Inner Sense OT

Connection, a sense of safety and security should always be your first priority when a child is feeling dysregulated. Even when they may feel a little sad, or dissapointed.

In those moments all they are seeking is the knowing that their loved ones are there and that they can count on them for co-regulation.

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Crying is one of the most healthiest regulation strategies for both our body and mind 🧡

It’s more common for children to do so, it’s very natural for them but as we get older it becomes less common because theres stigma and shame attached to it.

EF skills during meal preparation..

One of my favourite occupations to engage in with my teen clients is meal preparation, because there are so many skills that we target throughout, not just these EFS listed.

To engage In meal prep of any kind, these are the EF skills that are targeted:
1. Planning/organizing
2. Time management
3. Task initiation
4. Working memory
5. Self monitoring
6. Flexibility
7. Impulse control
8. Emotional control
9.Attention/Concentration

Your beliefs and what you tell yourself during those challenging moments is what will dictate how you move.

What you do next.

What you don’t do next.

And What you think you’ll do or won’t do in the future.

It’s not about avoiding life’s challenges, it’s how you approach them from all angles.

Did you know?

The left brain handles logic and analytical thinking, while the right brain is responsible for creativity and intuition.

Merging these hemispheres enhances all cognitive abilities, problem-solving skills, and emotional intelligence.

This is why we need to embrace the power of whole-brain thinking.

I find the brain to be so so fascinating, do you?!

Healing takes time.

Embrace the slowness, softness, and safety, and let go of urgency and pressure.

When we allow ourselves to heal at a natural pace, we create an environment where true recovery and growth can happen.

Rushing or forcing the process only adds stress, which can hinder our progress.

By prioritizing gentleness and a sense of security, we nurture our nervous system and foster lasting well-being.

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You get to CHOOSE where your attention goes and what you focus on.

Not only that, but you also get to choose HOW MUCH attention and how much focus you give to any certain thing.

Whatever you’re choosing to focus on, magnifies in the brain and in your reality.

So what are you choosing to focus on?

Is it more negative or positive ?

There is a lot of executive functioning skills that are required to be able to engage in a simple morning routine.

Whether that’s for kids or adults, the same skills apply, which include:

1. Planning and organizing
2. Time management
3. Task initiation
4. Working memory
5. Self monitoring
6. Flexibility
7. Impulse control
8. Emotional control

What’s important in this situation is for the child to feel a sense of safety and connection when they are at home, with the people that love and care for them the most.

Because the reality is, they won’t always come across people who understand them the way that you do as a parent.

Their emotions won’t always be validated.
Their experiences won’t always be validated.

But what they look to the most is that those things will be when they share those things with you.

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Safety, connection, problem solving all entail and activate different parts of our brain.

The sense of safety calms our survival state and helps us to feel regulated.

The sense of connection with our loved ones also regulates our nervous system and soothe our emotional state.

The ability to problem solve helps us to maximize our executive function state and makes us feel like we are back in control.

Children can only learn to regulate the emotions they are allowed to have an experience.

And this is all based on the child’s caregivers emotional capacity and ability to hold space for the child to feel to express their emotions.

In order for a caregiver to do so, they need to be able to acknowledge their own need to hold space for their own emotions that perhaps they weren’t allowed to feel and express as a child such as anger.

The adult can only get to this point by having emotional awareness and intelligence to address their current emotional capacity and to expand on it not only for themselves but for their children.

Comment below ‘emotional awareness’ and I’ll send you a link to my workbook that helps you to explore your current emotional tolerance and capacity and how to grow it!

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Emotions significantly influence human behavior, shaping decisions and actions in ways that can be either constructive or destructive.

Emotions can actually be used as a tool to either propel your growth and development holistically, or it can be used as a tool of manipulation.

Ways we can use emotions constructively could look like:
* Showing empathy towards ourselves and others
* Fostering deeper bonds with ourselves and others
* Building trust within yourself
* Having open and honest conversations
* Sharing your truth

Ways we can use emotions destructively could
Look like:
* always blaming others for outcomes
* Projecting your hatred
* Making others feel bad
* Conveying jealousy
* Using fear as a cop out
* Manipulating others opinions and perspectives

Both use emotions as a tool, one of them is for the greater good and the other for selfish reasons.

