Overwhelmed with so much information?

[superboyian]

So from your experience, when you find that people give you so much information in one day i.e. when you started a new job, your employer throws all this information at you and then you either find yourself in distress afterwards or somewhere in-between, you find yourself having a meltdown because of all these information you somewhat can't seem to comprehend?

 

[The Penguin]

I find taking classes right now can be overwhelming for me. Each one is 3 hours. I lucky I have a note taker so if I zone out I can at least review the notes later. When I have meetings same thing. I might have a short attention span.

 

[Ste11aeres]

Not a meltdown, but a shutdown. I shut down in situations where others have meltdowns.

 

[AsheSkyler]

The last time I had a massive influx of info was about a month ago at an annual seminar I have to do for work. Sixteen hours of boring laws and updates spread out over two days. I did good the first four hours of each, then my head felt numb and tingly. I just mindlessly wrote down page numbers from the slides and random notes without really paying attention. It was a type of shutdown due to overload, but nothing bad happened. I've gotten used to this type of "education" and know how to compensate so I can study at my own pace at a later time. =)

If you want me in a meltdown during info overload, send me back to ITT Tech where the students aren't kept in line. I think I might have had an Aspie for a classmate one quarter, he snapped mid-class once and yelled at all the students to shut up. I thanked him after class.

 

[King_Oni]

I tend to have an issue with processing information in general. I can take in large amounts, but I guess it really depends on how it's presented.

Some people are just terrible at explaining things and the fact that they have to share large amounts of information really doesn't make it easier.

I don't suffer a meltdown or shutdown over it. At worst, I pick up information selectively, and of course have to return to person X to ask "how did this work?". But yeah, I have a big issue with who is conveying the information.

 

[Kari Suttle]

So from your experience, when you find that people give you so much information in one day i.e. when you started a new job, your employer throws all this information at you and then you either find yourself in distress afterwards or somewhere in-between, you find yourself having a meltdown because of all these information you somewhat can't seem to comprehend?

Oh god yes, all the time. I work as a cashier, and lately the noise level alone is enough to cause a constant, mild level of sensory overload all day long. Add to that some supervisor of mine coming over to me and telling me she wants me to move to another register when i'm still checking out a customer, and its just torture. Luckily they've all learned that doing that, it goes in one ear and out the other even if i reply to them...they at least wait until my focus isn't fully on the customer if its busy and if its not busy they wait till i'm done with my customer.

Then again like King Oni said above, i have an issue with processing lots of information in general even if its simple instructions. I can generally only absorb and process a lot at once if its given to me step by step with small pauses for me to process the info given, repeat it back if necessary, and ask any questions for clarification.

I'm more prone to shutdowns than meltdowns - those are rare - but generally i only shut down after the trigger situation is said and done. Sometimes during but it depends how stressed and overwhelmed i am.

 

[Who am I]

I've been there many times. Nowadays I know that all those pieces of information create a beautiful mosaic if I just wait a bit.

 

[Balkan1996]

I have a huge issue with processing and remembering verbal data. I have to make stupid notes for everything!

 

[Judge]

Just waking up sometimes...as if my brain were a hard drive going through all those handshakes in a fraction of a second. Too many thoughts all at once...just for waking up.

 

[Progster]

I'm more likely to have a shutdown than a meltdown, unless others make demands of me. If I'm given verbal intructions I won't take it all in, I latch on to one detail and focus that. I need to have pauses to have time to take everything on board.

If I have to take in a lot of information, I tend to go into overdrive afterwards. By this i mean that my brain has a kind of delayed action and will still be processing it at night and I won't be able to get to sleep through thinking about the information. I often play conversations or events back in my head like a video.

 

[Keith]

I love history, but going from one link to another on the encyclopedia in the Civilization games made me realize my intake limit. I realize that I need to be specific.

I'm conflicted regarding music. I often don't know whether I want a varied playlist (e.g. classic rock) or something more specific (e.g. progressive rock).

I also hated textbooks or literature assignments in school. I would read them but never remember a single thing. That is when I got really upset.

 

[clg114]

I tend to have an issue with processing information in general. I can take in large amounts, but I guess it really depends on how it's presented.

Some people are just terrible at explaining things and the fact that they have to share large amounts of information really doesn't make it easier.

I don't suffer a meltdown or shutdown over it. At worst, I pick up information selectively, and of course have to return to person X to ask "how did this work?". But yeah, I have a big issue with who is conveying the information.

I agree. Understanding a concept and getting someone else to understand it, are two different things. A good educator is a valuable individual.

 

[Wooaspie]

It always drives me crazy when someone tells you how to do something,and you say you understand, and they keep explaining it anyway.

 

[Nadador]

I can have a minor shutdown if inundated with information. There will come a point when I can still hear the messages coming at me, but they stop sinking in, and eventually may not even sound intelligible. Luckily, once I've had time to go somewhere quiet to let down and relax a bit, whatever got diverted to my "overflow pool" will gradually be absorbed.

 

[zurb]

Looking for a new laptop, there are hundreds of options, and because they only ever give the 'important' specs they all start to look the same with no way to actually choose.
Found it best to look online to compare fuller specs (some sites even had 'what's best for me' quizzes to help).
Problem then was finding a shop that actually sells the recommended option!
Sigh

 

[Aspergirl4hire]

I make notes on autopilot without really listening unless something hits one of my interests. Then I wind up driving the conversation with my questions. At that point, I'm managing the information firehose, and since it's usually data-intensive, I can process enough of it to get by, with a few "jokes" about how I'll need to revisit some of it. As a social script, it seems to work.

Another thing that works for me is writing on the whiteboard what I understand so that the other person can see it and correct it. Then I take a picture of the corrected whiteboard.

 

[wyverary]

Honestly? When it's something like a new job, or a performance review, I listen, nod, and smile...and then, after the session is over, I forget ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING. I either do my job or I don't, and usually I do it, and well, and whatever my employers think of it, well, that's up to them. Thus far I've run into zero problems in that regard.

Don't mind me...I am armed and dangerous! I have this scanner and I KNOW HOW TO USE IT!

 

[deema]

So from your experience, when you find that people give you so much information in one day i.e. when you started a new job, your employer throws all this information at you and then you either find yourself in distress afterwards or somewhere in-between, you find yourself having a meltdown because of all these information you somewhat can't seem to comprehend?

I would say that it is due to how it is being fed to you , not the amount that is being fed. If there is one thing, and only one thing, I would say that aspies all share, each and every, is the ability to completely comprehend information relating to logic. Meaning ANY information not relying on emotion, just data. I would wager that if that same amount of information came at you on a computer screen, you would have no problem being able to assimilate it.