Imagine you are In a storm at sea , just as Jesus was with his disciples on the Sea of Galilee. You may recall the anxieties felt by the disciples who felt they had no control over what was happening.
When we are overwhelmed or feeling stressed the mind and body can be full of anxieties and get into the one of the FAs state.
Fight -you decide to stay and attack the issue
Flight- You feel that want to run away
Freeze- You feel totally incapacitated
Appease – You will agree to anything to stop what you fear
If we suffer with phobias or panic attacks then a circuit in our brain can loop continually so that when we are presented with that phobia our body is constantly on high alert ,with raised heartbeat and respiration. The phobia might be as a result of something that happened. For instance a student we worked with had a fear of seeing traffic lights on his way to school because an incident at a traffic light had occurred some time before and he expected it to happen again. Unless we try to deal with the phobia it can lead to
depression,
chronic fatigue,
headaches and migraines
Metabolic disorders
Breathing issues related to asthma
Severe health issues
If a student has additional learning needs they may not be able to explain why they feel as they do and why they are responding in this way.
There are many therapies and technologies that can help you cope with a particular phobia but they are all very individual and what works for one person might not work for another. One student I had could get out of a possible ‘meltdown’ by using the Vibroacoustic bed ( see my video on this) . Another found that Neurofeedback helped another found VR helped and so on.
The simplest immediate 3 step technique that can help some to move from a state of amygdala activation to prefrontal cortex activation which helps create new neural pathways in the brain to create an inner change that is lasting is by 1 taking notice of what is happening in their inner world
Eg ‘ I’m noticing a sensation of…’
Then the next step would be to 2 take control of what they can control. That means check if they can feel their feet on the floor. Can they? Then breath in through the nose , hold for a count of 4 , and exhale from the mouth.
Finally 3 Distraction from the threat ,which might be by engaging in an activity .
You can practice these 3 steps regularly so that they become a habit and your immediate response to an FFFA.
For some people who have additional learning needs they cannot do steps 1 and 2 without support and sometimes have to move straight to step 3.
Many families today have fidgets that can be purchased easily online or in shops that can help a person to refocus.
Sometimes that is all that is needed so don’t be afraid to purchase some fidgets and inform the class teacher that they help your child to get back on track. Obviously choose unobtrusive fidgets as you do not wish to disturb the rest of the class.
Luckily for the disciples they had the greatest teacher of all with them. He took notice . He took control. He distracted them by getting them to refocus on their faith.