Which way you use your emotions is ultimately your decision. But have you ever wondered in which way you use them?

Supporting children to grow their skills in all areas and strive towards independence is my job, however, at times I’m seeing a huge push for kids to become independence way before they are ready to be.

This could be a concern as there are so many benefits for kids to learn and grow at their own pace such as continued coregulatjon and strengthening bonds with the adults in their life, reducing stress and pressure on their nervous system, having a positive self outlook and so much more.

What are your thoughts on this? Let me know below 🧡

The iceberg theory for executive functioning skills.

Engagement and participation in tasks and activities of daily living aren’t as simple as they seem.

They require a lot of brain power, intrinsic motivation, physical, emotional, sensory skills and a whole lot of executive functioning skills.

Let’s have a look at a specific example:
In order for a child to complete their homework they need:

* attention and focus skills
* Working memory skills
* Problem solving
* Organization
* Comprehension
* Planning and sequencing skills
* Critical thinking skills
* Fine motor skills
* Endurance
* Intrinsic motivation
* Self regulation skills
* Confidence
* Visual, auditory and tactile sensory processing skills and
* Sensory integration skills

All for their ability to complete their homework.

There are multiple components, processes and moving parts that contribute to a humans ability to participate and engage and reduced ability in one area influences and impacts a persons overall performance.

Just like the iceberg theory suggests, there is always more than what meets the surface.

One of the most uncommon reason why people struggle with executive functioning skills is due to being easily distracted.

Distractions within our own thoughts, within our emotions, within our environments and with the people we are around.

Distractions are everywhere!

But it’s up to you to not let that get in the way of what you have to do or need to do.

Minimize distractions to optimize your brain power.

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So often we get lost in the grind, in the to-do lists, and on all the things that may be wrong or need fixing.

We don’t always make the time and give ourself space to breath and reflect on all the positives in our lives as well as our own strengths.

This is something I’ve been consciously choosing to put time into not just for myself but for my clients and families too.

Recently I’ve realized just how resilient I am.
I once hated change and felt so uncomfortable with it.
Now I embrace it. And it has made a world of a difference with my health and overall strength as a person.

Now it’s your turn..

What are your strengths? Let me know in the comments and let’s celebrate them together 🧡

Yes, you heard right!

I have capacity for OT appointments which are now available 🎉

For more information, feel free to browse the website or send me a message with any questions or queries you may have 😊

🧡 Natalia

Questions to ponder about your long term relationship with your children…

There’s never a bad time to do some self reflecting and analyzing, if anything we all should be doing so more often.

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Everyone’s regulation needs are and will be different.

That’s because we have different characteristics and needs.

What strategy might work for one, won’t work for another and that’s okay.

The key to figuring out what YOUR regulation strategies are is to first and foremost figure out what your needs are.

With this understanding in mind, you can then shape what regulation strategies you can put in place to prevent emotional dysregulation, and burnout.

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Perception is e.v.e.r.y.t.h.i.n.g

When you change the lens you view yourself and others, your entire world can literally change.

Changing your thoughts creates change in how you feel and your internal dialogue.

Your feelings can change your actions and behaviours.

Your behaviours and actions can change your outcomes.

It is a cycle that can either put you further behind or propel you forward. As well as your kids.

So I ask you this:

What lens are you choosing to perceive you and your children through ?
• is it one of fear and doubt ?
• shame and guilt ?
• hopelessness?

Or is it one of
• hope and faith
• excitement and trust
• strength and knowing

Two very different ways in which you can perceive you, your children and the world, so which one do you choose?

Reacting vs Responding when you’re in a heightened emotional state or feel a huge emotional charge.

Reacting to a person, event or situation that makes you feel triggered in some way means you’re using the emotional charge you feel in your body. This could look like:
• yelling
• being defensive
• overreacting
• not listening to other points of view ect

You’re not using your emotional intelligence in this state, and if often the way humans choose to ‘resolve’ their problems.

However, responding to a person, event or situation is quite the opposite. Responding involves you reflecting on the situation before you use your emotional charge to fuel your response. This could look like:
• feeling the feelings and choosing to activate restraint
• taking a step back from the situation
• taking a few deep breaths
• really hearing what the other person or situations point of view is
• internally reflecting on how you would best like to respond

These are two very different frequencies and ways of being.

