Calming strategies for adults

8 Soothing Techniques to Help Relieve Anxiety

The COVID-19 pandemic has made life uncertain for all of us. Try these techniques, from the Connor Integrative Health Network at University Hospitals, to comfort yourself in times of emotional distress. These exercises can help promote good feelings that may help the negative feelings fade or seem less overwhelming.

Picture the Voice or Face of Someone You Love

If you feel upset or distressed, visualize someone positive in your life. Imagine their face or think of what their voice sounds like. Imagine them telling you that the moment is tough, but that you’ll get through it.

Practice Self-Kindness

Repeat kind, compassionate phrases to yourself. Say it either aloud or in your head, as many times as you need.

• I'm having a rough time, but I’ll make it through.
• I'm strong, and I can move through this pain.
• I'm trying hard, and I'm doing my best.

Sit with Your Pet

If you’re at home and have a pet, spend a few moments just sitting with them. If they’re of the furry variety, pet them, focusing on how their fur feels. Focus on their markings or unique characteristics. If you have a smaller pet you can hold, concentrate on how they feel in your hand.

Not at home? Think of your favorite things about your pet or how they would comfort you if they were there.

List Favorites

List three favorite things in several different categories, such as foods, trees, songs, movies, books, places, and so on.

Visualize Your Favorite Place

Think of your favorite place, whether it’s the home of a loved one or a foreign country. Use all of your senses to create a mental image. Think of the colors you see, sounds you hear, and sensations you feel on your skin.

Remember the last time you were there. Who were you with, if anyone? What did you do there? How did you feel?

Plan an Activity

This might be something you do alone or with a friend or loved one. Think of what you’ll do and when. Maybe you’ll go to dinner, take a walk on the beach, see a movie you’ve been looking forward to, or visit a museum. Focus on the details, such as what you’ll wear, when you’ll go, and how you’ll get there.

Touch Something Comforting

This could be your favorite blanket, a much-loved T-shirt, a smooth stone, a soft carpet, or anything that feels good to touch. Think about how it feels under your fingers or in your hand. If you have a favorite sweater, scarf, or pair of socks, put them on and spend a moment thinking about the sensation of the fabric on your skin.

List Positive Things

Write or mentally list four or five things in your life that bring you joy, visualizing each of them briefly.

Listen to Music

Put on your favorite song, but pretend you’re listening to it for the first time. Focus on the melody and lyrics (if there are any). Does the song give you chills or create any other physical sensations? Pay attention to the parts that stand out most to you.

Additional Tips

Grounding yourself isn’t always easy. It may take some time before the techniques work well for you, but don’t give up on them.

How to get the most out of these techniques:

• Practice. It can help to practice grounding even when you aren’t dissociating or experiencing distress. If you get used to an exercise before you need to use it, it may take less effort when you want to use it to cope in the moment.
• Start early. Try doing a grounding exercise when you first start to feel bad. Don’t wait for distress to reach a level that’s harder to handle. If the technique doesn’t work at first, try to stick with it for a bit before moving on to another.
• Avoid assigning values. For example, if you’re grounding yourself by describing your environment, concentrate on the basics of your surroundings, rather than how you feel about them.
• Check in with yourself. Before and after a grounding exercise, rate your distress as a number between 1 and 10. What level is your distress when you begin? How much did it number between 1 and 10. What level is your distress when you begin? How much did it decrease after the exercise? This can help you get a better idea of whether a particular technique is working for you.
• Keep your eyes open. Avoid closing your eyes, since it’s often easier to remain connected to the present if you’re looking at your current environment.

Grounding techniques can be powerful tools to help you cope with distressing thoughts in the moment. But the relief they provide is generally temporary.

Related Links

UH Connor Integrative Health Network has remote appointment options that allow you to continue to manage your health safely from the comfort of your own home. Call 216-877-8577 to learn more about our virtual options for acupressure, stress management, integrative health consults and more.

RELATED LINKS

UH Connor Integrative Health Network has remote appointment options that allow you to continue to manage your health safely from the comfort of your own home. Call 216-877-8577 to learn more about our virtual options for acupressure, stress management, integrative health consults and more.

24 Best Self-Soothing Techniques and Strategies for Adults

Self-soothing is an emotional regulation strategy used to regain equilibrium after an upsetting event.

Most of us are familiar with soothing others when they are upset or afraid, especially if we have children. However, when we are triggered as adults, it’s difficult to regulate potentially disruptive emotions like anger, fear, and sadness, especially in a public space such as the workplace.

Inadequate self-soothing strategies can also disrupt intimate relationships when misunderstandings or conflicts arise.

In this article, we will discuss self-soothing behaviors and techniques that help regulate disruptive emotions and benefit mental health.

Before you continue, we thought you might like to download our three Self-Compassion Exercises for free. These detailed, science-based exercises will help you increase the compassion and kindness you show yourself and give you the tools to help your clients, students, or employees show more compassion to themselves.

This Article Contains:

• What Is Self-Soothing According to Psychology?
• 10 Examples of Self-Soothing Behaviors
• How to Teach and Encourage Self-Soothing
• 4 Best Techniques and Strategies for Adults
• 7 Activities, Exercises, and Worksheets
• Using Meditation for Self-Soothing: 3 Ideas
• Resources From PositivePsychology.com
• A Take-Home Message
• References

What Is Self-Soothing According to Psychology?

Self-soothing helps to reset bodily systems after an acute stress response and regain homeostasis. All people need soothing after a shock or following trauma or upset. Common self-soothing behaviors include reaching for an alcoholic drink or a tub of ice cream. However, these kinds of self-soothing behaviors can cause additional problems.

