When my kids were little, we limited their exposure to electronics.
I could always see the signs when a toddler time bomb was about to go off from too much stimulation.
Maybe it’s time for the American Medical Society to put a limit on us adults too.
Lately, I have been finding the constant stream of email notifications, text message pings and news alerts on my phone mentally exhausting.
I’m getting sensory overload and I dislike feeling on edge and irritable.
The solution? I need to go on a sensory diet!
Pediatric OTs do this to control exposure to stimulation. It’s essentially pacing where you plan out your daily activities to make sure you are getting equal parts of activity and rest.
So I decided to try sensory deprivation to balance my use of technology in the form of a float tank @ Be Still Float in Riverside!
They recommend floating in complete darkness but that was just a little too much for my first time. I’m not there yet and that’s is ok:)
I kept the soft blue light on in the pool, put in my earplugs to keep the saltwater out of my ears and climbed into the kiddie pool sized tank.
My body floated effortlessly on the saltwater, just like in the ocean.
It was a bit of a struggle at first to let go of all the thoughts that still wanted attention but after a while, laying like a starfish was so relaxing, I actually fell asleep in the tank!!
It’s definitely something to try if you’ve ever had trouble turning off your brain like me.
Maybe this is bridge I needed to be able to meditate successfully. I thrive on doing and being productive but it has its consequences.
I have potential to find inner calm but I just couldn’t put the pieces together without some compensation. It’s not unlike how I would approach rehabbing a stroke patient.
If a patient can’t produce the result I want with traditional methods, I have to l back up and look for similar but different approaches to get them to where they need to go.
Then that frequent and and consistent repetition will result in more familiarity which then produces more automatic results!
Finding the right balance of technology will likely take time to figure out but I’m sure with practice, trial and error, I’ll be feeling more like me again!
Go check it out sometime!
