The most wonderful time of the year

I hope you had a wonderful Christmas yesterday and are now looking forward to a joyful new year!

My Christmas went well; in fact, the past week was probably the best week I've had in a while. I traveled with my family for the holidays, and at first I was worried about it because I was getting way out of my routine. I did not have my favorite liquid soap; I did not have my familiar tableware; I was in the car a lot, and I was in close quarters with a bunch of people most of the time.

Yet I survived. In some ways, getting out of routine helped, because it forced me to take long, quiet walks almost every morning, and it also provided a chance for me to use a hot tub! I normally hate pools of any kind, even though my OT says being in water is very good for getting the proprioceptive input that I need.

After thinking about it, I have realized that it's not the water I hate, or even the pools. I just don't like being in water like that when there are other people around. It makes sense -- I don't like being around crowds anyway (there are people making noises, maybe accidentally brushing against me or stepping on my toes... sometimes the sight of lots of people is simply visually overwhelming). So why would I like being with a crowd in a pool?

This week, I had the chance to sit in a hot tub all alone with no one around, and it was great. I did not mind the water or the pool at all. All the deep pressure must have really helped me feel good.

Still, my week wasn't perfectly...sensational. My family went to a Christmas Eve service at a large, contemporary church, and when I got out of the building, my skin was crawling. I loved the message of the service, of course, but the loud music and the platform lighting was too much for me. I hadn't expected it to be so intense, so I hadn't thought to bring my chewing gum or earplugs. I did put some Kleenexes in my ears, though. If anything, the service made me feel grateful for my home church, which is small and does not insist on playing the music like the whole thing is a rock concert.

Smile moments!

Well, I've been concentrating on my sensory diet stuff a little more over the past few days, and today I realized I have calmly done a few things that normally would flip me out.

• Eating scrambled eggs -Typically, I cannot stand the texture of scrambled eggs. They are so lumpy, and half the time they are horribly liquidy, too. When I want an egg for breakfast, then, I cook it all in one "sheet" like an omelet, except I don't put anything in it like an omelet. I guess it would be the way you fix an egg for an egg sandwich. The other day, though, I was eating breakfast with my family and my dad had fixed scrambled eggs. I tried a small serving of them, and the texture did not bother me! The food actually tasted good.
• Dining at a restaurant - I had supper out tonight, which typically is quite an ordeal if I do not have Kleenexes to stick in my ears. Granted, it was only my family and two other parties in the little diner, but there was still music going on in the background. I noticed it, but it was not overwhelming like it usually would have been! I also was not too bothered by the little scrapes and clangs from everyone eating around me. It probably helped that I ordered my seafood with a spicy powder on top -- spicy foods always seem to help regulate my senses somehow.
• Using bar soap - Okay, so this may seem silly, but we have been out and about this Christmas season and through it all, I am out of my creamy liquid body soap that I always use in the shower. Long hot showers are a big part of my sensory diet, and the soap and my sponge puff add to that. I was worried about using bar soap because of its offensive texture, but I've been okay with it!

I am so thankful for these simple yet smile-worthy milestones! It has been a bit of an adjustment to keep up with bouncing and/or taking a mile-long walk every day, but hopefully I can stick with this routine since I'm seeing results and actually feeling better.

Have you had any "smile moments" lately?

I only like a rocky road when it's in a ice-cream cone.

The past few days have been tough for me, probably because of the stress of the upcoming holidays. I love Christmas and the true meaning behind it, but let's face it, these days the celebration also entails long trips in the car, inescapable music, an overwhelming busy-ness, and of course, school finals to get everything off to a great start.

Thankfully, the exams are over, and I even surprised myself with how well they went! I was concerned about my math final (numbers and I have never mixed), but I was extremely pleased with my posted grade. It felt like a real victory because not only was it a math final, but I did okay even with the grating noises of everyone using their calculators and scratching with their pencils. There was also a fan that was whirring in the room.

And still I made it. Chewing gum was a lifesaver, and it also helped that the instructor insisted on the class spreading apart, which meant I did not have people sitting on all four sides of me.