Sometimes other people are not around to give the social support or soothing needed. Self-soothing skills are very important, although they are not easy to practice when they are most needed. Often, temporary overwhelm can reduce our capacity to make choices and engage in positive self-soothing behaviors.

A look at self-soothing in DBT

Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) is one of the third-wave behavioral therapies with roots in the Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy tradition and mindfulness-based interventions. Originally, DBT was devised to support people who feel very intense emotions, especially those diagnosed with borderline personality disorder (Linehan et al., 2006).

Increasingly, DBT is an intervention used to treat the emotional dysregulation that may be involved in a range of mental health problems, including depression, bipolar disorder, eating disorders, and substance abuse problems, as well as life crises, such as stress, burnout, grief, and trauma.

A DBT therapist equips clients with skills in radical acceptance, distress tolerance, and self-soothing techniques (McKay, Wood, & Brantley, 2019). The objective is to educate the client about the functionality of their old ways of coping with emotional dysregulation such as substance abuse, binge eating, or social withdrawal.

Basically, the client is encouraged to accept that at the time, their old coping methods were the best way they could regulate deeply distressing emotions. Learning distress tolerance entails learning self-soothing techniques that can regulate emotions without resorting to self-defeating behaviors.

One way to help clients acquire self-soothing skills is to ask them to create a self-soothing box or toolkit.

Typically, a self-soothing box includes objects or reminders of how to soothe all five senses: comforting smells such as scented candles, essential oils, or body lotion; pleasant tastes such as herbal teas or favorite snacks; soothing things to touch such as a favorite sweater, wrap, or stress ball; comforting sights such as photos of loved ones, pets, or favorite places; and soothing sounds such as a favorite piece of music or guided meditation track.

Clients could even make a mobile self-soothing toolkit to carry around with them as described in the Therapy in Nutshell video below.

Is self-soothing beneficial for mental health?

Many of us know from direct personal experience that self-soothing skills are essential for mental health. When we are triggered by something and experience a strong emotional reaction, it is normal to counter this immediately with a soothing experience, preferably in the company of a trusted person, to ease distress and regain equilibrium.

While many research studies have investigated the effects of interactive soothing between human beings, such as hugging, skin-to-skin contact, massage, and sexual intimacy (Uvnäs-Moberg, Handlin, & Petersson, 2015), very few have investigated the effects of self-soothing techniques.

Physical contact with other human beings raises our oxytocin levels and lowers our stress levels (Uvnäs-Moberg et al., 2015). This has deep roots in our experience of being soothed as infants and during childhood (Matthiesen, Ransjo-Arvidson, Nissen, & Uvnäs-Moberg, 2001). For a further explanation of the roots of interactive soothing in infancy and childhood, watch the short School of Life video below.

Dreisoerner et al. (2021) conducted a randomized control trial to assess whether self-soothing touch and being hugged had different effects on the stress response.

This study was conducted in the context of the global COVID-19 pandemic, which resulted in widespread isolation for many people; traditional sources of interactive soothing were often unavailable. The researchers were keen to identify self-soothing techniques that could help alleviate distress during isolation and quarantine.

They found that both self-soothing touch (in this study, most participants chose to place their right hand on their heart and their left on their abdomen while focusing on the rising and falling of the breath) and receiving a hug from another person were equally effective at lowering stress levels.

Therefore, when other people are not available to hug, self-soothing touch could be a source of much-needed comfort and reassurance. For further instructions on this practice, see the video in the “How to Teach and Encourage Self-Soothing” section below.

10 Examples of Self-Soothing Behaviors

Some self-soothing behaviors that adults engage in can lead to other problems, for example, drinking alcohol, emotional eating, binge-watching TV, compulsive gaming, or internet surfing.

These may be effective in the short term but may result from experiential avoidance that leads to longer term problems.

Instead, clients should be encouraged to take up one of the following behaviors when life challenges threaten to overwhelm:

1. Change the environment

If possible, just change the environment for a few minutes. Go outside and focus on greenery or find a soothing indoor space with a pleasant view or ambiance.

2. Stretch for five minutes to move any blocked energy

Often, after upsetting news or a shock, our bodies respond by freezing and energy gets blocked. A few simple trunk twists, neck rotations, or bends at the hip to touch the toes can help shift stagnant energy.

3. Take a warm shower or bath

Treat yourself with soothing body wash or bubbles and a fresh, soft towel afterward.

4. Soothing imagery

Find soothing things to look at such as a burning candle, soft lights, pictures of loved ones, favorite places, or perhaps some framed inspirational resilience quotes or affirmations.

5. Soothing music

Listen to favorite tracks that have a calming effect or one of the many relaxing music videos for stress relief that are available online.

6. Soothing smells

Create pleasant smells by using an essential oil diffuser, scented candle, or incense. Also, try using scented hand lotion.

7. Self-compassion

Speak compassionately to yourself aloud. Talk to yourself like a good friend would. Give yourself the grace to be off-balance and the space to just be as you are for a while.

3 Self-soothing coping skills for anxiety

Clients can try the following self-soothing practices to ease anxiety. Further anxiety coping skills and worksheets can be found in the worksheets section of this article.

1. Focused breathing

Exhale more slowly than you inhale to soothe anxiety quickly. In the video below, Dr. Rangan Chaterjee explains how the 3–4–5 breathing technique works.

Simply breathe in for a count of 3, hold your breath for a count of 4, and breathe out for a count of 5.

