The Beach: Love it or Hate it

When you think of a beach, you usually think of a nice relaxing time on the sand, with the sound of the waves falling.  You probably think of peace and serenity, and a great time.  However, some, including myself, see it as a trip to Hell.   The sand, each individual rock, stone, and particle are like miniature daggers, which get all over you, and never leave.  It is like you can feel the salt in the water, and it too, is like daggers.  And lets not get started about the rocks lining the edge of the beach, and below the lowest of tides.

I, even though I can't stand it, consider myself lucky to live somewhat near the beach.  The beach does have its benefits, such as the nice winds that cool down the hot Summer days.  However, other than that, the beach isn't so wonderful.

I don't know exactly what about sand makes it so bad, but ever since I was a child I couldn't stand it, or anything similar in texture.  Even the thought of sand sent me into shivers.  In my freshmen year of high school, we were required to participate in a psycho-synthesis session.  In brief, psycho-synthesis is a meditation technique that is led by someone, that sends you to a "relaxing" place.  Of course, what is the most relaxing place? Yes, the beach.  So that day, just being placed on a beach mentally freaked me out, and pretty much ruined my day.

Fast-forward about 2 years, it was now my summer between Junior and Senior year.  I was invited to go to the beach with some friends.  Knowing I dreaded it (including my mom saying I would dread going), I did as any other typical teenager would do, go ...(obviously :) ) And it was fairly dreadful, however I learned a lot. 

That day at the beach was a lot of fun, being able to spend time with friends, however, extremely disturbing.  The sand was, as typical painful, but I was able to make it through the day, and enjoy the time.  However, (here is the main part of the post) when I got home, I began thinking on how I actually made it through the day.  So now onto the main part of this article. 

One thing that I did was keeping my towel completely cleaned off.  It might obvious to keep your towel cleaned off, but I mean completely.  I had secondary towel that I sued to wipe my feet off, that ensured i wouldn't transfer sand onto the towel.  This pretty much only works with sand discomforts, however, the premise works in for other discomforts.   Whenever I felt myself getting bothered and discomforted by the sand, I would go to the towel, which was soft, and it was relaxing.  So I recommend if you do go to a place where you know you'll be uncomfortable, bring something that you like, and keep that with you to help.

Another thing I did was try to not focus on the sand.  This is a lot easier said than done, since the thing you're trying not to focus on, is what distracts you, and makes you focus on it.  However, I found with practice (like 13 years of it) you can get better, and get distracted later than normal.  This, while difficult, if practiced, can help a lot.  Along with this is if you are with friends or family, try to talk to them, and continue the conversation as long as you can, because that in itself will help shift the attention away. 

So that was my experience with the beach, and how to overcome it.  I apologize for its abnormality, and how it jumps around, the AC in my school has a lovely, "non-distracting" buzz that is constant (non-distracting as in completely distracting).  I tried the best to stay focused, but its still difficult.

Hope y'all enjoyed, and more posts coming soon.  If you have any questions or comments, shoot me an email at teenwithspd@gmail.com  or    drop a comment below (comments are public).  Until next time, Keep Sensing.

Update on Teen with SPD

Hello again.  For any new readers, which hopefully there are, my name is John.  I am a 17 year old, soon to be 18 in March.  I am also currently a Senior in High School, in the U.S.  That means college is right around the corner, and I do plan on continue to blog, even through college.  I was diagnosed with SPD at the age of 4, and have been living with, and learning and overcome it ever since.  I also write in a very "lax" style, so I apologize to any Grammar teachers out there :).

I do still have SPD, but however, have found myself not as bothered, as much.  I thought that meant it was going, until I realized that I was just learning to deal with, and overcome it.  So, I do believe I am in a better position to write a blog about living with SPD now, than I was almost 2 years ago.  So, from now on, I am going to ensure that my posts are either about techniques to deal and overcome SPD, Instances in which I was bothered (to bring awareness to situations that may bother others), and what can be done in life, even with SPD (nothing can hold you back).  I do still plan on aiming this blog to those with SPD (especially teens, but it can apply to anyone) and everyone else, who know, or even don't know, those with SPD (some tips and tricks can be applied to just about anyone).

I however, just wanted to make this post an update about myself, as to provide background into who is writing these, since a lot has changed in the almost 2 years.

I do still have SPD, but have learned to overcome it in most instances.  I do go to school full-time and hold a part-time job, both of which  SPD has not made impossible.  I also did accepted to my dream school, so I will probably be mentioning SPD along the College application path, and talking about college related things.  I also have some very interesting things that I have experienced and learned from, that I will be talking about.

I hope to revive this blog, and assist people throughout the world.  Sorry for the brevity of this post, I should've included it in the last one, but, I thought I could write more. However, that segwayed into the perfect point (how convenient).  I aim to make my posts as informative as they can be, which can cause a vary in length.  I just want to say that just because a post is short, like this one, won't necessarily mean it doesn't have that much info, I might have just stayed on track, and didn't tangent as much (which I sometimes tend to do), or I summarized some things down.  Likewise, if a post is long, I probably tangented, but I might not have, and even if I did, my tangents are usually related.

