“Creating a Healthy Mindset: A Physiotherapist’s Journey towards Coping with Sensory Integration Challenges”

As a physiotherapist working in mental health, I understand that treating patients with mental health issues can be challenging and at times overwhelming – as can my own sensory integration challenges. Having tactile, vestibular, and apraxia issues can be overpowering and sometimes daunting, leading to many struggles with self-care and managing my own well-being.

The ability to be of help to others in my profession does not always make the issues surrounding my own mental health and wellbeing an easy challenge to manage. Thankfully, I have recognised the value and importance of using my skills as a physiotherapist
(and those I have picked up from my Occupational Therapy colleagues in the last 18 years) to ensure I can prioritise my own wellbeing – despite my issues with sensory integration and motor apraxia.

One specific way in which I maintain my mental health amidst my sensory integration and apraxia challenges is through yoga and Pilates. These forms of exercise, which emphasise stretching, balance, and mindfulness as tools for self-care, have benefited me greatly as someone living with sensory integration disorder and other motor apraxia issues – empowering me to take charge of my own wellbeing.  If all else fails, give deep pressure. I also rely on external support in the form of psychology and medical intervention.

The thing about sensory integration is learning to know your own body, knowing your triggers, looking for glimmers and integrating the solutions into our daily lives.  And just when you thought you had it under control, you get thrown a curveball. In my case, I was diagnosed with breast cancer a few months ago.  The beautiful sensory palace I had built came crashing down. I was in and out of hospital for surgery and underwent six weeks’ radiation therapy.  The smell of the radiation unit still haunts me.  So how do you handle your own issues and mental health then?

What would we tell our patients in the same situation?  I would tell my patients to be kind to themselves. Remember the old saying, “You cannot pour from an empty cup”. Rest when you must.  Rest and recover.  Give yourself time.

Through communing with the physically and mentally relaxing poses of a yoga or Pilates class, I am also better able to observe and evaluate how I feel – particularly when it comes to the way in which my physical sensations interact with my mental health markers. This helps me better recognise when to take breaks from treating patients, in order to make sure that my mental and physical wellbeing remain priority number one.

How hard it is to apply these words to ourselves!  In yoga there is a word, Ahismsa, to first do no harm, not only to others but also to ourselves.  If today all you did was breathe, then that is enough.  Sometimes all we can do is rest and recover and prepare to thrive once more, and then – and only then – can we give our patients what they need as well, a therapist who is 100% in the moment.

In short, by recognising the importance of my own wellbeing in the world of physiotherapy and the cellular, both physically and mentally, through activities like yoga and Pilates, I am now better able to care for myself, despite my lingering sensory integration issues. In doing so, I am able to manage my mental health in a responsible and effective manner, in a way that will contribute to my ability to help and care for others I encounter through my profession.

Written by:  Karen van Vuuren

M.Sc Physiotherapy (UFS)

Assistant Director:  Physiotherapist

Free State Psychiatric Complex