2. Self-soothing touch

Try self-soothing touch, as recommended by Dreisoerner et al. (2021). Put your right hand on your heart and your left hand on your belly and focus your attention on the rising and falling of the breath. You can also try the exercises recommended by Dr. Peter Levine in the video below. Other exercises are offered in the worksheets section.

3. Mindful walking

Get grounded by moving your body mindfully. Try a short awe walk for 15 minutes, preferably in nature or a beautiful park or garden, taking in your surroundings mindfully with all five senses.

Awe is a powerfully uplifting and soothing emotion of wonder that puts stressors into perspective while increasing vitality (Bai et al., 2021). You can watch the Mindful Awe Walk video below for guidance.

How to Teach and Encourage Self-Soothing

Somatic therapist Dr. Peter Levine developed an approach to trauma therapy called somatic experiencing, which includes teaching clients practical self-soothing techniques in therapy.

In the short video below, Dr. Levine describes and shows self-soothing techniques using touch to establish the body as a safe container and the skin as a secure boundary.

These powerful yet simple self-soothing techniques can be modeled to clients in counseling or psychotherapy.

This exercise is described in full in our Self-Soothing Touch worksheet.

4 Best Techniques and Strategies for Adults

The following techniques all use self-soothing touch to raise oxytocin levels and lower the stress response quickly and effectively.

1. Cortisol self-massage

Yoga therapist Elaine Oyang demonstrates her short self-massage of the neck, shoulders, and hands, followed by a good shake-out, to release tension that is often held in the head area that can cause headaches, brain fog, and fatigue, especially when working for long hours on the screen.

Follow her guidance in the instructional video below.

2. Tapping

Tapping is a self-soothing method used by the emotional freedom technique (EFT), which involves lightly tapping on acupressure points on different parts of the body.

Tapping lowers cortisol levels in the body and helps regulate other stress indicators, like heart rate, breathing, and body temperature (Bach et al., 2019).

For further instructions, watch the video below.

3. Butterfly hug

The butterfly hug technique combines tapping with focused breathing and positive affirmations, such as, “I’m safe and secure” or “I am loved,” and is an excellent grounding technique that can be used anywhere.

Watch the instructional video below to find out more.

4.

Havening is an emotional regulation technique with roots in neuroscience. It is a brief intervention (Thandi, Tom, Gould, McKenna, & Greenberg, 2015) that uses the Havening Touch.

This can be delivered by a registered practitioner or by self-soothing. For further instructions on using havening to self-soothe, see the video below.

7 Activities, Exercises, and Worksheets

The exercises in this section are all explained on our free worksheets. All these activities have their roots in DBT and the somatic experiencing approach to trauma therapy.

1. Try our free Countdown to Calmness worksheet for grounding by radically accepting things as they are, using mindfulness of the five senses.
2. Try our free Noticing Physical Comfort worksheet to learn how to self-soothe by increasing awareness of comfortable physical sensations.
3. Try the exercise in our free Soothing Breath worksheet, which uses the breath and touch together to self-soothe the body and mind.
4. Try making vocal sounds and vibrations to self-soothe by discharging excess energy after a shock or upsetting event. Download our free The Voo Sound worksheet here.
5. Our free Shake It Off worksheet describes an exercise that connects the body to the trembling sensation produced by a stressful event to include comfort and allow the system to settle.
6. Our free Radical Acceptance worksheet describes a DBT exercise that can help self-soothing during intense emotions by acknowledging that feelings cannot be controlled. Rather, learn to accept this lack of control and choose to respond mindfully. In this way, you can experience intense emotions without trying to change or control the situation.
7. Download our free Recalling Being Yourself worksheet activity that provides grounding by remembering how to feel comfortable in your own skin.

Using Meditation for Self-Soothing: 3 Ideas

Meditation is a contemplative practice that can help regulate disturbing emotions, even when practiced for only 10 minutes at a time. These three guided meditation practices are beneficial to clients who find it difficult to find the time to take a class or course.

Each practice is an effective stress management technique backed by science.

1. Mindful self-soothing meditation

Mindfulness has become a big buzzword in the health and wellbeing world for good reason. Regular mindfulness practices can rewire the brain to enhance executive function, which reduces reactivity (Shapiro, 2020).

A recent meta-analysis of mindfulness-based programs and their effects on mental health (Galante et al., 2021) found that mindfulness enhances the wellbeing of most adults in non-clinical community settings and may be especially beneficial for those experiencing extreme life stressors.

Try the meditation in the video below. It focuses on mindful self-soothing and only takes 10 minutes.

2. Self-compassion meditation

People who practice self-compassion are less likely to experience depression and anxiety than those who are harsher on themselves (Neff, 2011).

For a review of the findings of recent research studies, take a look at our article on the 15 Most Interesting Self-Compassion Research Findings. In addition, try the short 10-minute self-compassion meditation in the video below to appreciate the soothing effects of being kind to yourself.

3. Lovingkindness meditation

Lovingkindness meditation is a powerful self-soothing practice because it involves activating areas of the brain associated with joy and peace (Bodhi, 2005; Salzberg, 2002). For further information, look at our article on Loving-Kindness Meditation, which includes four meditation scripts, or the guided 10-minute meditation in the video below.

Resources From PositivePsychology.com

For additional resources to help manage stress and soothe your frayed nerves, try our three Mindfulness Exercises for free.

The third tool in the set, the Eye of the Hurricane Meditation, describes how mindful attention to the breath can act as an anchor of inner peace in difficult and distressing circumstances.

If you want to learn more, check out our Mindfulness X program, which offers a comprehensive eight-session mindfulness training package based on scientific research. The course includes videos, worksheets, exercises, and slides, and can be taught under your own branding.

