Making sense of my senses

What are our senses and what do they do?

Our senses are the systems that our body has that give us information about ourselves and the world, so that we can go about our day-to-day lives. They include:

• vision
• hearing
• smell
• taste
• touch
• vestibular (helps with balance and movement)
• proprioception (tells your body where it is without looking)
• interception (internal messages such as hunger, temperature, and pain)

We use these senses all the time. Without our senses, we would struggle to interact with the world.

We receive information via our senses and then our brain figures out what to do with this information. We can make sense of the things that we see, we can move as we need to, we can enjoy tastes and smells, and so on.

Sometimes this gets figured out just fine, but other times it does not quite go as smoothly.

What happens when things do not go smoothly?

Your senses may be under-responsive or under-stimulated

Sometimes we cannot seem to get enough from our bodies and the world around us to be able to stay calm and alert.

You may find yourself feeling tired and zoning out. You might not register someone calling your name, even if they are in the same room as you.

Your senses may be over-responsive or over-stimulated

You may find that your sensory system goes on ‘high alert’ and your senses are super-sensitive.

Noises might hurt your ears, your clothes may seem really scratchy, or you might find the bright sunshine makes your eyes ache. Our senses are especially sensitive when we are stressed or anxious. All of these heightened sensations can then make you feel worse or more stressed out and it can become a vicious cycle. You may end up feeling totally overwhelmed, or your body may even respond by going into shut down mode or becoming totally zoned out.

Your senses are a bit of everything

Most probably, you will be a mixture of these things. You may find some senses over-responsive and some may be under-responsive. Your sensory needs might change throughout the day. Depending on where you are, what you are doing or who you are with, you may be under-stimulated or over-stimulated. You may feel quite different from one day to the next  in relation to how your senses are presenting.

Seeking sensations

Your body might respond to its sensory state by seeking sensations to try and help you feel more regulated.

For example, if you are under-stimulated, you may feel the need to move more and may struggle to sit still, or you may have the urge to make funny or loud noises.

If you are feeling over-whelmed, you might be seeking sensations that have a calming and regulating effect for example you might want to chew your sleeves or bite your fingernails, or some deep pressure such (like a tight hug).

What can I do to help?

Sensory preferences

We all have different sensory preferences. For example, some people love Marmite, and some people hate it. Some people love rollercoasters, but others hate them. Some people like going to noisy concerts, but some people find them far too overwhelming.

For a lot of us, our sensory preferences can change on a day to day basis, depending on things such as who we are with, what mood we are in, and maybe what else is going on at the time.

You can help manage your sensory needs by being aware of your own sensory preferences.

Remind yourself that it is okay to be different from other people. To help reduce stress in your life, make choices that suit your own sensory preferences, where appropriate.

For example, you may prefer to wear stretchy or soft clothes, and not clothes that are too tight or scratchy. You do not have to wear clothes that you do not like just because other people do.

However, remember, the more we avoid things, the bigger deal they can become and the less chance our minds and bodies will have to get used to it. For things that are important in your every day life, keeping doing them can help you learn to manage them. Avoiding situations can sometimes make them worse in the long run. It is really important that when you do things, you have strategies in place to make them bearable.

Squashes and movement

Deep pressure touch can help us to regulate our systems. Linear vestibular (such as back and fourth, or up and down) movements can also help. Build this into your daily routine to help you stay regulated and feel calm and alert.

Exercise

Regular heavy physical work and exercise is really important to help our sensory systems stay on track. It is also brilliant for reducing stress. Make sure you try and do this every day.

Movement breaks

If you are doing school work, at home or even if you are just watching TV or gaming, make sure that you plan regular movement breaks. Set a timer and make sure you get up occasionally to make sure you are not sitting still in one position for a long time.

Fidgets

Having a fidget toy to play with, such as BluTac, Fidget spinner or small stress ball, to help you feel more regulated. Chewing and sucking is also good for this, such as chewing gum, using a Chewbuddy, or drinking smoothies through a straw. Fidgets can be especially useful to have during activities where you are not really moving much, such as during a lesson or watching TV.

Visual timetable

You might feel that your routine does not change much on a day-to-day basis, so why bother with a timetable. However, having our time planned out in a visual way is a great way to help keep us calm. This will help prevent your senses from going into ‘over-responsive’ mode. Even if you have a good understanding of your daily routine, seeing it mapped out clearly can still help to reduce anxiety.

You could make a wall planner with some simple pictures or photos that you can stick up. Or try an app for your phone or tablet.

End-points and exists

For activities that you find stressful or difficult, make sure that you have clear end-points. For example, if you cannot stand the feeling of having your hair brushed, plan that you will do 5 brushes, and then it is done. Even if your hair is still not completely brushed. Or if you are going to a shopping centre, plan in advance which shops you are going to and in what order, so that you know when the shopping trip will end. Knowing when something is going to end reduces anxiety, which is especially important when managing over-responsive senses.

Also, when out and about, plan your exists. Knowing exactly how you can escape a stressful situation helps reduce anxiety, which helps reduce sensory sensitives.

Safe space

If you ever struggle with feeling stressed out, make sure you have a safe space that you can retreat to when things get a bit too much. This might be a make-shift den or small section of your bedroom that is only for you (no parents or siblings allowed).

If possible, it should be a place that is not too noisy and where you do not have lots of clutter or stuff. This is your chilling out space.

Sensory circuits

Completing a sensory circuit is a simple way to help keep your sensory system regulated. Try to integrate this into your daily routine.

Choose activities from the following to suit your space and resources:

Set 1

First, do 2 of the following activities:

• 20 bunny hops
• 20 jumping beans (jump forwards with both feet together)
• 20 frog jumps (squat, then jump up as high as you can)
• 20 jumping up and down on a trampoline or trampette

Set 2

Then do 2 of the following activities:

• 20 star jumps
• 20 throwing a bean bag or soft toy at a target such as your laundry basket
• 8 long bubble blows through a bubble wand
• 8 rounds of hopscotch (you can draw your own hopscotch using chalk outside)
• 20 rounds of skipping with a rope
• 20 wall press ups (stand facing a wall with your arms out straight in front and palms flat on the wall. Bend your arms to bring your nose to the wall and keep your body straight, then push back to starting position)

Set 3

Finally, do 1 of the following activities for a few minutes:

• Steam rollers (using a gym ball)
• Hands-on squashes
• Hot dogs (lie down and wrap yourself up tightly in an exercise mat or play mat. Ask someone to slowly squash you with their hands)
• Hedgehogs (sit on an armchair, beanbag or sofa. Curl yourself up into a small ball, hugging your legs tightly an rest your head on your knees)