The Science
In order to soothe trauma and relieve stress it is helpful to understand how our bodies receive information and what information might be beneficial.
Most of us are aware of our 5 basic senses, sight, sound, taste, touch, and smell.
We can use these to assist with calming our nervous system. However one of our less known senses is actually more powerful - our proprioceptive system.
Our proprioceptive system provides us with body awareness and helps to calm and focus us at a deeper level.
Weighted toys provide deep pressure touch to our muscles that give proprioceptive input. This input can be beneficial and have a calming effect that decreases stress and anxiety.
Proprioceptive input provides a feeling of being grounded in the here and now as it helps us to be aware of our own body and where our body is.
Weighted toys can have a calming effect that helps with physical and emotional regulation, making us feel more incontrol of ourselves and more able to cope with challenges.
Weighted toys communicate through our proprioceptive system to our sensory processing system and to our lower brain, giving a deep unconscious sense of calm.
This means you don’t have to rely on your thinking brain to deescalate overwhelming feelings.