Still, I have had some rough days after that. I have been trying to be more faithful about incorporating my sensory diet, especially bouncing and getting long hot showers. Yesterday was difficult because I had to get up early for a holiday event, and I never do well with getting up early (sleeping late is another one of my coping tools). I didn't get coffee until later, so for a while, my skin felt raw. I was able to wear sweatpants and a hoodie most of the day, though, which helped a lot.

But all in all, I am feeling a thousand times better now that my semester is over. I had been resorting to my unhealthy stims before the exams, but I am easing my way back into wellness. I have vegged on the computer this morning, though, which probably hasn't been the best for me. It's time to say good-bye and go do sometime active for myself.

Merry Christmas, and best wishes for an overload-free holiday.

To relieve a sensory overload, I...

• Bounce! I have a rebounder, or mini trampoline, that I use to relieve stress from sensory overloads. I also TRY to use it regularly even when I am feeling good so that I don't have to experience an overload. Using it regularly is easier said than done, though.
• Bounce some more! I also use a yoga ball for bouncing, which provides input to different areas of my body.
• Chew gum! Chewing gum has been a miracle-worker for me. I used to never chew gum for fear of getting cavities, but I started realizing my body needed the deep input of chewing when I constantly craved crunchy foods like potato chips or carrots. My OT recommended gum, so now I live on the fruit flavors of Trident.
• Use my weighted blanket! I have a weighted blanket that is about fifteen pounds, and when I wrap myself up in it, it provides a lot of good proprioceptive input. I got it from Affordable Weighted Blankets, and although they mostly have "little kid" material designs, I managed to get a hot pink fabric for mine that looks about as chic as any "normal" throws you can find.
• Press on my ears! Okay, it sounds weird, but my body really needs deep pressure, so pressing on my ears helps a lot when I'm feeling overloaded. Pressing on my fingers, wrists, and ankles helps, too.
• Close my eyes! Visual input adds to the stress of an overload, so closing my eyes can relieve some of that. The tightness of shutting my eyes sometimes feels good, also.
• Go for a walk! I make sure that I walk during a time when the paths are not crowded, and I make sure to take along my boisterous little dog. When Peanut tugs on the leash I am holding, it brings some deep pressure to my arm.

These are some of the healthier ways that I cope with Sensory Processing Disorder. If I can keep up with them, they can help me stay away from the unhealthy options that my body will resort to, like eating tons of crunchy junk food or chewing on my fingers. I came up with my coping tools on my own as well as with my OT. You could also call them my "sensory diet." Talk to your own OT about your diet, and come up with ways that work for you, if you haven't already.

And as you're coming up with coping tools, remember, you're not a freak. I sometimes feel so odd for having to bounce all the time. But in reality, it's not being freakish; it's living sensationally.

What are some ways that you cope?

Living Sensationally

Hi, I'm Lydia, and I am a young adult who is living life "sensationally." When I was diagnosed with Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD) at age sixteen, I was embarrassed about it. I didn't want anyone to know about my new "label," even though I'd been living with the "condition" forever.

These days, though, I am a little more open about my experiences. I have decided to share my thoughts about life with SPD in hopes that I can encourage fellow teens and students with sensory issues, as well as parents who have "sensational" kids.

I can't promise what this blog will end up looking like, but I will try to post about the good days, the bad days, and everything in between. SPD has a way of making life interesting, and maybe you can relate. Let's just face it, sometimes a "sensational life" stinks. Living sensationally can mean we often can't stand smells that other people barely notice; it can mean we're in agony while other folks are simply enjoying a day at the mall; it can mean we feel sick while those around us are peacefully riding in the car.

Or it can mean something else. In a lot of ways, I am hypersensitive, oversensitive to sensory input; you might be more hyposensitive, or under-responsive to sensory input. Or you might be both in different ways, like I am. For more information about SPD, check out http://www.sensory-processing-disorder.com/index.html (but don't let this blog or that website keep you from talking to an occupational therapist who specializes in the disorder).