This is something I’ve been working on for years and from experience can say it is a skill that i believe everyone needs to learn. It would lead to more conscious and intentional interactions with others, less arguments and more connectedness.

This skill is called emotional intelligence/awareness, and lucky for you I have just that thing to get you started on your journey. DM me ‘emotional awareness’ and I’ll send you the link 🧡

Emotional awareness IS one of the most useful and reliable tools you could have in your toolkit when it comes to regulation.

Why you make ask?

Because you don’t need anything outside of yourself, all you need is YOU and your ability to perceive situations from a different lens.

It’s something that you get to teach yourself over time through observation and reflection.

It is by far one of the best ‘resources’ I have and I teach you how to gain your emotional awareness through my latest PDF guide.

Comment below ‘awareness’ and I’ll send you the link 🥰

Let’s build our emotional awareness together!

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Role models, teachers, parents, adult support figures are the ones children look up to and seek guidance from@to learn all the ropes in life.

They see what you do,
They hear what you say,
They absorb your tone of voice,
They can feel on a deep level,

And they do this consciously and unconsciously.

So are they getting the best version of you to learn from?

Lead by example.

Children FEED off of their parents emotions first, before their words and actions. They base their sense of being and perception of themselves through the mirror that their parents project. So if a parent is constantly displacing their emotions onto their kids, those children then internalize those feelings and make it mean something about themselves. This could very well lead to a generation that feels broken and unworthy.

This is why we need to lead with emotional awareness and intelligence. This allows adults to be fully conscious and aware of their emotions, express and navigate them in a way that teaches their kids how fo do so in a healthy way.

Children can’t learn to regulate unless the adults in their life know and understand how to do just that for themselves first.

This is why I created a ‘how to build emotional awareness’ guide that literally teaches you how to uplevel your regulation through conscious reflection and action.

DM me ‘emotional awareness’ and I’ll send you the link
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Low frequency emotions and states of being like shame and blame are not what we want our kids to feel, be or do when they grow up.

We want kids to feel empowered, authentic and to take full responsibility for the way they feel, and behave even if there are external people and factors that may trigger an emotional response within.

The minute we allow our feelings to be projected onto another, is when we give our inner power away. Instead what we want to do is to learn how to harness our inner power so no external factor can control our being.

This is all learnt through EMOTIONAL AWARENESS and intelligence.

If you want to learn more about how to determine what your level of emotional awareness is and how to build on it, let me know below, I have something coming your way!
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This thing changed the way I think, behave, perceive situations, outcomes, and ultimately had changed the trajectory of my life…

Emotional awareness.

I may not talk about it enough on here, however, over the last 3 years I’ve been working on my personal development for the better.

Inviting emotional awareness to my consciousness has allowed me to:

🧡 have a clearer understanding of who I am and what I stand for
🧡 set better boundaries with myself and others
🧡 support my regulation skills by understanding what my needs are
🧡 decrease my stress levels on a whole other level
🧡 Communicate more effectively
🧡 have better relationship with others

Amongst a whole range of other things.

It has taught me that my perception of myself and the world around me is everything, and that I am in the drivers seat at all times.

You may not have control over what happens to you or around you, but you certainly do have the control in the way you respond, and that’s where your power lies.

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Welcome to my Inner Sense OT page! 🥰

My name’s Natalia and I am a holistic Occupational Therapist based in Perth, WA.

I offer face to face and telehealth OT for kids, teens and young adults wanting to uplevel their independence in all areas of life!

I’ve worked in this space for 7 years and love meeting and working with families and clients to achieve their goals and create meaningful therapeutic relationships and connections ☺️

I’m not just an Occupational Therapist, I’m also your biggest cheerleader, coach, mentor and advocate!

If you want to inquire about my services, head over to my website www.innersenseot.com.au or send me a message

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Important reminder:

Your brain doesn’t mature and finish developing until your mid to late 20’s.

This includes the prefrontal cortex, the very front of your brain that is responsible for critical thinking, problem solving, and most of your executive functioning skills.

With this in mind, we can encourage kids to try their best, and thrive at their own pace!