Finally, if you’re looking for more science-based ways to help others develop self-compassion, check out this collection of 17 validated self-compassion tools for practitioners. Use them to help others create a kinder and more nurturing relationship with the self.

A Take-Home Message

While most of us are familiar with soothing others when they are having a tough time, soothing ourselves is something many of us find difficult. Yet, self-soothing skills are essential for self-regulation and adult mental health.

Research into self-soothing techniques for adults is a relatively new area, but there are some interventions that are attracting increasing attention from psychology and neuroscience researchers, including havening, DBT, and somatic experiencing techniques.

No matter how well we navigate our way through life and how psychologically skilled we are, life will hit us with shocking and unexpected events from time to time. In these times of loss or sudden change, having access to self-soothing techniques is essential.

For our clients, self-soothing techniques can help manage life events between therapy and counseling sessions, especially for those who have experienced trauma or struggle with addiction.

Self-soothing skills are key to the emotional regulation many of our clients seek. We hope you find the resources shared in this article useful.

We hope you enjoyed reading this article. Don’t forget to download our three Self-Compassion Exercises for free.

• Bach, D., Groesbeck, G., Stapleton, P., Sims, R., Blickheuser, K., & Church, D. (2019). Clinical EFT (emotional freedom techniques) improves multiple physiological markers of health. Journal of Evidence-Based Integrative Medicine, 24.
• Bai, Y., Ocampo, J., Jin, G., Chen, S., Benet-Martinez, V., Monroy, M., … Keltner, D. (2021). Awe, daily stress, and elevated life satisfaction. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 120(4), 837–860.
• Bodhi, B. (2005). An anthology of discourses from the Pali Canon. Wisdom Publications.
• Dreisoerner, A., Junker, N. M., Schlotz, W., Heimrich, J., Bloemeke, S., Ditzen, B., & van Dick, R. (2021). Self-soothing touch and being hugged reduce cortisol responses to stress: A randomized controlled trial on stress, physical touch, and social identity. Comprehensive Psychoneuroendocrinology, 8.
• Galante, J., Friedrich, C., Dawson, A. F., Modrego-Alarcón, M., Gebbing, P., Delgado-Suárez, I., … Jones, P. B. (2021). Mindfulness-based programmes for mental health promotion in adults in nonclinical settings: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials. PLoS Medicine 18(1).
• Linehan, M., Comtois, K. A., Murray, A. M., Brown, M. Z., Gallop, R. J., Heard, H. L., & Korslund, K. E. (2006). Two-year randomized controlled trial and follow-up of dialectical behavior therapy vs therapy by experts for suicidal behaviors and borderline personality disorder. JAMA Psychiatry, 63(7), 757–766.
• Matthiesen, A. S., Ransjo-Arvidson, A. B., Nissen, E., & Uvnäs-Moberg, K. (2001). Postpartum maternal oxytocin release by newborns: Effects of infant hand massage and sucking. Birth 28(1), 13–19.
• McKay, M., Wood, J. C., & Brantley, J. (2019). The dialectical behavior therapy skills workbook: Practical DBT exercises for learning mindfulness, interpersonal effectiveness, emotion regulation, and distress tolerance. New Harbinger.
• Neff, K. (2011). Self-compassion: The proven power of being kind to yourself. Yellow Kite.
• Salzberg, S. (2002). Lovingkindness: The revolutionary art of happiness. Shambhala.
• Shapiro, S. L. (2020). Rewire your mind: Discover the science and practice of mindfulness. Aster.
• Thandi, G., Tom, D., Gould, M., McKenna P., & Greenberg, N., (2015). Impact of a single session of havening. Health Science Journal, 9(5), 1–5.
• Uvnäs-Moberg, K., Handlin, L., & Petersson, M., (2015). Self-soothing behaviors with particular reference to oxytocin release induced by non-noxious sensory stimulation. Frontiers in Psychology, 5, 1529.

Best relaxation and soothing games - relax games on PC, PS4, Xbox One, iOS, Android

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Thatgamecompany's great game, dedicated to the journey of a mysterious creature through a desert strewn with the ruins of an ancient civilization and inhabited by strange creatures made of cloth. Journey is not an abstract art project. There is a story in it, there is an idea, there is a philosophy, but how deep to dive into it is up to you, the game brings to the surface only the bare minimum. If you are diving into Journey for the first time, your life may change a little. In any case, the heart-pounding music of Austin Wintory (known for his work on Assassin's Creed: Syndicate and The Banner Saga, for example) and an incredibly beautiful picture that combines simple shapes and cunning intricate patterns will stay with you forever.

And once upon a time in this desert you could meet other travelers, sharing your path with them. Who knows, maybe even now someone is wandering the golden sands? Check it out yourself.

Another thatgamecompany pre-Journey game. It is difficult to come up with a more relaxing concept - here you need to control the wind currents that pick up flower petals in picturesque green meadows. Both the grass and the petals react vividly to your every movement, diverge in waves, as if dancing in time with the movements of the gamepad and merge with the music. Real meditation. Music generally plays a huge role in all the games included in this collection. And, of course, Flower also has a certain idea and message. The game was originally released on PS3, but today it is also available on iOS, where it looks even more appropriate.

Very popular and very simple runner for iOS and Android. The main character simply descends from a snow-covered mountain on a snowboard, simultaneously returning runaway llamas to the herd and collecting bonuses with coins - elementary. But the magic of pictures and music works. Only one melody, how can it not bother you for tens and hundreds of hours? How did the developers manage to draw such a deep picture with such simple forms, including your imagination, plunging you into a trance? I don't know, and I don't even want to know. The main thing is that it works. For me, Altoʼs Adventure has been a must-have bedtime program for a year, and now its sequel, Alto’s Odyssey, has come out and works just as well.