I also wanted to make note again that I am not a therapist or doctor, but rather a teen with SPD.  Everything I write is what I experienced, what I did, and my own personal thoughts.  If you have any questions about some tips and tricks to deal with SPD, feel free to shoot me an email or, if you'd like, in the comments (they are public, so if you want to keep private, email is perfectly fine).  I'll try to answer your questions the best I can, especially using real-life examples.  For example, someone asked me a tip on overcoming tactile sensory issues, which I had/have, and I recommended filling a little container with beans, and putting some toys in there, then having the SPDer (I like that word) put their hands in there, and getting the toys.  While I'm no doctor, I did do that as a child, and found that it helped extremely with my tactile issues. If you are looking for someone who has a gone to college for Psychology, and has SPD, check out Ms. Rachel Schneider's page at: https://www.rachel-schneider.com/
Ms. Schider has a lot of insight from both a psychological perspective, and living with SPD herself.

So until next time, I'll Sense you Later (I really need to figure out this closer).


If you have any questions or comments, shoot me an email at: teenwithspd@gmail.com
Or just leave a comment in the comments below, which ever works (comments are public).

I'm Back

Hi everyone.  I am extremely sorry for the absolute lack of posts.  I was hoping on keeping this blog updated, at least once a week, but only managed to make one post.  That was two years ago.  Now I'm a year, soon to be two years older, and have a new perspective. 

When I created this blog, I aimed to help teenagers, and family of teenagers dealing with Sensory Processing Disorder.  Me, being a teen, and having SPD, made me feel as if I could give valuable insight.  However, after my first post, I felt as if it wasn't my place to write about it.  So, I kinda shoved the blog aside, and continued life, with it sitting in the back of my head.  Soon, I realized that my SPD was gone (so I thought) and I almost completely removed any thought of the blog.  However, everything changed.

I thought I had effectively "grown out" of SPD, so there was no longer a point for me to write.  However, I was wrong.  It wasn't until I realized that I still get bothered by the feel of sand, random touching, slight noises and movements, that I still do have it.  However, I also realized, that I was able to deal with it better, making me feel as if it was gone.  That is when it hit me, that I should continue with the blog, and continue to update more-so than I have (which shouldn't be difficult, considering I aim to hit a minimum of a post a week).  However, sadly that wasn't enough for me to be able to restart.  I still felt as if there wasn't really anything for me to write about, other than learning to deal with SPD.  However, I eventually saw that there was plenty to write about.

Besides writing about techniques to help deal and live with SPD, and function as "normal" I realized I still can write about experiences that I still have.  I realized that I still do have problems with SPD, but just try to blame them on anything else, so I don't use SPD as a "crutch."  That, however, changed when I "matured" (a whole 1 year, that's a lot :) ).  So, I am back, to begin writing again.

The big question is what is there to write about, but luckily, I have that answer: Anything and Everything relating to living with Sensory Processing Disorder.  I am to write at least one post a week, either focusing on a technique I use to cope, or something that I encountered that bothered my, and how I dealt with it (hopefully to show different things that can bother SPDers (<- is that a word?)), and what can be done while living with SPD (examples as to show SPD can't hold you back)  So in short, the blog will be about a Teen Living with SPD. 

I once again apologize for the lack of posts, but there will be more.  I plan on writing at least one more for today, and another this week.  The next one will be an updated bio, and the following will be an issue? (I don't know about that yet, but it'll be something good).

Thanks again.  Until next time, keep sensing (still haven't come up with a better closer).

:)

The Beginning

Hi all, my name is John.  I am 16 years old, and am currently a 10th Grader.  When I was four years old, I was diagnosed with Sensory Processing Disorder.  I was lucky enough to be able to go to therapy to learn to deal with it.  The therapy was a great help (I stopped going when I was six).  Even with the therapy, I still have problems at times, especially with sounds.  I have always had an oversensitivity to sound (this is my big sensory issue).

As I was writing this, the school I attend decided to test their emergency alert system, which includes a high pitched noise that plays for at least 10 seconds, followed by a loud voice, then followed by 15 seconds of a single warning siren, and all of this is played over loudspeakers (at least we know it works).  However,  I am beginning to get on a tangent (I do that quite often).

I decided to create this blog after writing a research paper on whether or not SPD should be its own disorder.  As I searched for sources, I saw that there was a lack of information helping teens with sensory issues (there are great blogs for adults, and great websites for kids, but none for teens).  I decided, since I'm halfway (kinda) through my teenage years, that I could possibly help out.  So I decided to create this blog.

This blog is for anyone, but specifically there for teens.  I'm going to try to post at least once a week: whether it is answering questions, giving tips for dealing with senses, or just writing about SPD (I'll probably start off by writing about this topic more, trying to inform more people, and spread the word).

As I talk about SPD, I make it seem as this blog is only those who have, or know someone, who has SPD.  However, this is not true.  This blog is for anyone who has, or know someone who has, sensory issues, not just limited to SPD.  (The stupid siren is blaring again...).

I hope y'all enjoy my blog, and I hope I can be a help for teens everywhere, dealing with Sensory Issues everywhere.  Also, I'm writing this blog in an informal way (hence the horrible grammar lol).  I find it easier to read, and more fun to, but there will be some that are going to be a little more formal (sorry to parties that like informal or formal, I'll be switching it up).

If you have any questions, topics, or tips for me, shoot me an email at teenwithspd@gmail.com
or just leave a comment below.

Also, if you haven't already, go check out Ms. Rachel Schneider's blog at http://comingtosenses.blogspot.com
It is a great blog, written for everyone, by a true SPD advocate (you'll find more info about her on the blog).

Hope y'all enjoyed this first post.  Until later, keep on sensing (I'm trying to find a good ending phrase, if anyone's got one, please tell me, until then, I'll be switching it up, till one is liked).

:) :) :)