Sensory sensitivities or mindfulness?

Are you becoming more sensitive or more mindful?

Many people come to the nervous system work, and specifically to the SSP (Safe and Sound Protocol) with a desire to reduce sensory sensitivities and while this often is a result of the experience, there can also be a bit of a heightened experience of senses and the world around us as we thaw out of long term disassociation, or "functional freeze" as Lyons calls it.

The experience of being a sensitive person in a world that does everything it can to toughen you up can be so exhausting and disheartening. I for one, came out of the womb sensitive, my mom describes me as a very anxious child, startled by my own shadow, hiding behind her, under tables, in corners, there was even a story of when I was 4 years old and they thought I had run off and been eaten by coyotes. The whole neighborhood was out looking for me and they later found me in my bed fast asleep, I was so small and quiet that they hadn't even noticed me slip away and bury myself under the covers.

When people first start the SSP, I mention that this experience has the potential to make them less capable of operating according to the rules of capitalism, they will grow to respect themselves, and more accurately, to respect the messages their bodies have been sending them.

When they are tired, they are less likely to chug a cup of coffee and power through and more likely to tuck themselves in for a gentle nap. They are more likely to ask for the radio to be turned down, to tell a friend that they'd love to get together but not at that noisy restaurant with overhead lights, to settle into work that may be less glamorous or high paying than they may have thought necessary but that is more authentic to who they are and meaningful. They may become a person who wears ear plugs when they feel overstimulated and night driving glasses when they go to the movie theatre. They may become a person who no longer eats "meals" but enjoys little snacks and lets go of rules about diet and exercise. They may become less social, release adherence to social norms about clothes, gender and relationships. They may be slower, more gentle and more likely to notice and appreciate small joys and beauty. They may become more "boring" in a way that can be mildly unsettling after decades of addiction to stress hormones and chemicals coursing through their bodies.

Overall, when we get into a respectful and trusting relationship with the nervous system, we are more connected to the present moment and our main way of connecting with our present moment is through the senses. There is a great admiration of mindfulness in certain pockets of our culture, and for many this concept of mindfulness can sound like some great mystical reality only experienced my monks on a hill.

However, the definition of mindfulness is connecting with the senses in the present moment. One need not have any connection with mysticism, religion or spirituality. Merely noticing what one is seeing, tasting, touching, smelling. or hearing in any given moment is being mindful. And therefore, being mindful can happen anywhere while doing anything. I can be equally as mindful while I am cleaning a toilet as I can be while meditating in a monastery. It is free and accessible to all people on the planet at all times and it has been researched to demonstrate increases in measures of physical function across the board.

And yet, when we are scared or angry or defensive or ashamed, we are cut off from accessing our capacity for mindfulness. Our reality is skewed by the defense state (either dorsal - freeze or sympathetic - fight/flight) in such a way that we cannot connect as easily with the present moment. The tone of voice that we perceive, the facial expressions of those we are surrounded by, the colors, the sights, sounds and smells are all influenced by the reticular activating system programmed negativity bias which is designed to confirm perceived threats.

So how can we access mindfulness when in a defense state? Simple mindfulness exercises can go a long way, we can simply pause and ask ourselves to find the colors of the rainbow around us, or to listen for three sounds, or take a small object and feel its texture, temperature and weight. Sometimes we may be too upset to jump into one of these mindfulness exercises and may benefit from some distress tolerance first, an ice cube to the wrist or some paced breathing.

While becoming more mindful may make us less likely to "fit in" with the grind culture, it surprisingly makes our daily experiences more fluid, we are less likely to procrastinate, tasks that used to feel laborious can become more simple, physical and mental health measures increase and we are more likely to experience meaningful social connections.

So if you are feeling more sensitive to sensory experiences, it may actually be a positive indication of your mindfulness and connection with the present moment. What would it look like to allow yourself and others to adjust your life via modifications (changes to the external circumstances, like asking to meet for a walk rather than at a loud restaurant) and accommodations (changes to yourself to stay with the external circumstance, like wearing a hat and earplugs to the loud restaurant)?