A short coaching video (Day 10) by Mary Kostka about protecting your nervous system from sensory overload, particularly in parenting contexts. The speaker explains simple, actionable strategies across sensory domains: visual avoidance (look at a wall/floor rather than moving child), sound mitigation (soft silicone "flare" funnels, loop earplugs, moving activities outdoors, soft furnishings), tactile alternatives (DIY "crash pad" using duvet/futon/vinyl covers filled with pillows/foam), and regular self-regulation activities (movement, kayaking, running, reading) recommended several times weekly. The video closes with a worksheet prompt for participants to submit questions.
Foreign aloha, sensory heroes. Welcome to day 10. Today we're going to talk about how to protect your own nervous system from becoming overloaded. Now that you know a little bit about, you've thought about what you seek, what you avoid. And we've talked about the mirror neurons. We want them imitating us, not us imitating them. And so there's a lot of simple things that you can do to help you. So for instance, let's say you, you get really nauseous and dizzy when your child's being crazy, spinning around, jumping around you. You don't have to have actually watch their body. A lot of parents that are in our sessions, I'll say look at the wall, look at the floor, don't look at the moving thing because the, the neurons are, are wired together. Vision and movement. You ever sit in a car wash and all of a sudden you feel like you moved? That's, that's how closely they're wired together. Or at a stoplight. That's happened to me there too. So once you kind of know your own nervous system, you can start to think how to protect it. Let's say you have a lot of over sensitivity and that's the thing that's putting you over the edge. You can wear the headphones. So you can wear the. There are these ear, they're not quite plugs, but they're, it's like a funnel. Soft silicone. They're called flare F L and a lot of our staff wear them and, and they just kind of cut down the intensity of the noise. The, cut down the P, the pitch. And there's also the loop earplugs as well. So there's just a lot of different things you can do. You can move your kids to the outside if they're being really loud. And then that way the sound kind of just goes out into the air instead of re. Reverberating off the walls. If they're noisy, you can have more soft things in your environment to help absorb sound. Those are just some thoughts about sound sen sensitivity. If, let's say they're, you're needing a little bit more personal space because they're just all over you and want to just be in your space. And you're, you're just feeling like tactically overwhelmed. You can create situations where they can get that input a different way. So they could like be diving into a crash pad instead of the human crash pad we make crash pads out of. You can make them out of a duvet cover, you can make them out Of a. A futon cover. We like vinyl futon covers that zip up and just throw anything soft in there. So pillows, stuffed animals, foam from old furniture you're getting rid of. Just. Just fill it up with all kinds of stuff and make yourself a little crazy corner in your house. You could have a calm corner and a crazy corner, but so you don't have to be the human. The. The human crash pad. That's the first time I've ever used that term. But, yeah, I think a lot of moms and dads feel like they're the human crash pad. You know, there's just. There's so many things to. That I could think about here. But the. The main thing is that you're just thinking about your own nervous system and what you need and how do you regulate so that you can take little sensory breaks, even if you step outside for a few minutes and then come back in, Obviously, if everything's safe in your house to do that. But just really be aware of keeping yourself as regulated as possible will make just such a. Such a big difference. And in the community, we can brainstorm other ideas you guys can put in there, just some of the challenges that you're having. And we can all brainstorm, like, how do we keep our own nervous system more calm? And I think for me personally, just getting some movement every day really helps keep my nervous system really good place. I think if you can just kind of pay attention to what in your life you do, that just gives you this like. Like automatic deep relaxation response. Like, you can't even help it. For me personally, it's kaying. And so if I get out on the water and I'm paddling around, that's why a lot of my. My videos on my Facebook page are in the kayak. Because that's like, when I can think because I'm like, so relaxed, and I just get this big relaxation response. For some people, it's running. For some people, it's reading a book, crocheting, being all cozy up on the couch. You know, try to make sure you get some of that time very frequently through the week, at least three times a week, that is going to release that stress and just let it kind of find its way out of your body. And that will really help you quite a lot. All right, be sure to fill out your question for today on the worksheet, and I'll see you in the next video. Aloha.
