Sensory Self Care Saturdays

On Saturdays I roll out all the coping strategies.  Every Saturday is a self-care Saturday. They're not necessarily the same every week, but some of the current favourites (I won't list the negative ones...) are walks in the countryside, cuddles with the Piggy Peggies and painting by numbers. Today as you can tell by the blogging activity, writing has been one, as has seeing a friend.

I've written before about how sensory experiences can help with my wellbeing (here is a good place to start) and because one of the aspects about my autism that I get asked about most frequently is sensory needs, I thought I'd give a window on one of my coping tools of today.

I had a shower.

Sounds simple, but let me see if I can give you an idea of how I had a shower and what the shower did for me.

Before I had my shower I stayed in bed. Usually my self-care Saturday begins with a lie-in, followed by pilates - just the ticket (combined with Friday night yoga!) to getting back in line with myself. This was a hard week though, and Friday was difficult and included bathroom floor time for lunch, yippee. I have learnt that it is both survivable and at times beneficial to follow my body's hints that departure from routine would be wise. I cancelled pilates and stayed in bed. For ages. The weight of the duvet(s) gives wonderful proprioceptive feedback to the whole body and savouring the experience nourished me.

When I had finished duvet-ing I took the luxury of leaving my contact lenses out and showering with the light on.* I'm very short-sighted so this transforms my sensory experience: my eyes focus on the water cascading immediately before them, glistening in the light - sparklewater! (see also. sun on the sea or a river...)

I had no time limit on my shower; no deadline for leaving the house, no stressful event to prepare for later. I closed my eyes and tipped my head back, focusing on the sensation as the water woke my scalp and face. Nice and warm - bed temperature eases the transition on the body... calm. Tappy tappy touch dancing on my skin.

I have my phone set to play "My Mix" on YouTube - no stress of deciding what playlist I want to listen to, no decision making, but music that I like because it's made from my playlists.

I turn around to join the sparklewater again and become absorbed in the way the shadows of the water drops play on the white bathtub if I shake my hands and move my fingers.

Eventually I move on to wash my hair and myself, with familiar scents and an unchanging routine. When I start to overheat I know I've been there long enough and I share a last few moments with the sparklewater before I say goodbye. My shower has a five-second delay on its "stop" button - this Godsend makes the transition more bearable. And I know I can come again soon. I am so very grateful that I am privileged enough to be able to access this form of self care: physically, culturally, financially.

Photos just don't compare.
Go and try it for yourself if you can.

*It's funny, because it's there every day, the sparklewater, but it's a special treat to see it. My contacts give me so much (I cannot focus beyond about 20cm without them and I have much better vision than with glasses, not to mention they are so much simpler, especially in my job!) but in entering the world of the distance-seers I lose the beauty of the morning sparklewater. On weekdays I also shower with the light off because dimmer light is more calming for me and our bathroom fan makes an unholy racket too, and I need to retain all the calmness I can on schooldays!