[Excerpted from The Sensory Team Handbook for Pre-Teens by Nancy Mucklow. Available online at www.sensoryteamhandbook.com as a print copy or download. Copyright © 2008 by Nancy Mucklow. All rights reserved.]
Brain train crashes occur when the timing of messages is off, or where the nerve networks are rough or weak. The brain has about a millisecond to respond to most situations. There's no time to think. If nerve networks aren't strong and solid, or the information isn't on time, then messages can get derailed or mixed up.
Here are some examples of typical brain train crashes:
1. Right doesn't co-ordinate with left:
Your brain can't tell exactly what your left and right hands are doing, so it doesn't match their actions. You end up pulling too hard with one hand (such as rowing in a circle).
2. Confusion crossing your midline:
The left side of your brain can't time information with the right side of your brain. You can't control movements if your hands or feet have to cross the middle of your body into the other side's space (such as in a backhand swing in tennis).
3. Too much information:
Your brain receives messages too strongly. If these messages are coming with speed and force (such as a loud or sudden noise), they crash into the brain. Your brain will react with alarm.
4. Too little information:
The part of your brain that receives messags can't hear small, quiet messages from your body. If you are sitting still, your brain might start to wonder where your body is. Your brain starts telling the body to deliver more forceful messages. You react by fidgeting and bouncing around.
Sometimes the brain becomes afraid because it can't shut out unpleasant or confusing sounds, sights, textures, feelings, and tastes. This can make you feel anxious, you don't feel safe. Sometimes you even feel panicky. Other times you can become obsessive about keeping everything the same all the time so that there are no surprises. Having too much anxiety can make you feel unhappy and afraid even when nothing bad is happening.
But when you strengthen your nerve networks, you will feel safer, and this anxiety will eventually fade away.
