It is even more familiar to those of us with neurodivergent / special needs families and families with sensory challenges. The world is designed for neurotypical fully abled children, so the constant ‘fight ‘for our children can be exhausting.
We are all very different humans and understanding ourselves is the first step in order to advocate for ourselves and our children. The awareness of what may trigger us and also understanding those things that we can do to regulate our nervous systems are vital.
Many of these factors / triggers are out of our control
In order to recover and manage burnout, we need to focus on what we CAN control. How can we regulate our ourselves and our nervous systems? Finding what works for us is very personal and unique.
Within our body is a system called the peripheral nervous system. “This system relays information from your brain and spinal cord to your organs.” The somatic system (found within the peripheral nervous system.) ‘Allows you to move and control muscles throughout your body. It also feeds information from four of your senses — smell, sound, taste and touch — into your brain.’ The Cleveland clinic.
So, what is sensory input?
According to Sarah Collins (OT) in the Raising Lifelong learners with Colleen Kessler (podcast Ep 211) Sensory processing is the ‘taking in’ of these senses and intervention is the organisation of them. She uses the ‘Zones of regulation framework ‘to explain when our bodies are in a calm or alert state. The framework explains that big feelings are normal. Check out this video here
Teaching how to be mindful can help us understand what state we are in and what we need?
One of the lesser-known senses is called Interoception. Kelly Mahler an OT and interoception advocate says in her website “Interoception is the ability to sense and understand what is happening inside your body, such as your heart rate, breathing, and other internal sensations. Practicing interoception fosters a deeper sense of self-awareness and emotional regulation, contributing to a healthier and more connected family dynamic.” In essence it is understanding what is going on internally within the body.
When focusing on co-regulation. It is important to remember that things will constantly change, within the different seasons of being a mom. So, there isn’t a specific guide but rather finding what works for you.
We need to teach our kids that we have different needs, they need to see us looking after ourselves, that is how they will learn how to create self-care routines that actually work. As we learn self-care our self-worth improves.
The more we model the future life we want for our kids the more we give them permission to make mistakes and build resilient humans.
Mich xx