Turtlenecks & Wool: Yea or Nay?

Are YOU “sensory defensive”
Do YOUR little quirks & preferences (or those of a loved one)
have a brain-based explanation?

© Madelyn Griffith-Haynie, CTP, CMC, ACT, MCC, SCAC
from the Comorbidities Series

Sensory sensitivities

Regular readers already know of my intense disregard for summer. I can’t deal with heat.  Not only am I extremely uncomfortable, practically on the verge of passing out from heatstroke, I seem to lose the ability to think.  My brain wilts.

As October is a week old already – Indian Summer begone! – I am practically giddy as I begin to dig out my woolly turtleneck sweaters and the boots last seen before the weather turned beastly hot.

I am eagerly anticipating the arrival of the day when I can put away ALL my summer clothes and start wearing coats and gloves, swaddling my neck in long wool scarves – venturing out once again, in real clothes designed for grown-up bodies!

© Phillip Martin | artist/educator

Seriously, have you ever really looked at summer clothing?

• Limp and tattered rags of sweat-drenched cotton passing for tops;
• Belly-button baring pants, whacked off at fanny level;
• And shoes that are barely more than soles with straps exposing far too many toes in serious need of some grooming attention.

On the other hand . . .

More than a few people I know are practically in mourning, dreading the coming of the “bone-chilling” season that, for them, has absolutely nothing to recommend it.

• They hate wearing shoes at all, and boots make them feel like a Budweiser Clydesdale.
• They can barely breath in turtlenecks and neck scarves.
• Wool makes them scratch themselves practically bloody.

You might be tempted to believe that we have little in common – but you’d be WRONG.  We are each members of the Sensory Defensive club – at the far ends of the spectrum: heat, for me, and cold for them.

But sensory defensiveness is not confined to temperature.
It can show up in any number of arenas, including:
sound, sight, touch, smell and taste —
as well as vestibular/proprioceptive (position, balance & movement)

What most people don’t understand is that these sensory sensitivities are usually the result of “faulty brain-wiring” — a sensory integration issue.

In addition to many individuals born with ADD, anywhere along the autistic-spectrum, or other individuals with attentional challenges, sensory sensitivities can also be a consequence of brain damage [TBI/ABI], and often accompanies PTSD.

Even some professionals who work with PTSD misunderstand the loud noise/startle response. It may well have a psychologically-based component that triggers flashbacks but, at base, it’s frequently a neurological issue. The sensory integration pathways have often been scrambled and must be healed or reconstructed.

But back to my friends and our clothing preferences

In addition to our shared inability to tolerate certain temperatures (comfortably, or at all), some of my summer-loving buddies seem to have an additional issue to contend with: tactile defensiveness – and that is what this particular article is going to address.

Remember that you can always check out the sidebar
for a reminder of how links work on this site, they’re subtle ==>
HOVER before clicking – often a box will appear to tell you what to expect

Tactile Stimulation Differences

Noreen O’Sullivan’s book cover – Found HERE – with other book suggestions

Some people have no problem wearing almost anything. Others can’t stand certain textures against their skin, and many are driven crazy by the tags affixed to clothing by law. They simply have to cut them out.

Clip-on tie wearing men have reported feeling strangled when they wear the “regular” type (and not just as a metaphor). More than a few women feel the same way about turtlenecks and neck scarves, and often despise wearing hats – sometimes even gloves!

Some folks can’t abide clothing that restricts movement, even when there is a great deal of Lycra in the fabric. Others find tight, close-fitting clothes oddly comforting – as long as there is enough “stretch” that they can move around freely.

Amazon Link to O’Sullivan’s book

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A mystery solved

Years ago I facilitated a live support group attended by a mother and her teen-aged son. They were both amazed to finally have a reason to explain the stretchy, long-sleeved, skin-tight turtlenecks the son insisted on wearing, even in the summer.

The pressure on his skin calmed his nervous system and helped him focus – even though he didn’t realize what those skin-tight turtlenecks were doing for him.

Lucky for him he didn’t have my heat-sensitivity problem as well!

He was also extremely fortunate that his mother chose not to make a big deal out of what her son chose to wear on his own body – but she always wondered about what seemed to her an oddball preference.

Interesting article for more about proprioception sensitivities:
Tight Fitting Clothing: A Sensory Mystery Unravelled

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Many folks have a similar problem to a lesser degree — they simply don’t like their clothes to “move around.”  They find clothing that slips around on the body annoyingly distracting.

