Resourcing: Finding Tools to Support Your Emotional Wellbeing

Life can feel overwhelming at times, and our emotions can become intense or difficult to manage. One way to support yourself is through resourcing. Resources are people, activities, skills, or tools that help you regulate your emotions, regain balance, and feel supported when things feel too much.

Often, when I do resourcing exercises with clients, they’re surprised at just how many resources they already have. Sometimes we underestimate what’s available to us, but exploring and naming these resources can be empowering.

What Counts as a Resource?

Resources aren’t one-size-fits-all. They can come in many forms, and what works for one person might be different for another. Broadly, resources can be divided into five key categories:

1. Social ResourcesThese are the people and support systems you can rely on. Friends, family, colleagues, or support groups can provide guidance, encouragement, or simply a listening ear. Social resources aren’t just about big gestures, even a quick check-in text or a short conversation with someone you trust can help regulate your emotions.

2. Physical ResourcesTaking care of your body is a powerful way to support your mental health. Eating nourishing meals, engaging in regular exercise, getting medical support when needed, or even ensuring proper sleep all count as physical resources. Simple practices like stretching, going for a walk, or breathing exercises can also fall into this category.

3. Psychological ResourcesThese are tools that help your mind stay balanced. Techniques such as visualisations, guided imagery, journaling, or structured problem-solving can strengthen your psychological resilience. Sleep and rest are also crucial psychological resources, giving your brain and nervous system time to recover and integrate experiences.

4. Spiritual ResourcesSpiritual resources connect you with meaning, purpose, or a sense of something bigger than yourself. This might include meditation, prayer, mindfulness practices, worship, or even rituals with objects like crystals. Spiritual resources can provide grounding, comfort, and a sense of inner strength.

5. Creative ResourcesCreative outlets allow you to process and express emotions in non-verbal ways. Art, music, dance, writing, or other forms of creative expression can help you explore feelings safely and release tension. Creative resources also foster a sense of accomplishment and self-expression, which can be incredibly grounding.

Understanding and Building Your Resource System

Not all resources serve the same purpose or are needed in the same moments. Some are steady anchors, like the people, places, or practices that offer ongoing stability. Others are situational supports, like the things you reach for in the heat of an emotional moment or when life throws something unexpected your way.

Think of your resources as forming a system rather than a list. Your system shifts and adapts depending on what’s happening in your life. A supportive friend or a consistent sleep routine might always be there in the background, while other resources, like a grounding exercise, a walk outside, or an afternoon spent painting, might come into play only when certain emotions arise.

Recognising this dynamic nature of resourcing helps you to become more flexible in how you care for yourself. Sometimes the same strategy that once helped you regulate may not feel as effective now, and that’s not a failure, it’s information. Emotional regulation isn’t about always knowing the perfect thing to do; it’s about knowing what’s available and learning to choose what best meets your needs in that moment.

Personalising Your Resource Toolbox

Because everyone’s experiences and nervous systems are unique, no two resource systems will look exactly alike. What grounds one person might overwhelm another. For example, someone may find journaling to be a powerful tool for reflection, while someone else might find it overstimulating and prefer something tactile, like working with clay or moving their body through yoga.

Building your personal resource toolbox is about experimenting with curiosity and getting in tune with your own body and mind. Pay attention to what actually helps you to feel calmer, safer, or more connected when you’re dysregulated. Ask yourself:

• Which resources have reliably supported me in the past?

• Which bring a sense of peace or stability?

• Which give me energy or help me reconnect with myself after stress?

This reflective process can deepen self-awareness and strengthen your confidence in managing emotional overwhelm. Over time, your toolbox becomes a reflection of your individuality, shaped by your preferences, experiences, and needs.

Preventative Resourcing: Building Emotional Resilience

It’s easy to think of resources as something we reach for only when things feel unmanageable. But resourcing can also be preventative. Regularly engaging with your supports helps to build resilience and lower the likelihood of emotional overwhelm in the first place.

For example, if you know that creative expression helps you release tension, making time for regular art-making, rather than waiting until you’re stressed, can keep your nervous system more regulated overall. Similarly, maintaining social connections or grounding routines can create a sense of consistency that helps buffer against future challenges.

Think of preventative resourcing like maintaining physical health: you don’t wait until you’re unwell to start eating nourishing food or exercising. Emotional wellbeing works the same way. Using your resources regularly keeps your system balanced, making it easier to cope when life becomes demanding.

Exercises to Explore Your Resources

Exercise 1: Mapping Your Resources

1. Take a sheet of paper or a notebook.

2. Write down all the resources you can think of under each category: social, physical, psychological, spiritual, and creative.

3. Include even the smallest things — if it helps you regulate, it counts.

4. When you’re finished, take a moment to reflect on the sheer number of tools you already have.

5. Hang this list somewhere visible for daily reminders, or create a smaller, pocket-sized version to carry when you’re out and about.

Exercise 2: Creating a Resource Image

1. Think about the feelings your resources give you - safety, calm, strength, or connection.

2. Create an image that represents those feelings. You can draw, paint, collage, or even create a digital image.

3. Place the image somewhere you can see it regularly, or keep it on your phone for moments when you need to lean on your resources.

Community and Shared Resources

While many resources are personal, some of the most powerful are found in connection with others. Human beings are inherently relational, and emotional regulation often happens within safe and supportive relationships. Shared experiences, whether through group therapy, creative workshops, support groups, or even informal community spaces, can expand your resource system beyond yourself.

When you engage with others who understand or relate to your experiences, you gain perspective, reassurance, and validation. Seeing how someone else manages their emotions or witnesses your story with empathy can be healing in itself. Community can remind you that you are not alone in navigating difficulty, and that collective regulation, like grounding together, sharing stories, or even laughing in a moment of connection, can be just as powerful as any individual practice.

Shared resources also inspire new ideas. You might discover a new grounding technique through a peer, or feel motivated to try a creative or spiritual practice you hadn’t considered before. In this way, community becomes both a source of comfort and a space for growth.

Final Thoughts

Resourcing isn’t about avoiding or suppressing difficult emotions. It’s about equipping yourself with tools that help you meet those emotions safely and effectively when they arise. Life will always bring moments of stress, uncertainty, and overwhelm. That’s part of being human. What changes through resourcing is your capacity to respond rather than react.

The more you practice identifying and using your resources, the more natural it becomes to reach for them when you need support. Over time, these small, intentional actions begin to strengthen your sense of resilience. You start to notice that emotional waves don’t knock you down as easily. You have anchors, practices, and people to steady you.

Even the smallest, most ordinary resources can make a meaningful difference. A deep breath, a short walk, a supportive message from a friend - each contributes to your emotional balance. The more you use them, the more they become part of your internal system of safety and self-regulation.

With consistent practice, you may find that you carry that sense of stability with you wherever you go. Challenges will still arise, but you’ll meet them with a greater sense of trust in yourself, knowing that you already hold the tools to navigate whatever comes your way.