Is this what sensory overload feels like?

[Southern Discomfort]

A few months ago as I was trying to go to sleep when I experienced which I can only chalk up to overload, my psychiatrist agrees with this idea but I what to get the opinions of others who have experienced overload for themselves to see if it matches.

I called it at the time 'a catastrophic fatal error', my brain just seized up as if it were a computer that had crashed. I couldn't think properly, it was as if every thought I was having was being eroded away into a static mess of snow. I was 'seeing' lines of jargon in my mind. I was overwhelmed with the sensation of needing to vomit and I think there was a lot of visual snow. Is this similar to what other people experience?

I'm not 100% sure what brought this on, I don't know if I've had a lot of stress. That weekend I've been with my sister, brothers and brother in law's family, it involved being a passenger of a three hour car journey each way. I've been reading for that time too and I'm not a fast reader. I don't understand why it came on as I was falling asleep.

My doctor did mention that it's a bad idea to try to read for a long period of time when you're not used it to; your brain has problems with the thought of travelling 70 MPH whilst read, he used the analogy of trying to read whilst riding a motorcycle and how difficult of a multitask it is.

Sensory overload is the only thing that seems to make any sense. I seem to recall getting this a few times as a child but it's been about fifteen years since having one prior to this one.

 

[StephF]

Sounds like a bad migraine to me

 

[Southern Discomfort]

I don't know. I know you can get migraines without a headache but it just doesn't seem to add up.

 

[tree]

If we had a keen vision of all that is ordinary in human life,
it would be like hearing the grass grow or the squirrel's heart beat,
and we should die of that roar which is the other side of silence.


George Eliot

 

[Southern Discomfort]

I didn't think this would be something of a long shot. /armflail

 

[tree]

I didn't think this would be something of a long shot. /armflail

Do you mean that the number of responses, so far, has not
equaled the degree of commonality you expected?

 

[watersprite]

For me, overload happens when it chooses, not when I expect it. A tiny little nothing/something can be the last bit of stress-weight which toggles a switch inside and then I'm done with everything for a while until it is done.

 

[Southern Discomfort]

Do you mean that the number of responses, so far, has not
equaled the degree of commonality you expected?

Indeed.

 

[Southern Discomfort]

For me, overload happens when it chooses, not when I expect it. A tiny little nothing/something can be the last bit of stress-weight which toggles a switch inside and then I'm done with everything for a while until it is done.

A little nothing would match my experience. Trying to go to sleep and it just hits you. Would you describe how you feel during it similarly? Do you feel like your brain crashes and you can't think properly too?

 

[watersprite]

Southern Discomfort - yes, my brain functioning seems to slip into a sort of mental static - and then crash. This can be made worse and lengthened by lack of food, so since I do not feel hunger when in this state I make sure to eat some fruit or a sandwich.

Regular exercise reduces the frequency of (but doesn't prevent) these overloads.

If possible I avoid highly the kinds of stressful sensory situations which cause me trouble.

 

[Datura]

I don't relate to the "visual snow" part, but certainly, it does become impossible to think clearly, or do much of anything. When I am overwhelmed I just have to lay in a quiet room with my hands over my eyes untill the feeling passes.

I suppose there are also more minor forms of overload. Recently I was at an anime meetup with about fifteen people present. There was too much cross talk for me to process and I totally zoned out. It took somebody waving his hand in front of my face to snap me out of it. That kind of overload is at least not physically painful, but it is a bit emberrasing.