We are living in a complex world, with increasing demands on our lives. Some of us love the rush and take it in our stride, seeming to seek more input.
We experience life through our senses, responding to movement, sounds, touch, smell, taste and visual information. But our patterns of response and enjoyment of sensations are different for each of us.
Perhaps you are energised by the multiplex demands of everyday life …..driving, moving about, taking calls, organising activities and events, sales queries, budgets …..deadlines; or
or do you feel overwhelmed and frequently have to stop and recalibrate….. and ‘centre’ yourself
By looking at our patterns of behaviour we are a given an idea of our sensory preferences and how sensitive we are to the wide range of sensations that we experience in our daily lives.
- How do you feel about someone standing so close to you in the queue that their arm or body touches yours
- How do you enjoy the sensation of biting into a peach without taking off the furry peel first; do you prefer fruit juice without the fruit pulp; do the garlic and chilly spices of the Eastern Bazaar food stalls make you feel nauseous;
- How do you feel about a family outing to an Amusement Park with roller coasters and waterslides.
- Does the fluorescent light above your desk exhaust you; are you irritated by the ringtone of incoming calls; disturbed by the number of people entering and moving about at the office;
- Do the labels or texture of your shirt and the seams of your socks distract and disturb your concentration?
- How detail oriented are you – do you prefer agendas and information indexed with bullet points or do you prefer brainstorming sessions, mind maps and diagrams?
Some of us need intensity and variety to stay focussed, and others prefer information in small controlled doses to perform at our best. Sensory patterns of behaviour can cause conflict in daily relationships where one persons need for solitary and detailed analysis of information, may cause friction with a colleague who prefers the buzz of group discussion in reaching a conclusion.
Insight into our own tolerance levels, allows us to
- understand why we seek or avoid certain forms of sensory input under stress;
- recognise signs of stress or overload
- anticipate and modulate stressful sensory overload;
- plan strategies around our sensory tolerances, so as to avoid unnecessary conflicts and misunderstandings in daily relationships.
MySense offers you a Sensory Profile compiled from the research of occupational therapists in USA and South Africa. The Sensory Profile indicates your personal baseline response to sensations and enables you to develop sensory strategies to restore your comfort zone.
MySense 