Develop a Positive Orientation Response to Build Resilience with MCS

The Orientation Response is a basic physiological function of everyday life. A healthy orientation response includes the process of noticing sensory inputs from our environment, assessing their impact on us, and taking appropriate action.

People who have been primed to anticipate that something negative will appear in their environment have an Orientation Response that is biased toward survival, which is focused on anticipating danger and physiologically selecting whether to go into fight, flight, or freeze mode, or a combination of these.

The trouble with survival mode (anticipating that fight, flight or freeze is needed) is that it is stressful on the body. Survival mode is a special form of energy conservation where the essential physiological functions for growth, revitalization, and metabolism are suspended. Instead, the cells, organs, tissues, muscles, etc are braced for negative impact and ready to respond to danger.

It is possible to navigate the modern world — even with multiple chemical sensitivity (MCS) — without being in a survival mode. And in fact, it is highly beneficial to keep oneself out of this mode so that the immune system can function properly, including the body’s detoxification mechanisms and effective response to manmade chemicals.

The way to shift your Orientation Response out of survival mode is to focus on what you want. If you are out and about and find yourself exposed to something that disagrees with you, focus your attention on your environment using your other senses, and find a spot or location toward which you want to move. It may be an interesting item in the store or the jar of pasta sauce in the next aisle, or simply the door. But focus on the object that you want and move toward it. Avoid shirking away from what you don’t want, because this is physiologically different and triggers survival mode.

Focusing on what you want shifts your Orientation Response into exploratory mode. Exploratory mode is a state of positive growth and physiological peacefulness. As a result, it is an optimal state for immune function, metabolism, and decision-making. Exploratory mode and survival mode generally do not co-exist in your body at the same time. Therefore, if you shift your Orientation Response toward exploration, focus on what you want, and move toward it, you will be prompting your body to shift away from survival mode and into exploration mode.

The neat thing about practicing exploration mode — even at home — is that it can even change your emotions. You might find yourself inadvertently worrying or frightened about something internally, and feel those emotions take over physiologically. You can get out of this state by looking around the room, utilizing your senses, and focusing your attention on something that interests you.

Utilizing your other senses is especially important if you have multiple chemical sensitivity. It sends your body the message that there is something more interesting than what you smell in your environment, and that it is worth your while to check it out. Your body anticipates that if you are using the sniff test, something threatening is likely to happen. As a result, it begins to brace itself and go into survival mode. So let go of the sniffing, even if you do smell something you don’t like, and focus on using your other senses to find something more interesting to be around.

Also utilize your body as much as possible with the Orientation Response. When we are curious about something, we turn our heads, straigthten our spine, lift our chest to look, and even turn our entire torso. So do so. This again tells your body that it is time to explore. You may decide you’d rather turn left than turn right, but at least you will be making that decision out of joy, rather than fear, and while in a state of physiological ease.

The science behind the Orientation Response and further resources related to this topic will appear in the forthcoming book, The MCS Resilience Project. Sign up for the newsletter below to learn more.