This lab made me ask questions that I would't intuitively ask myself. What are my sensory preferences? What are my emotional regulation strategies? Definitely Not questions I've ever asked myself and at first glance, I genuinely think that I don't know how to answer!
Throughout the lab, I thought back to that stressful situation that I blogged about in my previous reflection on the lab about Cognitive Strategies (Appying the TIC TOC Technique), I realized that I know how I self-regulate better than I thought! There are...
Sensory Strategies:
Some of my own sensory preferences and strategies:
- Strong hugs: I'm the type of person who needs a blanket on top of me whenever I sleep, whether it be in the middle of summer or winter. There's a certain calming effect to having weight, a certain proprioceptive input, on my shoulders and around me as I sleep or when I'm feeling upset.
- Soft voices: I have a tendency to talk faster and more aggressively when stressed. I've just realized that the most of the friends that I confide in have softer voices than me. I think the sound of their voices (along with their supportive listening and advice) helps to calm me.
- Cool air: I remember stepping outside that night when I felt upset hearing that my floormates had bailed out on plans. A change in temperature helps to make me more alert and more able to sort out my thoughts.
- Pacing: I get quite restless when I'm stressed because I feel that I have too many thoughts in my head that need to get sorted out. Often times, I choose to go for a walk to calm myself and give myself time to think while doing something that's simple. Usually this happens outside, so I'm in a bigger space and I feel less "constrained" (as I might in my room).
Emotional Strategies:
- Singing: I like to sing when I'm feeling an intense emotion. When I'm happy, excited, sad and stressed.
- Eating: When I'm working on a project and feeling overwhelmed with the stress, I like to eat while I'm working. This is a double edged sword as it decreases my work productivity since I'm physically occupied with the task of eating and typing, but it also works to calm and focus my energy on only those two tasks (rather than procrastinating by staring out the window or browsing the internet).
- Physical Exercise: I like to run outside in the morning because it sets my mood for the day on a high note. Gets those brain juices flowing and my body in working mode!
Ever heard of Eurythmy? I definitely did not know that existed as a form of therapy (or even a word!) until I found this article:
Kanitz, J.L., Pretzer, K., Calaminus, G., Wiener, A., Langler, A., Henze, G., ...& Seifert, G. (2013). Eurythmy therapy in the aftercare of pediatric posterior fossa tumour survivors—–A pilot study. Complementary Therapies in Medicine, 21(S1), S3-S9.
Mind-body therapies (MBTs) are designed to promote self-regulation and self-healing powers are seen as a promising adjunctive treatment in pediatric oncology in Western countries. This is considered a complementary therapy to conventional OT and PT services. Eurythmy therapy (EYT, Greek: eurythmy = ‘harmonious rhythm’) has come out of European MBT literature. EYT can be described as a holistic MBT consisting of a broad range of exercises that arise from human speech (e.g. vowels, consonants, rhythm. In this study, children were engaged in spatial orientation exercises, rising and falling speech rhythms, and boundary formation and geometric exercises for inner structuring. (p.54, Kanitz et al, 2013)
Kanitz et al's 2013 study involved 7 children who are posterior fossa tumour survivors participating in 25 EYT interventions over a span of 6 months with another 6 month follow up. It was found that there was good adherence to the program, and improvements in cognitive and neuromotor functioning in all children. 5 of the 7 children also saw benefits in visuomotor integration. Looks like EYT is an up and coming type of therapeutic intervention that OTs will have to keep an eye out for further research is done.
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