The game can be very briefly described as Journey Underwater. Or even call Journey 2. The meaning is the same - an insanely beautiful meditative journey, philosophy and soft hints of history, hidden deep enough not to be evident and only the most thoughtful will open. Only this time we do not have a desert, but fascinating underwater views, the ocean, cute fish and surprisingly plastic, even rhythmic movement through the game world. However, why be surprised, because the author of the game is Matt Nava, art director of Journey. Yes, and the music was again written by the brilliant Austin Wintory, who does not do transient things. If you try Abzû before Journey itself, then the game will impress you, perhaps more.

Meditative, very meticulous and endlessly cute farming simulator, made in four years by just one person. You clear the area from weeds, dig, sow, go to the city to trade and communicate with the locals, start a family, expand the economy, equip and complete the house, craft everything - there is always a lot of work to do. Relaxing routine in cute pixel art with soulful music. Well, there are all sorts of "bonus" activities in the game - like fishing or resource extraction in a mine, where you can even push monsters. Very addictive deep game. Well, as an alternative, you can try the The Settlers, Animal Crossing and Harvest Moon series, which the game copies. Or Farming Simulator.

EVERYTHING has almost no gameplay and is a game about everything. And how can a game about everything look like in general? Are standard game mechanics applicable to such an idea? All you need to do in EVERYTHING is to fly as a disembodied spirit and inhabit everything: deer, trees, stones, microbes, continents, galaxies, birds, mushrooms, spiders, bears, clouds, VO ALL. And then you can move around, communicate with other representatives of your “species”, this is a kind of humor - the stones here, for example, get bored, whine and perform special stone songs. But despite the irony and humor, this is a very serious work, which is also voiced by the lectures of the philosopher Alan Watts. Periodically, archival recordings of his speeches will be included, telling the basics of his interpretation of Eastern philosophy. You are not your body, but everything, the whole universe. What you are doing right now is what the universe is doing. Everything is one. This is a very superficial retelling, of course, but the game is able to arouse interest in the ideas of Watts, make you think about something really important.

Do I need to explain anything here? Minecraft will help you relax on two levels at once. Firstly, it is a universal and extremely intuitive survivalist - building sheds for the night and crafting rubbish from sticks and sand can really distract from accumulated fatigue. There are a million alternatives, but only in Minecraft everything works so simply that you can get involved in a couple of minutes. Secondly, of course, the sandbox - you don’t think about anything and build yourself cubic architectural masterpieces to your favorite music in headphones. And no aggressive students. Alternatively, try Dragon Quest: Builders or the well-known Terraria.

Entwined, like the already mentioned Journey and Abzû, is a philosophical game. Through abstract forms, bright colors and pulsating rhythm, she tries to tell about love, emotions and the mystical connection between two living beings. But it's in the depths. As always - for those who want to dig. For the rest, it's just a nice audiovisual experience. You need to fly through the tunnel, controlling the orange fish and the blue bird, while flying through the sectors of the correct color. Approximately, as in Audiosurf. That's the whole gameplay. But here it is important how it is designed, how it is presented, how the image merges with sounds and music, plunging into a trance. You can complete the game in just two hours and it's a great vacation. Alternatively, you can ride in the same Audiosurf or try the weird Luxuria Superbia from the developers of The Path.

Of all the games in the collection, Sound Shapes has the most "tangible" gameplay. This is a platform game about an abstract ball that rolls through levels and sticks to almost any surface. You can’t stick to black objects, red ones kill, and at any moment you can unstick from the surface - this is the whole mechanics. But, firstly, even with such a set, developers build thoughtful interesting levels, real art installations. And secondly, each selected “coin” complements the music playing in the background. Both the objects on the level and the opponents are woven into its rhythm - almost everything in Sound Shapes makes sounds, enriching the overall composition, this is the beauty of the game.

There are several sets of levels - albums - in Sound Shapes. Everyone has their own visual style (always excellent) and their own composer - among others Beck and deadmau5 participated. There are tricky places in the game, but in general it is not difficult, you just need to catch the rhythm and “play along”. Feelings are fantastic. Well, then you can get stuck in the level editor, the creation of which in Sound Shapes is closer to writing music (yes, that's what it is). If you feel like it, then after that you can pay attention to the LocoRoco, Patapon and, of course, LittleBigPlanet series. And also on Beatbuddy's musical metroidation.

There could be any game by Jakub Dvorsky, Jaromir Plakha and Amanita Design: the whole series of Samorost, Machinarium or the recent Chuchel, which we even wrote a review on - choose according to your taste. All these games are beautiful, kind and beautifully drawn quests, they have touching stories and not overcomplicated game design with simple puzzles. But Botanicula among all the studio's games I remember the most. Partly due to the setting - the journey of a mushroom, a flashlight, a poppy box, a twig and a feather through the microcosm of a huge tree is hard not to remember. The cuteness is absolutely amazing. Partly thanks to the crazy jazz soundtrack from the Czech band DVA, filled with funny broken rhythms, catchy melodies and strange sounds, most of which are produced by the musicians themselves. You can delve into the music of Botanicula longer than in the game itself, but together with it it sounds especially good.

What do you play to relax?

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Soothing and relaxing games on PC

Tired of refined violence and cruelty? Sit back and relax - these games will soothe your gaming soul.

What is the best game to play to relax? You don't always want to end a long, hard day plunging into Thumper's brutal world of violence or trying to kill a brutal Dark Souls boss for the hundredth time. There are moments when the soul asks to sit on a cozy gaming throne with a cup of tea and a nice relaxing game that will help distract from problems and relieve stress.

