Are you constantly charged?

Sense into yourself for a moment:

Is there an undercurrent of anxiety even if you appear calm?

Controlling or managing anxiety is much harder than redirecting it.

Take a 5 Minute Break…

We can condition rather than crutch our feelings of anxiety.
While touring my town with recent visitors, I was inspired by my friend’s daughter PMo and her emotional support stuffie: Robert. Robert is very cool. He even has a backstory. He’s definitely NOT a “Roberto” (she cringed on that one). He’s from Vermont. Some times wears flannel. Has very dry humor. More importantly, he’s a highly intelligent, perceptive, no-brass-tacks kinda dude who doesn’t people please but can adapt to most situations, unbothered by others and his surroundings. He was her spirit animal. 

Adults could use anxiety support too. 
As attuned creatures, we can sense when someone has anxiety even if they are working hard to mask it. After all, there’s no need to let our hot messes spill over — that’s a part of adulting. But buried underneath, we are increasingly becoming anxiety ridden, nervous system dysregulated, hyper-vigilant individuals trying to make it through the day in a mostly upregulated state. Only, a nervous system operating in fight or flight is no longer resourced with the tools of being able to down regulate, digest, rest, and recover to show up with enough oomph for tomorrow. Perhaps we could use our own version of a well regulated spirit animal like Robert. 

There’s been a wave of companies meeting this need in children and adults alike: from the many emotional support plushies, to popular weighted buddies and blankets, to crocheted vegetables who offer positive messages to perk up your day.

Beyond their obvious cuteness, these objects of serenity are meeting the need of a market that cannot get a hold on their anxiety. What’s at play here?

Emotional support plushies and weighted blankets train sensory and neurological feedback mechanisms in systems that are on sympathetic overdrive. Deep pressure stimulation (DPS) from weighted objects simulate a hug (on the receiving end) and soft plushy objects are huggable (on the giving end) — promoting much needed cortisol reduction and serotonin, melatonin and oxytocin release. This tactile comfort provides a self-regulation mechanism that gives the brain a point of focus in a frazzled system, conditioning the nervous system to switch over to that calmer, parasympathetic state. 

But are we crutching our down regulation? 

There is a reliance mechanism at play with an “emotional support pet” or “security blanket” that may not be serving our nervous systems in the long run. Our nervous systems are highly responsive and adaptive — giving it new mechanisms is highly beneficial to develop a felt sense of our states. Particularly the contrast between being in sympathetic versus parasympathetic dominance. But if we continuously rely on the comfort from an object, it begs the question of whether we can elicit the redirect mechanism without the crutch. And what might be a better way to recondition and ween.  

Grounding our anxiety. 
If we consider first principles when it comes to our need to stabilize the body’s ability to regulate on demand, there are two pathways that work well. One of them is neurochemical and sensory-based (why emotional support plushies are popular) and the other is electromagnetic (why grounding or earthing is popular). Both of these methods produce the same outcome of reducing stress, stabilizing energy, reducing inflammation and calming our nervous system. They aid in reducing excessive fight or flight activity and stabilize the heart rate variability for sustained calm. The latter works from direct physical contact with the Earth’s surface, allowing the body to exchange electrical charge with the ground – which has the aforementioned physiological benefits. This explains why walking barefoot in nature is such a key foundation to our wellbeing (and often the obvious missing element in many wellness regimes). Just walk outside people! 

The Earth has a vast supply of free electrons due to atmospheric and solar radiation interactions. When a person makes direct contact with the ground (e.g., barefoot on soil or using conductive grounding devices), these electrons can be transferred into the body, neutralizing excess free radicals and reducing oxidative stress. Some research indicates that grounding reduces chronic inflammation by restoring the body's electrical potential. Since inflammation is associated with anxiety and stress, this might explain some of grounding’s calming effects and ability to help synchronize the body’s circadian rhythm. (And why it helps to walk barefoot and get sunlight to shorten jet lag cycles).

With more of our day dedicated to screen time indoors, building up static electricity in carpeted, dry climatized environments, and limiting access to negative ions, anxiety is more a byproduct of our environment than a temperamental disposition. Finding more opportunities to ground our anxiety could be half the battle. But being barefoot in nature may not be an option for many. So how might we mimic the same benefits?

Conditioning the mechanisms without reliance. 

Though the same outcome of down regulation is at play, these methods have slightly different mechanisms. While grounding devices work primarily through electrical charge transfer, emotional support plushies and weighted blankets operate more through sensory and neurological feedback mechanisms. Together, they become powerful outside-in and inside-out options.

INSPIRATION ^{_{(what i want)}}

Biotextiles: adaptive fiber sensors that can be woven into a wide range of biological surfaces to monitor responses.  

Though not about alleviating anxiety directly, this inspiration of a growing field of hypersensitive biotextiles will open the flood gates to continuous health monitoring and adaptive sensing – we will be able to innovate a world of our ‘extended self’ through fabric.

• Designed by the Cambridge University Engineering Department (who were inspired by spider silk), this game-changing innovation in textiles can be imperceptibly printed on the smallest of surfaces without collapsing their original structure (ie. a flower petal).

• This low-waste, low-emission, almost-invisible option is far less clunky than the current solid devices used in today’s wearable technologies and devices.

• These bioelectric fibers are also easily reparable and can be upgraded to meet changing demands of a monitored response.

• Still in early phase of exploring use cases, this new bioelectronic fiber will be far more flexible and adaptive to sensing biological surfaces without being intrusive.

• Early tests suggest they can be printed onto a human finger to be used for continuous health monitoring.

I’m coining it now…we are moving from ‘wearables’ to ‘touchables’!

INNOVATION ^{_{(what i wish for)}}

GroundBuds: next generation “touchables” that combine grounding technology and neurochemical activation for down regulation on demand. 

Core Elements: 

• Grounding plate: an iPad sized grounding plate for your feet that also recharges all touchables which rest on them when not in use. 

• Soft buds: Small plush buds are squishy and covered in an ultra-soft microfiber with infused bioelectric sensing fibers – which help conduct gentle electrical grounding while providing a skin-soothing, touch-activated response. 

• Conductive fabric: A discreet woven conductive grid in the bud fabric connects to a small, rechargeable bioceramic grounding module internally that mimics the Earth’s natural electric field.

• Vibration Nodes: Small, invisible haptic pulse zones sit within the fabric, delivering rhythmic vibrations to regulate breathing and lower heart rate.

• Textured Options: Available in neon or neutral tones with optional textured surface variations for added tactile comfort for those with hypersensitivity.

Multi-Mechanism Approach: 

• Active Use: Bare feet are placed on the grounding plate (ie. under one’s desk) and fingers hold buds between the thumb and index finger (aka. gyan mudra) with the buds connected to the plate with small retractable wires. This is the power mode for electrostatic discharge and neutralizing excess free radicals and reducing inflammation. 

• Passive Use: Buds can disconnect and be held between fingers on the go (ie. within pockets or during speeches) to continue with the comfort response of tactile therapy and light haptic feedback as it memorizes your down regulated heart rate. 

This touchable comes with a training program to start with daily sessions and slowly weens people off to rely on their own gesturing, breathing and calming to achieve the same effect. Can be used afterwards in an on demand capacity. Touchables will become the new wearables. Not just qualified self reliance tools but intuitive self training support for self-regulation — redefining how we stay calm, connected, and in flow anywhere, anytime.