I'm big on sensory modulation, particularly via aromatherapy and have recently started to appreciate modulating mood through recalling positive emotional memories.
Sensory Modulation
I find one of the most empowering things for the more isolated and particularly those who experience more challenging consciousness states is to have self-directed and multi-modal sensory modulation/enrichment. It's easy to use lots of music but I find that eventually limits you.
Simple oils and a homegrown white sage smudge stick
I find keeping it cheap and simple is the way to go for aromatherapy, I just use lots of lavender (seems to have acute efficacy [1]) and peppermint or cheap bulk oils like eucalyptus. It's nice to come up with a personalised 'sensory diet' - what would you use?
I find I use such a lot, particularly olfactory stimulation, but also starting to use more healthy tactile, visual (particularly light) and other healthy stimuli. It looks a bit 'odd' but it seems to be the safest way to empoweringly move through experiences beyond the typical realms. I find I can particularly slowly reduce mindless things like consumption of nicotine etc if I use the right sensory stimulation.
Some strategies I use are things like dropping some peppermint oil on my hand when I'm in a challenging state to provide an olfactory stimuli to orient to more positive memories
Stimulation of the senses has proven effective to provide motivation, alertness and peace for people with psychiatric illness, brain injuries, dysfunctional sensory integration and dementia
"Sensory modulation practices help people to regulate physiological and emotional arousal in ways that are self-directed and empowering
Sensory tools seemed to help in several ways, including soothing and grounding, distraction, shifting attention to the present through strong sensory input, experiencing a sense of safety and an increased sense of control.
Sensory interventions allow emotional experiences to be contained so that adaptive behaviors can emerge, and that this de-escalation pathway could provide tools for preventing distress and also aggression. It helped ameliorate distress and disturbed behavior and helped people self-soothe.
It facilitates the development of self-management, increasing their awareness and ability to regulate their own emotional levels and was perceived as an effective tool for inducing a calm state in the majority of the people who used it
There was improvement in all areas, including tension reduction, decreases in sensory defensiveness, decreases in urges to use substances, and increases in active participation.
Service users also related how they integrated sensory modulation strategies into their everyday lives, for example, using a stress ball and deep breathing. One person described making her own sensory room in a shed at home and admitted that she only had one short admission since she created the room; she was able to use her makeshift sensory room as an alternative to drinking. Sensory approaches helped with flashbacks, elevated mood, hearing voices, low mood, anxiety, dissociation and disorientation." [2]
Affect Modulation via the BMAC
Can you recall personal positive memories and emotions? Do you do it often?
Traditionally, psychological therapies have tended to focus on the reduction or elimination of negative experiences, thoughts and emotions but it has been suggested that the incorporation of interventions designed to boost positive emotions could optimise treatment.
The BMAC is a brief mood induction technique which aims to boost mood through the cued recall and reliving of a personal positive memory: the BMAC is an effective mood-boosting procedure in mental health conditions, boosting positive affect or ‘happiness’ and an effective tool for boosting feelings of hope [3]
Relax and facilitate the experience of positive emotions and associate a relaxed physical state with positive memories "Ensure that your body is resting comfortably" "Focus on your breathing. Every time you breath out let your body relax a bit more" Guided imagery of positive memories Create a vivid mental image "What can you see?" Engaging the senses
To recall all sensory aspects of the memory
"What can you smell?" "What sounds can you hear, what’s the background noise?" "Take a sip of your drink" Exploring emotions
Re-experiencing the emotions related to the memory "Which emotions were you experiencing? Re-create those emotions" "How did you feel at that moment?" Interrogating the memory To develop explicit positive appraisals associated with the memory and to strengthen the association between these, the memory, and the positive emotions "What was it about that moment that made you feel that way?" "What was it about that moment that was important?"
It may (a) facilitate engagement by performing a positive task, (b) enable the development of a greater ability to focus attention on positive memories and achieve a balance of positive and negative memories, (c) improve emotional regulation ability, (d) improve attentional control, (e) enable the development and implementation of a coping strategy, (f) increase awareness of how cognition and attention affect emotions, and (g) act as a behavioural experiment to challenge negative expectations of emotional control and experience.
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