Soothing games for such moments should not overburden the brain. They also shouldn't be too loud, dynamic, or require lightning-fast responses like most online games. And the light, melodic soundtrack should slowly immerse you in an enchanting world that deserves to be admired, not rushed forward.

If you want to take your mind off the popular "battle royale" games that want to take over all your free time, check out the relaxing games on our list. You will dive into the blue ocean depths of Abzu, clean up the mess in House Flipper and even roll everything into a huge ball in Katamari Damacy REROLL. We reviewed all the variety of relaxation games and chose, in our opinion, the best of them. Here they are.

Journey

Once exclusive to PS consoles, the incredible Journey tells the story of a strange and fractured world populated by fragile creatures with great willpower.

Drawn by the light, players will explore the ruins dormant in the sands, descend into the bowels of a gloomy grotto, bypassing its dangerous inhabitants, understand the purpose of ancient machines and climb a mountain peak bound by permafrost.

You will embark on this journey alone or with fellow travelers, the narrative in Journey will flow slowly, and the gameplay, even at the most climactic moments, will not force you to make unnecessary efforts. Like a leaf in the wind, from the beginning to the very end of the adventure.

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ABZU

Too often when diving in games, we are strictly limited in time. Whether we're getting food and water in survival sims like Subnautica or wasting oxygen in countless other games, we're always in need of priceless air. But it's different in Abzu - this is a relaxation game from the creators of Journey, where you can relax and go with the flow.

Here you have plenty of time to explore the world at a comfortable pace and explore the ocean thoroughly. The hypnotic waters of Abzu alternate with mysterious ruins eager to tell their silent stories, somewhat reminiscent of Journey's story-driven setting. Each new episode of this relaxing splendor opens with unobtrusive puzzles, but you'll want to explore every inch of this aquatic world before moving on.

When you get tired of sitting at the bottom of the ocean in thoughtful silence, you can admire the underwater fauna, which is more than happy to show itself to you. Climbing on the fish's back, you'll see the name of its species, learning a little more about your new vehicle, which can playfully jump out over the iridescent surface of the water. Despite the minimalistic gameplay, Giant Squid's intoxicating ocean has a lot of depth.

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Stardew Valley

Many find relaxation games to be a mental escape from reality, but Stardew Valley begins with a real escape. For the burnt-out office clerk we'll play as, Grandpa's farm on the south coast of Starfall Valley (as the name of the game translates) has become a chance to escape from the burning and smog. But although you have freed yourself from your dull gray cube, you will have to work just as much.

Once in the vastness of your new home, you realize that grandfather's neglected lands have known better days. It was not for nothing that real estate agents politely referred to this littered with windbreak and overgrown with weeds area as “prospective for development”. Now a new life is in your hands - you can have affairs with the inhabitants of the valley, go fishing or become a ruthless jam tycoon.

No matter how realistic the game is, this is the best RPG for nature lovers who want to fly in the fantasy clouds of escape from the bustle of the city. That's why the 16-bit beauty of Stardew Valey is so great to relax and spend whole evenings and weekends.

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Flower

Imagine that you are the wind. You woke up before everyone else, washed yourself with dew and set off across the summer field, ruffling the grass. You are faster than all birds, you are faster than the rays of the sun, you are serene and free, and nothing can hold you back.

Soft, relaxing game with simple controls gives you a feeling of freedom, gives you the opportunity to set your own rhythm to the breath of the world. Traveling through colorful and varied landscapes, players will be able to interact with the environment, change its mood and fill it with life.

At one time, Flower has been repeatedly awarded for the beauty of performance and the deep personal experience that every player experiences.

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House Flipper

Have you ever watched "Spring Cleaning" or "Housing Problem" thinking you could do better? House Flipper will allow you to turn a cockroach cesspool into a luxury apartment and sell it for a good profit. But before that, you'll have to get your hands dirty.

You start your business from an office in a flimsy trailer with a laptop, at first grabbing for any job, from cleaning after residents to repainting painters who chose the wrong colors. But if you save money, you will eventually be able to buy your own properties. Of course, at first they will also be stinking garbage dumps, but this time after the repair is completed, you can earn more money.

Like many simulations, House Flipper can feel like a job. Installing radiators and mopping floors may not be your idea of ​​relaxation, but many people enjoy the therapeutic effect of cleaning. In addition, here you can smash the walls with a sledgehammer, which is a great stress reliever.

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No Man's Sky

Space - space itself is quite meditative: myriads of celestial bodies shining in the infinity of systems. However, for the most part, the games associated with him draw us into confrontations, force us to learn the intricacies of piloting, or keep us in suspense with the unknown. No Man's Sky is a different matter - a real zen simulator from the world of space sandboxes.

Locals gather resources, discover new planets, and explore untrodden worlds at their own pace, often at a leisurely pace. Traveling through the picturesque and unearthly landscapes of an endless, relentlessly generated world, wanderers gradually study alien technologies, conduct trade business, improve equipment and ships. Even battles with hostile creatures in No Man's Sky easily fit into the overall smooth atmosphere.

The game is perfect for dreamers who certainly aim for the horizon, but want to enter there slowly and with taste.

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flOw

flOw is a mesmerizing delight originally released as a Flash game for the master's thesis of one of the company's founders, Jenova Chen. Chen's research topic is Dynamic Difficulty Adjustment, a game design concept that allows gamers of all skill levels to personalize their gaming experience and enjoy the game comfortably. In other words, this is exactly what many players need from a relaxation game.

