A few weeks ago, I wrote about what it means to be sensory defensive. The basic definition, as provided by Dr. Sharon Heller in Too Loud, Too Bright, Too Fast, Too Tight, is this: “sensory defensiveness is a condition that encompasses a constellation of symptoms, including tension, anxiety, avoidance, stress, anger, and even violence, that result from aversive or defensive reactions to what most people consider nonirritating stimuli.”
As promised, this post is a summary of Dr. Heller’s recommendations for living well in an overstimulating world. Whether sensory defensive or not (I am in some areas, not in others), her tools are helpful for everybody, and I highly recommend the book. Dr. Heller has covered all the bases, and created a timeless guide for a healthy life.
Your Sensory Diet
The last part of the book is divided into two sections, “Your Sensory Diet,” and “Removing Treatment Obstacles.” These bullet points will highlight information from the first section. I’ll save the latter section for a future post.
- Jot down (and rate from 1-3) the objects, people and/or situations that stress your senses and which you find yourself avoiding. Heller provides a list, but you could do just fine if you aim to be specific when you create this inventory.
- Get used to body scanning for tension throughout the day. Start at the feet or head, and go up or down. Where do you feel tight, clenched, compressed, etc.? Are you frequently tense? Once you’ve found the tension, part of the exercise is to let go of it by allowing that part of your body soften.
- If you have severe sensory defensiveness, seeing an occupational therapist (OT) could help. Seek one who is a specialist in sensory integration.
- Engage in proprioceptive activities (“priming the pump,” as Heller calls it). Deep pressure on your body and heavy work that engages your body helps you feel grounded. This can be done in many ways, such as house work, exercise, standing in front of a wall and pushing into it with straight arms, or pushing your hands together in prayer position. What you are doing is stimulating the brain’s cerebellum, which communicates with the reticular activating system to inhibit arousal to a normal level. Our bodies were designed for movement and exercise. Heller points out how active our early ancestors were, and that exercise purges stress chemicals and helps organize the brain to do its job effectively.
- Slow down the music and turn down the volume. Music that is fast and loud creates internal chaos for the sensory defensive. Perhaps even try baroque or New Age music, which shift brain consciousness toward alpha waves, enhancing overall well-being (I’ve been listening to alpha wave music for six months and it has made a giant difference for me!).
- Chant, hum or sing. It creates vibration in the upper body that leads to deeper breathing, a more relaxed jaw and throat, and released tension.
- Replace your lightbulbs with the full-spectrum variety. They’re available for fluorescents, too. (Heller includes a fascinating section on light therapy, e.g., the work of optometrist John Downing and the Lumatron phototherapy device.)
- Carpets, paints, cleaning products, self-care products, etc. should all be as chemically free as possible. Besides the fact that chemicals are far from harmless, they can set off olfactory alarms for the sensory defensive which others are able to ignore. (I adore the smell of essential-oil-based stuff, but can’t tolerate perfume at all).
- Pay attention to your physical environment. Feng shui your home to allow natural flow of energy (de-clutter!), and choose paint colors based on mood impacts (this information can be easily found online; green has the most restful effect). Also, escape to nature as often as you can, and bring nature into your home.
The important thing to remember is that there is science behind these tips. Brain waves, pulse, breath, etc. have been measured and compared when exposed to different sensory inputs, such as fast, drum-based music versus music with a slower (or no) beat, and different types of light. And while some of us might be painfully aware of our adverse reactions to some stimuli, others may have been living with the discomfort for so long that we have accepted it as “normal.” I invite you to play with this information: take a baseline of your body’s stimuli responses, incorporate some changes into your sensory diet, and see what happens.
Have you incorporated any of these types of changes into your daily life? What effects have you felt?
Kathy @ SMART Living 365.com says
Hi Laura….I find stuff like this fascinating. And while I don’t consider myself particularly sensory defensive I think we all are to some extent. I have actually researched how music has the ability to effect us both mentally and physically so that’s a big one for me. I meditate and listen to alpha wave music too. Our house is chemically very free and we have lots of natural light. I also believe in many of the fung shui techniques for a harmonious home. Lots of good tips here. Thank you. ~Kathy
Laura Zera says
Hey there! Yes, I remember chatting a bit about music on your site. It was a tough one for me at first, because I like to rock. Really, really do. Ha! But I’ve found that by substituting the alpha music, it has had a massive effect on my “janglyness.” And regarding the feng shui, it was interesting for me to “reconsider” it. There was so much written about it a decade ago, and then it kind of fell off the radar, yet the principles are so good. Hard corners, clutter, composition, it all factors in.
Thanks for stopping by, Kathy.
Jeri says
I’m real big on my physical environment whether it’s in the house or outdoors. The power of place can be quite profound and early on I realized I could have a good amount of control over that area of my life when many other factors were in chaos. I went backcountry camping for the first time in years a couple of weekends ago, and it was great. All that walking clears the mind so much. Exercise can help curb how over-stimulating some environmental factors can be, but I’ve plateaued with my jogging regime. I’m about to order the P90x3 videos to start after getting back from Oktoberfest, which I am sure will be full of way too much sensory overload. Ein bier?
Laura Zera says
That is all very cool! When you were camping, did you see any bears? Or beers?
I’m just starting to realize how much we can do to tweak our physical environments. It’s nice to feel like we have control over something!
Jeri says
Nope, no bears or beers! Too many people and their dogs. Sawtooth Lake is a pretty popular hike.
Debbie Young says
Laura, I am so grateful to you for these posts about sensory defensive, which I now realise I am in some ways. I find the music my husband likes physically painful sometimes (King Crimson, for example), and am happier being wafted along by something like Simon and Garfunkel or the Penguin Cafe Orchestra or Mike Oldfield. I’m sure these have a physical, positive effect on my well-being. And though I think some aspects of feng shui are nonsense, there are other parts of it that are absolute truths for me, and which I feel so much better for following. Very interesting stuff, thank you so much for bringing this to our attention.
Laura Zera says
You’re welcome, Debbie. It’s always good to learn these kinds of things about ourselves, I think, so we can recognize when something is making us irritable and adjust accordingly. Interesting that you say “physically painful” — that would definitely be considered a defensive response.
Jodi from Heal Now and Forever says
These are awesome tips! I am definitely saving this one for some clients! That’s for all your research and for sharing it with us!
Laura Zera says
You’re so welcome, Jodi. I hope your clients find it helpful. I’ll be doing one more post to capture the last chapter of tips from this great book.
Jagoda Perich-Anderson, M.A. says
Such helpful tips — would help anyone manage stress of all sorts, really.
This reminds me of a woman I worked with many years ago who couldn’t stand the sound of the wind chimes on her neighbor’s porch. Unfortunately, not much was known or understood about sensory defensiveness then. Sadly, she was a bit prickly in asking her neighbors to take down the chimes. They thought she was just being nitpicky and unreasonable and refused to do it. This sort of information would have helped immensely.
Laura Zera says
As you said, your colleague was a bit prickly about it, but the response to both sensory defensive and highly sensitive people is often that they are being nitpicky and “high maintenance.” I’m sometimes sensitive to sound, but more so to smell. A few years ago, a colleague of mine put on a hand cream that just set off every stimuli response in my body. It was difficult for me to bring myself to say something because I didn’t want to be a pain, but I could barely breathe. Luckily she was totally cool and immediately washed it off (hi Pam!). But it’s a hard thing to explain “why” to someone when you don’t even really know why!