Other folks have the opposite problem — clothing that “hugs the body” is distractingly confining. A strong aversion to turtlenecks and ties is a common manifestation of this processing sensitivity.

Getting to sleep

Many who prefer sleeping in the nude – or kids who insist on sleeping in their underwear – do so because of similar tactile sensitivities, whether they are aware of it or not. Bedding becomes an increasingly important focus when there’s nothing much between you and the sheets!

Many who have trouble with sleep might be surprised to discover that it is tied directly to an element of sensory defensiveness. They tend to be picky about what they are willing to sleep in – as well as what they are willing to sleep under – and on.

Most of us have similarly strong bedding and sleep-wear preferences actually, just not to the same degree as a tactile-defensive. As a result, we frequently allow another factor – cost, availability, or perhaps a partner’s preference – to become more important than making sure we sleep in, on or under our first choices.

Most of us know what we like, but we’ve never taken the time to figure out what it is, exactly, that we like about it — and few of us understand why certain things feel wonderful while others are unacceptably annoying.

“What if you’re receiving the same sensory information as everyone else, but your brain is interpreting it differently?

Then your experience of the world around you will be radically different from everyone else, maybe even painfully so.” ~ Temple Grandin, Autistic Brain

Blankets and Comforters

Oddly enough, many of us find it almost impossible to drift off to sleep when the blankets are light-weight. Those who can say why tend to admit that they feel too vulnerable without a calming, comforting weight grounding them, sort-of tucking them in. (More about weight and pressure coming up in a future article in this Series)

I’ll bet somebody reading this article sleeps under a blanket or two in the summer – perhaps with the air conditioning going full-blast (and somebody else reading barely tolerates that behavior in a loved-one). Now you may find it easier to understand why.

By the way, weighted blankets have been reported to work miracles with depression and anxiety as well as sleep struggles.

Check out: A Natural Approach: Weighted Blankets For Anxiety & Depression

At the opposite end of the spectrum, others can’t get to sleep unless the covers are light weight. They feel too confined – almost imprisoned. Those who have reported that they are also cold-defensive have found down comforters to be a life-altering experience. (There are also light-weight warmth alternatives for those who are allergic to feathers).

Down on Down myself

I longed for a particularly pricey down comforter for years before I felt that I could justify the splurge. It was practically immediately relegated to the role of feather-bed.

I simply couldn’t get to sleep under that thing — way too light and way too hot! Who knew I would turn out to be someone who needed more weight on top to transition into sleep!  So it now goes under me.

Sheet preference

Your choice of bed linen is another area to consider where high-quality sleep is an issue. Different strokes for different folks – and it matters more than we realize.

While Egyptian Cotton is considered the ultimate in luxury, some people need a bit of anti-wrinkle insurance in the fabric. For many of these folks, a wrinkle-resistant, machine wash-and-dry-friendly polyester/cotton blend is a far better choice.

Then there are those individuals who grumble through ironing every single sheet and pillow case. Few of them realize that what helps them drift off to sleep best is the crispness of freshly ironed bedding.

Understandably, they also insist on changing their sheets more often than the rest of us. Many complain about THAT chore too, but they are loathe to stop, “for some reason” they can’t explain. (They can get testy with anyone who encourages them to give up the fight, so don’t even try.)

I’m not particularly tactile-defensive, but I am extremely vulnerable to distractions. I wasted a great deal of money on a set of pricey flannel sheets one year. They seemed like a great idea for winter, especially since I love my cozy flannel pajamas when the weather turns chilly.

It felt almost like sleeping on the soft side of Velcro™ – I stuck to them, or so it seemed. The flannel wrinkles surrounding my entire being really bugged me, and since they also pilled slightly in the wash they were too creepy to sleep on!

I also found satin sheets too “slithery” for me. Others adore them, especially satin pillow cases – which many people with long hair swear results in less breakage and fewer split ends. It has even been claimed that sleeping on a satin pillowcase reduces face wrinkling.

I wouldn’t know about that – I couldn’t STAND the darned things!

Apparently, what we can tolerate when we’re up and moving is greater than what we need to be able to navigate the transition into sleep.

Found HERE

Those of you who are parents of kids who simply won’t stay in bed might want to give some additional consideration to the sheets and comforters you buy for them. That adorable bedding might LOOK great to your child, but s/he probably won’t be aware enough to tell you if those awesome sheets don’t feel so great when they’re trying to drift off to dreamland.

