Hyperfixation; How Focusing on One Sense Can Calm the Others

 

Hyperfixation; How Focusing on One Sense Can Calm the Others

    As human's it seems both completely reasonable and normal to crave a calm mind state, or rather a neutral one. We strive to calm our senses, and remain "ration". At least, that's how I see it. To me being calm, or at least at ease, is what I strive for as a base emotion on a day to day experience. As a person with anxiety it's not necessarily an easily achievable thing, but with the help of both personal strategies and outsiders, I tend to be able to control my worries most of the time. When I don't I find it best to resort as what is commonly know as a state of hyperfixation. For me, that looks like sitting in a plain environment, closing my eyes and listening to music but it can look many ways for many people.

       States of ease can be achieved in many ways. Ackerman sites the idea of scent as something both calming and accessible, "Hanging from my bathtub’s shower attachment is a blue net bag of the sort Frenchwomen use when they do their daily grocery shopping; I keep in it a wide variety of bath potions, and eucalyptus is one of the most calming," (Page 19, A Natural History of Senses by Diane Ackerman). Well most pleasant scents easily accessible at a Lush or a plant nursery (if you, unlike me, can keep plants alive) scent can be an easy and familiar way to hyperfixate. Personally, I tend to like having one, or multiple familiar scents I can turn to in order to ground me in a moment. Part of the reason I, along with many other people, find certain scents to pleasing is because it is both a controllable aspect of themselves as well as being something they can turn to. Sometimes when I'm having a bad day, I particularly enjoy wearing lavender based products both because it is one of my favorite scents and because it bring a sense of clarity to my otherwise foggy brain.

    Ackerman also talks about touch as being a particularly calming sense. She sites a few different calming "techniques" both "worry beads, polished stones, and other objects," (Page 117, A Natural History of Senses by Diane Ackerman) since fiddling tends to calm people. I find this is usually because fiddling, or as it's more commonly known fidgeting, is calming because it is a repetitive, controlled movement. You can focus on the slow push back and forth against the worry stone, or the counting of the beads. People also tend to use object that become somewhat cold as they sit out because it tends to be please to our minds (at least in my experience). Ackerman also sites the idea of petting ones pet as both a calming activity, which I whole heartedly agree with! Although usually somewhat
subconscious, it works BECAUSE we aren't thinking about it. Our mind is simply letting us experience a pleasing sensation as opposed to worrying about what is going on around us.     

    Overall, there's no correct way to hyperfixate. Whatever works for you won't necessarily work for another person, but as long as it calms you down it will work. As a personal experience, I use my hyperfixation to shut down my other senses and become hyper aware of one in particular. It helps me recenter myself, both shortening the fallout of my "melt down" and allowing me to take a moment to rethink whatever I'm worried about!