Take a deep breath Mowgli. The Bear has some advice on the necessity of a portable stress relief kit. You shouldn't have to buy anything to make one, just use some stuff you already have lying around. And hide the kit from your kids. Gotta love 'em, but they're probably the reason you're stressed out in to begin with. First, you need a bag. It could just be an old grocery bag, a beat up lunchbox, an old purse, a cosmetics bag. I used a lunchbox that someone got for free at a health faire and gave to my kids. Now you gotta put stuff in there that's going to tell all five senses that it's time to chillax. Touch - put something in there that's nice to touch, soft. I put in my blankey from when I was little. And my sense of touch wants to feel like it's holding someone's hand, so I put a ball in there too. A little stuffed animal would work as well, or a balled up pair of socks. Sight - a candle is good. I used one of those battery operated LED candles because I'm afraid of fire. Anything relaxing like that is fine though. I thought about using this little color changing plug in light that I have too. If you use a real candle, you're going to need a lighter that little hands can't figure out how to work and a small plate to rest it on. Smell - I think lip balm is great for this because you can get it in just about any nice smell you can think of. I really like the smell of honey so I put in Burt's Bees honey lipbalm that I found at the bottom of my makeup bag. Taste - Chocolate, of course. I had some old, old sugar free chocolates in the back of the pantry. A sandwich baggie of chocolate chips would work too. Stress relief kit should not be out in the heat though. Chocolate is like a warm hug, but you don't want warm sludge floating around your bag. Sound - I think the best sound is Queen cranked up to 11 when I'm stressed, but we're going for peace here, and I don't have a portable music device to play, like, the sound of a Zen waterfall or something, so silence is the next best thing. Cotton balls. Ear plugs would work better, but I my baby keep trying to eat them, so they had to go. So, now we've got the five senses, but we need a little help with the actual nerves. I like some herbal tea. As a bear, I really like the Sleepytime tea, but I already drank it all, so I had to use some Tension Tamer tea that I had. Any chamomile tea would be good, that's all those two flavors of teas are anyway, and you can get that at the dollar store. In fact, I think any tea at all would be good. There's just something about tea. Drink it hot with a little honey if you've got it. If your nerves are really shot, you might need a little more help. I have these colic tablets for infants that have more of the same stuff that was in the tea, plus stuff to quiet the butterflies in the belly. If you don't have any of that, my granny always liked a little nip of something before bedtime, wine or whiskey, but make sure it's little or you'll get a tummy ache, and, remember, it's got to fit into your bag. You could use a small babyfood jar and put a little dash of somethin', somethin' in there. And, finally, you need a mantra to repeat over and over to really tell yourself it's going to be okay. I like, "Be still and know that God is God." Those things you can't change - there's Someone else in charge who can. Let go. There's more to this life than what we can see or understand. Peace out!