Given that sensory issues aren’t confined to the signals from our skin, pay attention to when any won’t-stay-in-bed problems tend to occur most often. Could the smell of certain fabrics or your laundry detergent be part of the problem – or maybe the only problem?

If your kids also insist on wearing “dirty” clothing, or don’t like it when you change their sheets, it almost certainly is.

Don’t ask them directly – they won’t know how to answer the question. Play a “which smells the best/which feels the best?” game instead. Wash their “best feeling” jammies and bedding in the detergent with the smell they chose to see if that makes a difference before you conclude that there is something else behind their behavior.

“I have been talking and writing about sensory problems for over 20 years, and am still perplexed by many people who do not acknowledge sensory issues and the pain and discomfort they can cause.

A person doesn’t have to be on the autism spectrum to be affected by sensory issues.” ~ Dr. Temple Grandin, The Way I See It

Coming Soon

In articles to come, we’ll take a look at sensory integration problems in other arenas.  One of the most interesting is what was once called scotopic sensitivity, now renamed Irlen Syndrome for the woman who developed a non-pharmaceutical intervention.

Helen Irlen discovered that, when the visual cortex of the brain is getting “scrambled” environmental information, all sorts of visual anomalies and a-typical behavioral issues can result, even with “perfect vision” on many of the current eye tests so STAY TUNED!

And get in touch if you’d like some help with sherlocking trouble spots in your own life or that of a child or partner, and some accountability support while you’re systematizing a few things into habits. I still have a few openings in my coaching schedule, and I’d LOVE to be your coach.

 

© 2013, 2017, all rights reserved
Check bottom of Home/New to find out the “sharing rules”
(reblogs always okay, and much appreciated)

---

As always, if you want notification of new articles in this Series – or any new posts on this blog – give your email address to the nice form on the top of the skinny column to the right. (You only have to do this once, so if you’ve already asked for notification about a prior series, you’re covered for this one too). STRICT No Spam Policy

IN ANY CASE, do stay tuned.
There’s a lot to know, a lot here already, and a lot more to come – in this Series and in others.
Get it here while it’s still free for the taking.

Want to work directly with me? If you’d like some coaching help with anything that came up while you were reading this Series (one-on-one couples or group), click HERE for Brain-based Coaching with mgh, with a contact form at its end (or click the E-me link on the menubar at the top of every page). Fill out the form, submit, and an email SOS is on its way to me; we’ll schedule a call to talk about what you need. I’ll get back to you ASAP (accent on the “P”ossible!)

---

You might also be interested in some of the following articles
available right now – on this site and elsewhere.

For links in context: run your cursor over the article above and the dark grey links will turn dark red;
(subtle, so they don’t pull focus while you read, but you can find them to click when you’re ready for them)
— and check out the links to other Related Content in each of the articles themselves —

COACHING LINKS at end of all posts

• Brain-based Coaching with Madelyn Griffith-Haynie
• Brain-based Coaching Fees & Formats
• The Group Coaching LinkList – explaining how this format works

Related articles on ADDandSoMuchMore.com

• Sound Sensitivity and Sensory Integration (l-o-n-g overview)
• ABOUT Boggle
• ABOUT ADD/EFD Comorbidities

Other supports for this article

A Few LinkLists by Category (to articles here on ADDandSoMuchMore.com)

• The Optimal Functioning (Challenges) Series of articles
  (about the Inventory & articles from each category)
• Back from Boggle™ Series
• SLEEP and Sleep Struggles Series

• When you are NEW to ADD (or this blog/Attentional Struggles/ADD Coaching)
• Variations on ADD-ADHD
• The Walking A Mile in Another’s Shoes Series (you are NOT alone here!)

Related Articles ’round the net

• Sensory Integration Explained
• Through The Senses
• I Felt Like I Was Crazy
• Theraputty- The Inexpensive Sensory Integration Tool
• Why Are Many Adoptees Clumsy?
• How Sensory Processing Disorder may be Contributing to your Mental Illness
• Does Sensory Integration Therapy Work?
• Sensory Diets: Explained
• Sensory Integration from a poet

BY THE WAY: Since ADDandSoMuchMore.com is an Evergreen site, I revisit all my content periodically to update links — when you link back, like, follow or comment, you STAY on the page. When you do not, you run a high risk of getting replaced by a site with a more generous come-from.