lol - more than one friend recommended The Good Place to me in about 2017 on the grounds that I resemble the character of Chidi. They were uncomfortably accurate - I even have the stomachache thing and I use philosophy to endlessly agonize over moral dilemmas. The only thing I do NOT have in common with the character, however, is that the actor who portrayed him was, at the time, a 11.5 out of 10 on the hotness meter with his shirt off. I don't necessarily have a "type" that involves that build (actually I prefer slightly chubby and older gentlemen), but OMG when I saw that picture of him...

I also have a teddy. Long story but he's comforting when I miss my late partner. I also just like the fuzziness. He's 5 ft (1.5 meter) from head to toe, so I can really cuddle up with him. He pretty much stays in my room, but when I moved recently I put him in the front passenger seat with a seat belt on. I found it amusing and so did a few people at gas stations where I stopped to fill up. One group of younger guys expressed discomfort with my sense of self expression - but I think they were just trying to show off how "masculine" they were to each other. No skin off my back. If you cannot tell by my title, I have embraced the fact that I, too, am soft and cuddly.

I also loooove fragrances. I even studied up on the ingredients to note what separated my favorites from the ones I didn't like. Even within the same scent family, lets say aquatic, some smell gorgeous and others smell like freshly cut lawn clippings, complete with gasoline fumes. Unfortunately the ones that I really, really like are also the super expensive ones. So either I have good taste or I'm just a pretentious follower. Some fragrances, especially from Gucci and D&G have an unpleasant reaction with my skin such that they might smell great in the bottle, but not so great once I've got them on.

Aloe Vera is a lovely plant if you live in a sunny climate. Technically not a cactus; I think it's more related to the yucca plant, but it's super easy to grow and you just need a cutting from another plant, plus the aloe juice is useful for many different things.

I didn’t even think of this sense until you mentioned it, but I light a fair amount of incense. I grew up very Catholic, and developed a love for incense (and stained glass) from spending so much time at church.

The smell is comforting and familiar.

tee-hee. I like Nag Champa incense. I grew up frequenting a metaphysical (aka new age) bookstore because they were always burning it and if I spent enough time in there I would walk out with the smell on my clothes. I was a kid who would spend hours on end in bookstores and libraries. The sheer diversity of reading material sort of gave my then-undiagnosed ADHD brain something to do where I didn't feel like I had to leave the room after 20 min. BTW movie theatres are still kinda difficult unless the movie is super engaging. Of course, the fact that it covered up weed smell was also a bonus for little teen Jack.

One of my favorite or several is warm clothing with how I always feel pretty chilled even at times during Summer. Warm wool socks clean and a bit warm from the dryer is great. At times I wonder if it is aging and thinning blood.

Cold certainly hits harder as you age, and clothes right out of the dryer feel incredible. It just doesn't last long enough.

how do I get what you got? I have the opposite problem; considering moving to the great frozen north (e.g., Minneapolis) to get ahead of climate change.