THE NEUROSCIENTIFIC POWER OF TOUCH AND MASSAGE—EMBRACE YOUR DAILY D.O.S.E!

As we all begin to finally emerge from what feels like the dark ages of lockdown and into a changed and changing world, we may have many conflicting emotions, thoughts, and anxieties. We had to transition very suddenly into a different version of normal and now we are trying to do the same but in reverse! It can be baffling and confusing; there might be aspects you’ll miss and others that you feel anxious about facing again.

For those of us who are neurodiverse in a mainstream world, this is an even greater transition. For families, teachers, carers, and other professionals supporting those with neurodiversities, you might feel particularly trepidatious or fearful. So, here’s the first massive sunbeam of light to help us all find our way through.

Whatever lies ahead as we move forward, YOU GROW YOUR OWN BRAINS. Yes, it’s absolutely true!

Brains stop growing physically at around the age of 18, but what we do with the grey matter inside them is under our control throughout our whole lives. In other words, WE define US!

We can grow or shrink grey matter around our amygdala/emotional brain (sometimes called the fear center), and we can grow or shrink it around the hippocampus (memory and learning) and our frontal lobe, which contains all those higher executive shiny brain functions. If we are stressed for prolonged periods or in flight or fight, the grey area around the emotional brain grows, and

it shrinks around the other areas, causing learning and judgment to be compromised.

Well, we can turn this around. Yes, us!

“How?” I hear you cry. Well, it’s all about getting your daily D.O.S.E—your “happy and coping chemicals.”

Let me explain:

D—Dopamine, the neurotransmitter of reward, focus, attention, concentration, and motivation.

O—Oxytocin, the neurotransmitter of love and nurture, stimulates emotional intelligence. We start flooding with it within 20 seconds of touch.

S—Serotonin, the neurotransmitter of happiness, confidence, and self-esteem. Never has this been so needed. AND if you make enough serotonin, you then have enough to produce melatonin, the neurotransmitter of sleep, mood, and aggression. E—Endorphins, the neurotransmitters of pain relief and that euphoric feeling of well-being.

And that’s not all!

Did you know memory isn’t just carried inside your brains? We carry the day-to-day memory of how and who we are in our water (young children are made of 90% water, and this drops to about 75% during adolescence), and it’s carried in every single one of our 37.2 TRILLION CELLS.

Touch, mindfulness, massage, acupressure, reflexology, yoga, mindfulness, and meditation all HUGELY boost the positive memories we carry, that positive way of “being.” Play therapy and any Positive Growth Mindset games/activities do the same. The key is to meet the child where THEY are at and not where you want them to be.

By feeling invited, by knowing they can change the insides of their brains (and yes, I share it with them all, however young), guess what happens next?

THE BRAIN MAKES A NEW NEUROLOGICAL PATHWAY As Rick Hanson, PhD proved, “What fires the brain wires the brain. Every day our MINDS are building our brains.”

In other words, what we tell our children is what they become. And what we tell ourselves is what WE become. In a relaxed and playful state, a child only needs to receive the same positive message four to six times for a new neurological pathway to be formed.

Touch is key to this. How can I utter this as we transition out of a pandemic? Touch boosts IMMUNITY, and we can self-massage anyway, which then leads to self-awareness, self-management, and self-regulation—more empowerment.

Since the controversial experiments on monkeys by Harry Harlow in the 1950-60s to the present-day leaders in the field such as Darlene Francis, Michael Meaden, and Tiffany Field, touch has been proven to ease stress, boost resilience, build bigger brains, better physical health, and significantly higher levels of emotional and social intelligence, as well as better trust and bonding.

Tiffany Field also carried this research into yoga and proved how breathing and the poses push up the dopamine and serotonin from the gut (90 percent of our serotonin is made in the gut). Our gut or second/enteric brain carries so much dopamine and serotonin it could actually run as an independent nervous system. It is also the seat of meltdown, so is a win-win! Yoga also improves breathing, perspective, sleep, self-awareness, focus, attention, positivity, and calm. Everything we need is inside us. We are deliciously complete jigsaws! Our MINDS build our brains, not the other way around.

It’s called Neuro (brain) Plasticity (being bendy). AND IT’S YOUR SUPERPOWER!

Giuliana Wheater is a published author, multi-awardwinning therapist, teacher, public speaker, and advocate. She is the founder of Therapies for Special Needs and Rainbow Kids Touch Therapy, which has been recognized by the Children’s University. She is also the Charity Wellbeing ambassador for the autism charity AnnaKennedyOnline and the specialist panel member for the UK Indian Head Massage Community. She is the author of Indian Head Massage for Special Needs. Giuliana is proudest, however, of being mom to an autistic son who birthed this journey.

Website: https://www.therapiesforspecialneeds.co.uk/ Edited from: https://www.drsusannapinkus.com/embrace-your-daily-dose/

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