Anxiety can manifest itself in many ways – if often starts with uncontrolled concerns and excessive thoughts. Over time it can develop into sleeping disturbances and physical symptoms as stomachache, continuous trembling, palpitation, and social fear or withdrawal from other people.
For some people with anxiety, the diagnose is linked to sensory disturbances. Therefore, it can be helpful to use sensory integrating helping aids to provide better terms for daily activity and a good night’s sleep. A sensory disturbed brain has difficulties in organizing and regulating external sensory input and will often benefit from working with sensory integration. When the senses are not regulated and the brain is in need for proprioceptive stimulation, you risk losing the perception of your body and become restless and insecure.
The cases below are linked to children and adults who suffer from anxiety issues and show our experience and the effect of using sensory stimulating helping aids.
6-year-old boy with severe anxiety
Tobias has anxiety - a problem that developed gradually but has increased over time. It has affected his nighttime sleep throughout his childhood, which certainly does not make the anxiety problem better. In the evening, Tobias could not calm down, and had difficulty sleeping. The evening ritual could easily take 1.5 hours, as he could not relax, and didn’t want to sleep. Furthermore, Tobias woke up every night with nightmares and snuck into the bedroom to sleep between us. It seemed to help his uneasiness that he was lying close to us, and despite the unrestful sleep until then, he slept from that point onward. However, always having a child in the middle affected our sleep! Tobias needed to be completely close so he could "feel us". It made me think of the Protac Ball Blanket®. I contacted Protac and rented a ball blanket. From the first night Tobias slept with it, our evening rituals and nights were completely different. Suddenly he fell asleep within approx. 10 minutes, and he slept the first night with the blanket from 8pm to 7am the next morning. I must honestly admit that I thought this was too good to be true - and expected to prove it to be temporary "pure luck". But it wasn’t! Since he got his blanket, Tobias has found peace in his own bed. The evening routines have become much easier, he falls asleep by himself and he sleeps all night. This results in more energy during the day, less anxiety and more 'get go'. Then Tobias had to have casts on both legs for 6 weeks, and therefore during this period could not sleep with his blanket due to the discomfort with both legs in casts. We then immediately experienced the irregular sleep, the problems with the evening routines, and thereby more anxiety attacks and problems the next day. When Tobias got the casts off again and started sleeping with the ball blanket, his evening routines calmed down again, and his sleep was no longer interrupted. So, we experienced first-hand what a clear change occurred when the blanket was not used, and again what effect it had when it was used again. All in all, we can conclude that with the use of Protac Ball Blanket® Calm, it results in more energy for Tobias, more 'get-go' and less and fewer anxiety attacks. I can recommend others to try the Protac Ball Blanket® for their children if they have children in the same or similar situation.
Adult woman with anxiety
After a severe anxiety attack, I became very restless and was afraid of falling. The ball chair’s "cave- like” feeling made the restlessness in my body gradually disappear. The chair also provided a comfortable warmth. After 10-15 minutes the anxiety attack was diminished and after half an hour in the chair, I was able to function in the group again. The wings of the Protac SenSit® ball chair feel as if they are holding me. I think it's great!
Man with severe anxiety
With the Protac SensOn® neck and shoulder wrap on his shoulders, he notices that it alleviates anxiety for a while. "It feels so nice," he says when it is placed on his shoulders.
Social participation despite anxiety
When going for a camp, our son had a melt-down and was afraid to go and concerned about being able to fit in. He accepted to try the Protac SenSack® and he could immediately feel calming effect. He instantly liked it, especially because it gave him comfort and still looks like the sleeping bag of his friends. The camp turned out to be a great success - a proud and happy boy came home. We expected him to be tired, but he had slept tightly in the sleeping bag and had also used it during daytime to ‘charge his social battery’ as he said.
(Mother to a 13-year-old-boy with social anxiety)