At first glance, this concept may seem complicated, but it does not affect the gameplay at all. You play as a plankton-like organism exploring a mysterious biosphere in search of food. Absorbing other lifeforms provides evolution and the ability to deal with more serious threats, and then flOw can be played as a more intense survival game, but less serious players can just swim peacefully to their heart's content. The game was most famous on the PlayStation, but if you're into surreal minimalism, you can download it for PC as well.

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Donut County

Sometimes life becomes so unbearable that you just want to sink into the ground. But if Donut County proves anything, it's the impracticality of such an outcome when it comes to urban infrastructure. However, it's a lot of fun.

Ben Esposito's eccentric indie game puts you in control of a hole in the ground. Each bright object that falls into the abyss enlarges it. You'll start out with bricks and small animals, but over time, your all-consuming pit will be able to digest entire city blocks.

Like many of the other relaxing games on this list, Donut County isn't meant to be serious. Absurd descriptions of the items you've ingested flock to the surrealistically bizarre Trashopedia. You start at level nine and end up at level ten for no reason. With such a light delusion and simple puzzles, the game is just perfect for relaxing after a hard day.

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Botanicula

Another unusual indie adventure from the creators of Samorost and Machinarium about strange and funny creatures that live in a crowd on a gigantic tree, recently infected with parasites. Players will have to unite the efforts of the tree inhabitants in order to save the last seed of the tree.

Light, fairy-tale quest is very easy to learn. It is responsive and does not require serious mental activity from the player. Soft colors, understandable humor and unobtrusive sound design will relax and brighten up the hours for players of any age and gender.

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GRIS

Framed for four hours of Gris, it would look great in an art gallery. The stunning graphics of this Nomada Studios creation make you feel like you're immersed in animated watercolor. Shreds of light clouds melt in the boundless sky. Exquisite ruins with intricate labyrinths dominate magnificent paintings.

You play a heroine who paints her monochrome world with bright colors, but the game forgoes words, telling a story of pain and loss through music, color and movement. Like Matt Makes Games' Celeste, Gris uses platforming gameplay as a metaphor - through jumping and falling, we realize our limits.

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Everything

At first glance, this open-world game by David O'Reilly seems to be the complete opposite of relaxation. She asks us: “what if we could manage everything at once?” and is trying to fully implement this bizarre concept. There are 3,000 playable characters in the game - you can become a daisy or a blade of grass for a minute, and then fly a flock of birds over the city or control the planets. This is absolutely everything, but not in the annoying sense that social networks create.

Being able to control all the smallest details of the world may seem overwhelming, but it's actually liberating. With no purpose other than enjoyment, you can have fun with this universe-sized toy entirely on your own. A soothing game where you are only limited by your divine imagination.

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Everybody's Gone to the Rapture

When it comes to post-apocalyptic settings, you can hardly imagine anything resembling the rural landscapes of Shropshire. However, the pastoral world of Everybody's Gone to the Rapture has become the basis of one of the more relaxing end-of-the-world games. This non-linear relaxation game invites you to get off the beaten track, but you don't have to rush anywhere to uncover its exciting mystery.

Chinese Room's meditative "walking simulator" reveals the fate of several residents of Yafton and their daily worries before inevitable oblivion. Combining science fiction with a radio play, you follow the six main characters in their post-mortem form of golden glowing orbs. As you approach each of them, you see ghostly flashbacks of the last moments of these people, which are combined into a picture of what happened.

In the course of your investigation, you will be distracted by subplots that are sad and touching in equal measure. However, the desire to test your assumptions about the cause of the general disappearance keeps you in the game until the very end.

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Katamari Damacy REROLL

Almost everyone has done something while drunk that they later regret, but the King of All Cosmos from Katamari Damacy Reroll has surpassed them all. On an intergalactic booze, your clumsy dad shook all the stars in the night sky. And you were ashamed of some drunken SMS.

As the Prince of All Cosmos, you will need to clean up after your father, replacing the constellations in the sky that you will create by rolling everything into a huge lump - because it is necessary. From skittles and candy wrappers to fish and boats, REROLL rolls into a ball of concentrated fun enhanced by a light, colorful aesthetic that looks even better in Full HD resolution.

Together with the lack of opportunity to do something wrong, this makes for a wonderful meditation game. For those who like to kill more time completing challenges, there are achievements here, but you can ignore them completely and just enjoy the animation and physics of each item being crushed by your giant star restoration sphere.

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Mini Metro

If you're annoyed by late, inconvenient or non-arriving public transport on your way to work, then the subway system management game may not fit your idea of ​​relaxation, but trust me, it's worth a try. With Mini Metro, the developers at Dinosaur Polo Club have somehow managed to wrap complex mechanics into a clean aesthetic to make your subway design experience genuinely enjoyable.

As the head of a growing subway system, you start by managing three stations and designing the tracks that connect them. Over time, new stations appear, denoted by symbols of various shapes, depending on popularity with passengers. Increasing the load on your lines will cause some tension, but a simple, clean interface and a light soothing soundtrack keep it to a minimum.

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Train Simulator

There is nothing more relaxing than train simulators: the steady tapping of locomotive wheels, picturesque landscapes and rails leading into misty distances. It is enough to master the ingenuous control of the train once, and you can endlessly admire the world rushing towards your train.

Train Simulator has been around for 11 years and is still considered one of the most successful railway simulators. With him, each player will be able to become a locomotive driver, which strains to pull a chain of heavy freight cars, or an electric train running on suburban routes. Try what it's like to drive a diesel train or rush at full speed on a fast intercity train.

