Living Sensationally

Understanding Your Senses

Winnie Dunn

• Publisher: Jessica Kingsley Publishers
• Year: 2007
• ISBN:
  9781846427336
• Topic: Medicine
• Subtopic: Occupational Therapy

How do you feel when you bite into a pear… wear a feather boa… stand in a noisy auditorium… or look for a friend in a crowd?

Living Sensationally explains how people's individual sensory patterns affect the way we react to everything that happens to us throughout the day. Some people will adore the grainy texture of a pear, while others will shudder at the idea of this texture in their mouths. Touching a feather boa will be fun and luxurious to some, and others will bristle at the idea of all those feathers brushing on the skin. Noisy, busy environments will energize some people, and will overwhelm others.

The author identifies four major sensory types: Seekers; Bystanders; Avoiders and Sensors. Readers can use the questionnaire to find their own patterns and the patterns of those around them, and can benefit from practical sensory ideas for individuals, families and businesses.

Armed with the information in Living Sensationally, people will be able to pick just the right kind of clothing, job and home and know why they are making such choices.

Section 1

Learning about the Sensory Patterns

Section 1 gives you the tools to understand the sensory patterns. You will learn the basics about how your sensory systems work and what your reactions mean. Once you understand your sensory patterns and the sensory patterns of friends and family, you will open the door to an enriched life.

•Chapter 1 provides an overview about sensation, and why it is important to people’s lives.

•Chapter 2 provides details about how each sensory system gives your brain information about your body and the world around you.

•Chapter 3 outlines how to crack the sensory code and understand your sensory patterns. You will learn the four sensory patterns that guide people’s choices and decisions in life. This chapter also contains the first sensory Patterns Questionnaire, so you can get a general idea about your own sensory patterns.

1

Sensation Is Everywhere!

•Are you ticklish?

•Do you cut the tags out of your clothes?

•Do you need to jog hard to have a good day?

•Do you cringe at a sip of sour lemonade?

•Do you keep the shades down?

•Do you crave high volume on your ipod?

Your answers to these questions tell a lot about you. They provide a window to understanding how your sensory systems work, and when you understand your senses, life can be much more satisfying! There are several core ideas that guide our understanding about sensations and sensory patterns.

We are all sensory beings, yet our experiences are unique

If I ask you to describe a pleasant experience, you might talk about a sunny day at the beach, an inviting and comfortable room, or even an exchange between yourself and a loved one. As you told me the story, you would use lots of descriptive words to help me understand. You might use words like “warm” and “soft.” Each of these words creates an image in both our minds because we have had “warm” and “soft” experiences of our own before. So as you tell me about the beach, you might say: “I love the damp, cool feeling of the sand on my skin.” But as I listen to your story, I might think: “Hmmm, I don’t think of the sandy beach as damp and cool; it’s rough and scratchy to me.”

I can see that the experience of lying on the sand is pleasant to you based on both your description and the inflection in your voice. And although I can appreciate your experience, I continue to be haunted by the itchy feeling that is coming over me thinking about sitting on the sand myself.

The words we use to describe our experiences reflect sensations. For example, the word “bright” involves visual input; “soft,” “damp,” “cool,” and “scratchy” involve touch input. In fact, our sensory systems provide the palate for describing all the experiences we have.

We use sensory words to describe our experiences

So everyone lives a sensational life. It’s just that “sensational” means something different for each person. Some of us really like touch, while others would rather other people keep their distance. Some people are picky eaters, and other people will eat anything they can find. Even though people might not be aware of it, sounds, sights, touch, taste, smells, and movement affect us all day long.

Research has shown us that there are four basic ways that people respond to sensory experiences (see the Bibliography at the end of the book for details of the literature available). Imagine that there are four people being invited to taste a new and unusual food. Here is how they might respond:

“Mmmmmm!”

“Ach!!!!!”

“No thanks.”

“What...oh, OK.”

You have probably been with a group of friends or family when these different responses have occurred. The first person cannot wait to try something new. The second person hates the new food after trying it. The third person isn’t even willing to try the food, and the fourth person misses the initial invitation and then goes ahead and tries it.

We experience life through our senses. We hear, taste, smell, touch, see, and move around. We have sensations inside ourselves that help us keep track of how our bodies are doing from moment to moment and day to day. We experience a sense of calm with some sensory experiences, and get overwhelmed with other sensory experiences. But just like the example of eating a new food, people will have their own personal lists of what sensory experiences are calming or overwhelming. Some of us readily search for new input, while others withdraw from situations to reduce the amount of input available.

The world is a sensory place

Sensation is everywhere. Not only are people sensory beings, the world is a sensory place as well. The world around us makes sounds, provides textures, offers tastes and smells, and contains a myriad things to see. We use sensory words to describe all of the physical characteristics of our homes, workplaces, parks, restaurants, stores, and any other setting. For example, a store might be described as bright, noisy, and crowded, reflecting the visual, auditory, and touch sensory systems.

We even describe objects with sensory words. Coffee cups are heavy (or light), smooth (or rough), brightly colored (or pale). Each of these ways of describing the coffee cup reflects the work of our sensory systems to identify certain aspects of the coffee cup. Sometimes it is easy to agree about the characteristics of objects, while at other times, people might differ in their descriptions of particular objects. For example, when we describe a cup as “heavy,” what rules have we applied to the cup? It is likely that we are comparing the weight of the cup to other cups we have held. So, if we have only held plastic cups, then nearly any coffee cup made of metal or ceramic would be “heavy.” However, if we have held many other ceramic mugs, then a coffee cup would have to be unusually dense to be called “heavy” Personal experiences (which are held in our memories) intersect with the physical world to help us decide how we will describe objects.

If anyone doubts the power of sensation, they only need to look at the marketplace. The marketing campaigns of prominent companies reflect the importance of tapping into people as sensory beings:

•York Peppermint Patties has proclaimed “Get the sensation.”

•Pier 1 Imports has invited customers to “Get in touch with your senses.”

•Hanes has launched a line of tagless underwear, a strategy to respond to people’s experiences of scratchy tags; other companies have followed its lead.

•Kentucky Fried Chicken is “Finger lickin’ good.”

•The AT&T companies invite people to “Reach out and touch someone.”

•Verizon asks “Can you hear me now?”

•The M&M company has drawn on people’s experience with sensations by saying “Melts in your mouth, not in your hands.”

•Miller beer has proclaimed “Tastes great, less filli...