Let's talk about over stimulating your brain! Your brain can be overstimulated but you might not recognise or know it. Or sometimes you may be aware of it but are unsure how to change your situation. Sometimes things happen that we automatically think are an inconvenience or a disruption to our lives, but are actually in fact opportunities to very much convenience us instead! A recent experience, that most people would have seen as a 'bad thing to happen' actually helped us to recognise the fact that we were in overdrive and our childrens brains were overstimulated. What I mean by overstimulated is that they and us had too much to process in our minds, we had been travelling longer distances than usual, not staying very long in one place, visiting friends and family along the way, late nights, early mornings, the list goes on! Our children were moody, grouchy, agitated, not being able to concentrate properly, all these things can come out as or be seen or perceived as misbehaviour! And yes all these things are a recipe for disaster when you all live in a small caravan together. Some changes needed to happen to help us process the busy pace lifestyle we had gotten ourselves into. Thankfully we know exactly what it takes to reset our relaxed family life when it does get busy and overstimulating! We decided to set our plans back one week, and although this meant one less week with my sister and her family, it also meant we still got three great amazing happy weeks with her instead of 4 hectic weeks of grumpy kids and parents. So deciding to stay in a gorgeous bush camp near Cooktown in north Queensland Australia to reset meant some sacrifice in order to gain. The best part about this place was that it was free and we were the only ones there! We parked our caravan home by the river, surrounded by trees and no mobile phone reception! The technology distractions could be put aside. We swam in fresh water rapids, we made stick bush cubby's, we laid on the river sand for hours, our little one fell asleep by the river listening to the sound of birds chirping, the gentle breeze through the trees and the flowing water. Our older children's imagination came out in full, we played houses and shops, we set up our little village of pretend play. We also did some school work and some colouring in together. In the evening we played music while we cooked, our kids asked if they could make dinner! We danced and sang around the camp fire, we laid under the stars watching them as the camp fire embers slowly floated up and added to the twinkling lights. Just our family in the wonderfully created nature on earth.
This is how we reset when the craziness of life takes over!
It's important to take time out for yourself and your family otherwise weeks, months or even years can go by before you realise just how exhausted you can be with an excess of brain stimulating activities. I'm no university expert on mental health, but I am a mother with 4 very busy active boys and understand the importance of looking after your mental health. One way I achieve this is by giving my brain a rest from overstimulation. The natural environment is always my 'go to' place for resting, but if that is too difficult to organise, I consider eliminating things in my life that can cause us to enter the overstimulating rut. Limit mobile phone or other technology use, instead of going out and rushing meals when you come home, stay home and take time to cook healthier more nutritious meals. Don't be afraid to say no, if you're anything like me, I find it hard to say no to people, which often sees me doing more than I can cope with. Make sure you have quiet time regularly to process your thoughts, if the thought of being alone during a quiet time feels daunting to you find someone to sit with you, someone who can help you process those thoughts and be there if you need.
Prevention is better than a cure when it comes to mental health and I feel this is one small way we can prevent our minds entering into overdrive.
Cooking is a great life skill, even simple meals can help kids learn and feel like they have achieved something, which boosts self esteem.