All trains in Train Simulator are recreated in detail according to real-life analogues, as well as the roads on which they will pass.

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Proteus

Much of life's stress comes from the endless list of routine daily tasks we have to do. Therefore, ticking the quest logs, finding all sorts of items, and completing the progression levels also in your free time is already too much for some. Proteus is the antidote to such games, giving you the freedom to simply exist in a pixelated world without having to complete any tasks.

No amount of quests and puzzles will distract you from walking along the picturesque island from Ed Kay and David Kanaga with ridges of hills and deep blue ocean. In an attempt to uncover the secrets of the island, you are mostly a passive observer. Synthesized retro sound effects contribute to a soothing atmosphere and signal the changing of the seasons. If this soothing game completely refreshes you and you want something scarier, you can make it darker with the Purgateus mod.

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FEZ

FEZ is a puzzle game inspired by PC classics and combined with original ideas to create a game that makes you feel smarter without too much effort. You play as a two-dimensional Gomez, a small creature who has discovered a rather serious thing - a whole new dimension.

Phil Fish's platformer is not like your typical arcade game - to solve puzzles you need to rotate the game world in four different angles. This creates a wide range of easter eggs and hidden treasures for those who want to find them, and thanks to the rich detail that this game boasts, you will definitely be one of them. Some puzzles will challenge your spatial thinking, but FEZ proves that complexity is a matter of perspective.

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Spiritfarer

This cute game can only load you with the topics covered in the plot - here you play the role of a ferry girl who travels the world in a cozy house-ship, collecting lost souls on board and helping them to rest doing things that matter to them. Humble yourself - you simply cannot avoid touching life stories.

The rest of the game is very light-hearted and combines adventure mechanics with a farm – they let you run around the islands and picturesque cities, as well as equip houses for “guests” and other structures right on the ship so that you can do cooking, fishing and growing crops.

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Unpacking

A calm isometric puzzle game that invites you to unpack a bunch of boxes in a new house where an unfamiliar nameless heroine has moved. Where would you put the dishes, for example? What about toys and books? The game does not limit either in time or in terms of placement options, and the only obstacle will be only free space. Coupled with brilliant music written by a BAFTA award winner, this kind of gameplay quickly relaxes.

At the same time, by unpacking things, you will learn about the life of a stranger and track the process of her growing up, which can be projected onto our ordinary life.

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PowerWash Simulator

How often do you hear the phrase "start from scratch"? This is what you have to do in PowerWash Simulator, but instead of a piece of paper, you will have a whole city with a water park, abandoned houses and other buildings buried under thick layers of dust and dirt. Armed with water cannons and other equipment, you will open a small business and return bright colors to objects.

An uncomplicated game can seriously captivate thanks to co-op, several modes and a nice cartoon picture that will amuse even bearded adult gamers.

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Islanders

A minimalist urban strategy game where lonely, picturesque islands are your canvas and creative tools are various buildings, lighthouses and natural objects. Islanders, however, is deprived of the tedious resource extraction system, so you can create your own cities with almost no restrictions.

The only limiting factor is points, but they are also a motivator for the gamer, as they open up new buildings and islands.

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Wingspan

The authors of Wingspan presented an original take on the CCG (collectible card games) genre - here various birds will be drawn on your deck, and you will use them not to defeat your opponent in the arena, but to develop your own reserve. During the game, you will search for rare birds, as well as enjoy their beautiful animations and sounds of nature, recorded from real habitats.

Multiplayer, however, is - it brings together five gamers and invites them to compete in creating the best reserves.

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Webbed

Another game about nature, this time about the charming world of insects, where our spider heroine lives. With it, you have to master the difficult art of weaving nets, as well as travel the world, make friends and organize a rescue expedition to save your lover from a bowerbird. As usual, without a gram of cruelty - the spider funny moves on its web, introduces the player to the world of insects and pleases him with the most pleasant pixel graphics in the spirit of old games.

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Refunct

A short, uncomplicated platformer with a Minecraft-style picture, but with a fancy ray tracing effect, which, however, will be played without RTX (you only need Intel HD Graphics 4000 to run Refunct). All you have to do is color the gray blocks by stepping on them, and the only question is how to get to them. And thanks to the fact that the game is easy to learn, you just have to enjoy excellent views and relaxing music.

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TOEM

A whimsical isometric platform game in which you play as a pretty creature with a camera at the ready. With it, you will go on a short journey and help various characters by solving their problems with the help of photographs. The game will delight you with a hand-drawn picture, interesting gameplay mechanics with a camera and unobtrusive melodies that allow you to forget about the hustle and bustle in real life.

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Cozy Grove

Another cozy "death game" like Spiritfarer, you play the role of a ghost scout who finds himself on a haunted island and befriends supernatural creatures. You will help them find peace, reveal the secrets of this place and equip it with various decorations. In addition to planned activities, Cozy Grove offers interesting daily tasks that are synchronized with world time.

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My Friend Peppa Pig

A cute game based on the popular cartoon about Peppa Pig, which can be played by both children in order to be with their favorite character, and adults from idleness. My Friend Peppa Pig does not look like "hack" - the picture is the same as in the cartoon, and the gameplay involves many mechanics, such as creating a character, exploring the world, meeting friends, and even writing your own stories.

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Big Farm Story

A vivid farming simulator that combines farming, adventure and sandbox. The plot is banal - you arrive at the grandfather's farm, which is in a terrible state, and you need to put it in order as soon as possible. However, Big Farm Story quickly falls in love with it, despite the fact that many of the mechanics we have already seen a hundred times - thanks to cute animals following on the heels, life in full swing on and around the farm, and rich opportunities for creativity.

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