Dyspraxia, Wellbeing & Self-kindness
Dyspraxia & Life Magazine
Q&A Jamie Crabb
Presentation link bit.ly/DyspraxiaLifeJamieCrabb
Most blue text & images in this resource are hyperlinks - when clicked they open resources
Kinaesthetic breathing & grounding exercise:
Focusing curious attention by breathing into the space/sensations
“between”
your body & the chair/ground
from feet to head
“Our brains are not colour coded into neat areas... In this week of raising awareness of #mentalhealth we need to also consider #neurodiversity. #Anxiety is a bedfellow - can you imagine having to stand up and read aloud in front of others when you have difficulties with fluent reading; or having to write an assignment and others seeing your handwriting is like a spider walking across the page; or your #anxiety going into a new job setting meeting new people?” Amanda Kirby 2019 LinkedIn
Alexander-Passe, 2015 reflects how learning differences can be reflected in “emotional coping strategies that can have a significant bearing.”
Dyspraxia
&
Mental Health
Adverse Childhood | Community Experiences - ACEs
Neurodiversity: Adverse Childhood & Community Experiences (ACEs)
environment & relational adversity experienced bodily as “toxic stress”
Alexander-Passe (2018) recognises the impact of neurodiversity as trauma �
Typically in psychology trauma refers to an experience of serious adversity — or the emotional or psychological response to that experience or any experience that is overwhelming to the nervous system. Key to healing trauma:
(i) Behaviours are communications and the important reframing question “what happened to you?”
(ii) Relational trauma needs relational support
Sadly, our educational systems tend to bypass the emotional-engagement system and focus instead on recruiting the cognitive capacities of the mind. Despite the well- documented effects of anger, fear, and anxiety on the ability to reason, many programs continue to ignore the need to engage the safety system of the brain before trying to promote new ways of thinking.
Van der Kolk, B. A. (2015) The body keeps the score: mind, brain and body in the transformation of trauma.
Van Der Kolk speaks about coping strategies & COVID-19
Physical exercise for self regulation
joining movement and breath
Dysregulation: Stress/anxiety are normal and natural responses to feeling unsafe - fight, flight, freeze & face
(i) Curious & gentle exploration of bodily response: When you feel anxious or are struggling notice (a) what happens in my body? (b) What is the feeling? (c) How am I breathing?
(ii) What can help in my emotional first aid toolbox?
Self Holding | Grounding
Regulate ↑ Relate ↑ Reason (Bruce Perry)
“Let’s challenge the focus on independence and focus on inter-dependency” @_LisaCherry
Safe Space (visualisation anchors)
Sit on a chair and get comfortable. Close your eyes, become aware of
any tension in your body, and let that tension go with each out-breath.
Imagine a place where you can feel calm, peaceful and safe. It may be a place you've been to before, somewhere you've dreamed about going to, somewhere you've seen a picture of, or just a peaceful place. Look around you in that place, notice the colours and shapes. What else do you notice?
Now notice the sounds that are around you, or perhaps the silence. Sounds far away and those nearer to you. What smells do you notice there? Then focus on any skin sensations - the earth beneath you or whatever is supporting you in that place, the temperature, any movement of air, anything else you can touch.
Notice the pleasant physical sensations in your body whilst you enjoy this safe place. Now whilst you're in your peaceful and safe place, you might choose to give it a name, whether one word or a phrase that you can use to bring that image back, anytime you need to.
You can choose stay there a while, just enjoying the peacefulness and serenity. You can leave whenever you want to, just by opening your eyes and being aware of where you are now.
“Shame is the experience of one’s felt sense of self disintegrating in relation to a dysregulating other. Chronic shame develops when many repetitions of such shame experience form a person’s lifelong patterns of self-awareness and response to others.”�Patricia DeYoung
CONNECT
Maintain contact and make time to be with family, friends, colleagues, and neighbours. Connect with others at home or work and in your local community.
LEARN
Try something new. Set yourself a challenge. Seek out an evening or daytime course. Take up a new (or old) hobby, learn to play an instrument, learn a new language or skill. Be creative!
EXERCISE
Be active. Get some physical exercise. Get outside! Walk, run, cycle, swim, play, work out, garden or dance.
ACTS OF KINDNESS
Give. Do something nice for a friend or a stranger. Say thank you or just smile at others. Do some voluntary work or join a community group.
NOTICE
Be curious. Become aware and take notice of your environment. Catch sight of the beautiful, savour the moment.
Emotion wheel / charts
Identify the triggers (task, environment relationships) | | ||
Identify the thoughts Negative Automatic Thoughts (NATS) | | Identify Balanced Alternative Thoughts (BATS) | |
Identify Feelings and bodily response - score 1-10 | | Identify Change in Feelings and bodily response score 1-10 | |
Identify Automatic Behaviours for Coping (ABCs) (e.g. Avoidance Behaviours) | | Identify Alternative Behaviors for Coping (ABC2) | |
Exploring unhelpful Habits
Useful books