We understand trauma changes each of us in different ways and one of those ways is in how we think and process information.
Today we thought we would chat with you on how and why our Moon Jellyfish was designed in more detail and specifically we will speak to communication and how impactful it can be.
Let's face it, having to embrace emotions, claim feelings and learn to better flow isn't always the first thing on our list of what we are planning to do in a day. It can be difficult on a regular day given everything we have to go through to manage this well; however, when we talk about trauma and the processing of it, communication is essential and it can be done in many ways. It's important to note that in some cases the nervous system is overloaded for other reasons like a medical condition for example and in this light the weighted moon jellyfish supportive little buddy helps too.
For more in-depth information on Trauma or Our Focus, visit our website. For now, what you need to know after having gone through a traumatic experience is:
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Changes have occurred and one of those changes is to the amygdala which is located in the brain where it is put on high alert so ‘what you think and feel’ can feel really big, I mean REALLY BIG! (see what I did there - hehe) Some other changes will be in how you learn.
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Your child, and likely yourself, now understand how it feels to be ‘unsafe’ due to factors likely out of your control. This often means the nervous system is overloaded so your child, and likely yourself, can be put into automatic responses which happen in seconds as a way for the body to keep you safe.
- As a result of the traumatic experience, perception has been altered. This goes for anyone that has experienced trauma. Everything feels so big, so new and so unknown.
Our Moon Jellyfish has been designed to remind you to step into emotions and to claim feelings. At times this is uncomfortable, in fact it can be quite uncomfortable. However, in learning to claim feelings and step into emotions we can learn to accept or if you will embrace an outcome no matter how hard it is. Instead of letting our emotions and feelings claim our nervous system we can learn ways to adapt to change letting us shine from the inside out. But how does one go about doing that?
In our last blog (click here) you'll recall children learn well by mimicking so let’s go into some symbolic characteristics and skills that they can mimic of the Moon Jellyfish. This will help remind them, and you, of the skills that can be used. It can work like a secret code in communication as do all the supportive little buddies that help signal one another for what they need without having to say a word.
Symbolic Values of Our Moon Jellyfish:
When designing each buddy we looked at the characteristics of what different animals have, what they represent and how they act in real life. For this particular skill to be learned, the Moon Jellyfish became our top choice and below are the three main reasons why.
Moon Jellyfish’s Skills & Characteristics:
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THIS ANIMAL STEPS INTO EMOTIONS & CLAIMS FEELINGS
The nervous system's main function is to send messages from various parts of your body to your brain and from your brain back out to your body to tell your body what to do. These messages regulate thoughts, memory, learning and feelings. We’ve already acknowledged that the brain has changed as a result of the traumatic experience we had - this creates challenges for us as emotions and reactions are heightened.
The moon jellyfish embraces emotions and claims its feelings. It overcomes different energies and various environments by learning to step into each emotion and claim each feeling so it can overcome challenges and accept (or embrace) the outcome. This is a superpower!
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THIS ANIMAL USES ITS ABILITY TO FLOW & ADAPT TO CHANGE
Communication is essential on many levels and again if we are completely honest, it can be hard to communicate effectively on a regular day with a variety of people, mind you when you’ve experienced a traumatic event or are going through a traumatic experience or have a medical condition where everything feels so new, unknown and big.
To adapt to a new environment, establish boundaries, and heal, effective communication, emotional regulation, and emotional intelligence are essential. These skills must be developed over time however they are strengthened if built on a solid foundation.
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THIS ANIMAL SHINES FROM THE INSIDE OUT
If you've ever seen a moon jellyfish in the ocean you likely noticed it glows. Well, so does ours.
The best version of yourself is the one that is able to shine from the inside out. It requires being comfortable with oneself while becoming the best version of yourself. It also requires vulnerability, embracing change, healing from traumatic memories, setting boundaries and being able to find the light in each memory in order to shine. The moon jellyfish shines beautifully.
All of the Skills and Characteristics we’ve outlined above are the essentials needed to learning to flow and grow through a sea of emotions however they can be built upon so if your child sees their Moon Jellyfish as pretty, glowing, vulnerable, adaptable, balanced, good swimmer, comfortable, transparent or authentic - all of those are amazing characteristics and yes we also considered those into why and how we designed our Moon Jellyfish. Making sure it actually glowed in the dark and that it was weighted to help calm feelings and lower big emotional reactions - in essence helping the nervous system - was purposely created within its' design.
How-to Use our Moon Jellyfish with your Child:
To the big question, ‘how do I use our Moon Jellyfish supportive little buddy in day to day life?’
To break this down well we will circle back to what skills and characteristics the Moon Jellyfish has in helping with embracing emotions & stepping into feelings, its ability to flow and adapt to change and being able to shine from the inside out.
In the beginning it's helpful to have these skills written out somewhere. When purchasing your supportive little buddy you can also purchase our how-to video which gives you great guidance. Some clients like to print our how-to on cards for a visual reminder so if that is something you'd like please shoot us an email at admin@lakunakai.com and we'd be happy to help you with that.
Alternatively if you are not purchasing the how-to video, additional cards or are working with a licensed therapist you can start by:
- Sitting down with your family and go through the characteristics and skills of the supportive little buddy.
- When you find yourself, or your child, becoming or being dysregulated we’d suggest in these moments that you recognize this not as an inconvenience as they had no choice in the matter nor did you but as a teachable moment.
- Slow down and use communication along with our coping tools to help the nervous system. This requires patience, time, consistency and an open non-judgmental environment to work through some big stuff. This step is utterly important and cannot be missed. The nervous system is so often misunderstood and not taken care of so let's make sure this step isn't missed.
- Make a habit of understanding different feelings, specifically how feelings affect emotions which in turn affects behavior. When you all get good at recognizing emotions and feelings you'll will begin to sense them in their own body. A good game to start you on this journey is on our site and if you are looking for additional games you can find those on our Instagram page under Self Regulating Habits such as the 'Game of Boxes' where they will learn what they need to hold vs what their parent and/or caregiver should hold.
Remember it takes a lot to pull yourself out of automatic responses in order to feel safe and it generally takes two years for the brain itself to heal so it’s worth doing what you can upfront so you can make the most of the new patterns being formed. For us, communication is key and there is so much value in it allowing us to better flow through our own sea of emotions.
You Got This!
~ The Lakunakai Team