![]() ![]() The Tactile System allows us to receive information of touch, pressure, texture, heat, cold, pain and the movement of hairs on skin. An individual can be aversive to one particular category, while craving another, such as finding bitter repulsive and craving salty or sweet foods. Each are processed on different parts of the mouth and tongue. The four different categories of taste are sweet, sour, bitter and salty. Taste or Gustatory Sensory System provides information about the chemical makeup of particles that touch it. Writing, drawing, going up curbs or stairs can also present as challenges when visual processing or integration, is not fully functioning. Depth perception, difficulty with seeing a “whole picture”, finding landmarks in competing environments or picking out a particular item in a drawer full of objects are a few examples. Additionally, visual perception issues falls under the umbrella of visual processing. Light sensitivity, such as bright lights or the sun may be increasingly noticeable with visual processing challenges. ![]() Visual Processing not only encompasses stimuli we interpret through the retina, by light waves in our environment, but also to interpret fine visual details, such as reading and driving. All of us have the following sensory systems: The body has several Sensory Systems, which allow us to experience a multitude of sensations and provide an adaptive response with a purposeful, goal-oriented response to a particular sensory experience. The survival patterns taken on superimpose on an individual towards heightened physiological arousal, which can remain in the body, even when the threat no longer exists. The freeze response, is the point which one may become predisposed to Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder or Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. ![]() When unable to move away or fight back, the response is one of freeze. suddenly feeling sick to our stomach, face flushing), muscle tension which prepares us to fight the situation or flee. We may experience physiological arousal, a visceral response (i.e. When we feel threatened (or perceived threat), these subcortical mechanisms are triggered automatically to push our bodies and minds through the experience. Fight, flight or freeze responses are automatic responses, which help us cope when faced with a dangerous situation. This residue remains trapped in the nervous system where it can wreak havoc on our bodies, minds and spirits (Levine, 1997). They stem from the frozen residue of energy that has not yet been resolved and discharged. Traumatic Symptoms are not caused by the “triggering” event itself. “The brain’s function is to choose from the past, to diminish it, to simply it, but not to preserve it.” – Henri Bergson, The Creative Mind, 1911. The brain continues to search for external sources of danger (Levine, 1997). ![]() When combined with the internal arousal which is still present, our rational brains become irrational. We use that hypervigilance to channel some of the energy into the muscles of our head, neck, and eyes in an obsessive search for danger. Hypervigilance becomes a way to manage the excess energy resulting from the unsuccessful defense against the original threat. This can be illustrated as up on the balls of the feet, on haunches, ready to take action, and/or an overactive Moro/starle primary reflex, or Fear Paralysis - even when no threat is present. One of the hallmark changes in the autonomic nervous system is hypervigilance. An individual, however, may present with sensory processing challenges without trauma. An individual may have a variety of challenges with sensory processing and modulation of emotions and body responses, as a result of traumatic events. Trauma vastly impacts the sensory systems and may cause a disruption in the way in which the body interprets sensory input. Trauma vastly impacts the Sensory Systems Trauma can be incurred as early as birth, and throughout the developmental lifespan. While none of us organizes sensations perfectly, there are distinct patterns to poorly integrated systems, one of which is trauma. A disruption in the neural circuits which assist with neurosensory processing, may cause dysfunction in any of the sensory systems. When the brain and central nervous system are functioning in an organized, systematic manner, one is able to adequately interpret and organize the sensory information for use (Ayres, 2005). Sensory Integration is the process of organizing sensory inputs, allowing the brain to produce a functional body response, however, it is essential in producing useful perceptions, emotions and thoughts. You begin to experience yourself as more than a body and more than a mind, and the circumstances around you as meaningful and designed for your spiritual growth.” – Gary Zukav “As you become multi-sensory, you begin to see yourself as a soul first and a personality second. ![]()
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