Panic in response to scent?

[Warmheart]

Is anyone else inclined to suddenly overreact to specific strong scents? Artificial scents such as perfumes, colognes, body sprays and aftershave abruptly make me need to escape. Otherwise, a massive brain fog (shutdown) closes off my awareness, and I become Zombie Woman, barely able to grunt out a reply in convo. I'm so shutdown, I'm useless. Cigarette smoke makes me panic also, if I cannot escape it. Natural body odor does not upset me as much as artificial scents do. Room sprays/air-fresheners are overwhelming. Anyone else sensitive to scents react this way?

 

[Stik]

I thought I was the only one. After I found out I wasn't allergic I didn't know what my issue was. It's not all scents but flowery perfume and patchouli are the worst for me. I also have strong reactions to cleaning products and whatever they used to strip the floor where I used to work.

 

[113]

Yes... depending on the smell, it's like being trapped in a locked port-o-potty on a sunny day.

 

[Kari Suttle]

I don't panic so much as i just can't function with strong smells. I avoid the cleaners and laundry stuff aisle at the store like the plague and i hate it when a customer comes to my lane that's wearing unusually strong cologne or perfume. For me there's no happy medium, it either just fine or its so strong i can hardly breathe. I feel overwhelmed and anxious around strong smells until either i escape or the situation passes. I don't shut down so much as i get anxious with strong smells.

 

[Hope88]

For me freshly peeled oranges do it every time. It feels like it's clinging to me and in the past I have actually run to get away from the smell. I even start retching :/ The worst part was school lunches, you were stuck next to certain people for the entire year and one kid had oranges every day. I would even avoid eating lunch to get away from him.

 

[Nitro]

I have no sense of smell at all

 

[Aspergirl4hire]

I often feel as if I can't get enough air, if the scent's unexpected. Because scent is closely related to memory, at least for me, I find I have to avoid certain odors if I want to keep "acting normal." Some of them are artificial, some are natural.

 

[Axeman52]

I have a terrible reaction to certain smells. Rotten smells almost instantly set off my gag reflex, certain chemical smells can make me feel dizzy or nauseous and spray deodorants and perfumes make me instinctively hold my breath to avoid inhaling the fumes.

In most cases, if these smells are strong enough I panic and get an uncontrollable urge to get myself away from them as quickly as possible. Other times, they just cause discomfort - for example, I've had a hard time sleeping recently because my bedsheets were washed with a different detergent that left a soapy smell on everything which keeps giving me a headache.

 

[AsheSkyler]

Not me, that one skipped me. Chemical odors like perfume does make me a bit edgier because of the burning in my eyes, nose, and lungs, but it's not got the point of making me scared due to the pending pain. There are a few smells associated with bad memories that put me square on the fight/flight fence (rather than one side or the other, oh the joys of multiple emotions at once!), but I have an explanation for those.

 

[Suzanne]

Oh Warmheart, a MASSIVE YES I cannot wear perfume and what I hate most of all, is ones who love the stuff, seem to think it is funny to spray in one's face! My sister's friend used to do this and it took all my courage not to slap her!

We have moved and now live in a village in France and our next door neighbor is what the French call: bar/tabac and because the French government have banned smoking inside, they all come outside and when my husband and I go out, this repulsive wave of stale cigarettes hit us and I have to cover my nose, otherwise I would vomit.

I also cannot cope with out door smells. When our two dogs come back inside, the stench on them, makes me panic. My husband cannot smell it and yet, there are other smells I cannot smell!

I lost my sense of smell and taste completely for nearly a year and at first, I went into sheer panic mode, but it didn't take me long to LOVE it and wow, did I take advantage of this lol no problem with cleaning the chicken pen out and hey, bins, so what lol But it paradoxically now that they are coming back, they are worse than ever ie even stronger!

We are putting our kitchen together and as yet, do not have a cooker hood and yesterday, I cooked mince and onion ( even strong cooking tastes, make me wretch). I could not smell the after effects cooking, until I went to bed and I was nearly close to tears with the awful smell; my nose seem to block up but not so as I couldn't smell, but so as I was stuck with the smell and had no choice but to get out of bed and light nice smellie.

Also, hard as I try, I cannot cope with what my husband eats and thus, the smell on his breath. If he eats garlic, I have to eat some myself, otherwise, I cannot deal with it. Always used to cause arguments, because I found it so overwhelming, when he smoked that I would come out and say: oh Jem, sorry but the stench on your breath is just too much and he would feel insulted. Of course, he likes to hit back that he can cope with my breath and likes to add: Your breath can be awful at times, due to your stomach issues; so I say: well why do you not say? So I can go and do something about it? That tends to make him go quiet!

 

[Suzanne]

I often feel as if I can't get enough air, if the scent's unexpected. Because scent is closely related to memory, at least for me, I find I have to avoid certain odors if I want to keep "acting normal." Some of them are artificial, some are natural.

Oh how I know what you mean! Some smells even make me feel depressed, due to my past!

 

[Grace13]

Me too!! my mom perfume the toilet because it smells like diarea! and i hate strong soap smell air freshener! i put on my mask before i go toilet!

 

[Warmheart]

Okay, so I'm not the only stinkphobe out there! Thank you everyone for sharing your sensitivities and experiences.

 

[Progster]

I don't like perfumes and strongly scented detergents, especially lemon and floral scents. And I detest cigarette smoke!

 

[Judge]

Cigarette smoke and cheap perfumes....yeah, for me they're likely to cause a flight response.

 

[zurb]

Deodorant sprays for use in bathrooms are way worse than the smell they are trying to mask IMHO.
I love peanut butter, but hate the smell of someone else eating it.

 

[Ellylldan]

I don't always feel panic because of a scent but sometimes yes. Probably because in those moments I have less energy to cope, I don't know. Mostly such a reaction is triggered by some strong perfume, or cleaning liquids, I start feeling suffocated, or by a cigarette smoke produced by others. Interestingly, I smoke myself a little, usually in social situations as a coping thing, I think. Well, it never bothers me when I smoke.

Oh, and I remember once I was with people in a trattoria and there was very very strong smell of kitchen, not pleasant scent of food but awful smell of kitchen, I don't know how to explain.. I just couldn't stand it but I also couldn't go away, so was trying to hold my breath as much as I could and breathe as little as possible and went out a couple of times to breathe. It was a torture for me and yes, I remember the feeling of panic growing inside! Nobody was bothered by the smell but me.. And now I might have found a reason why!

 

[Harrison]

I am allergic to many artifical scents, one of them violently so as my skin erupts if I touch someone wearing it. Those plug-in room scents are a nightmare too, I went to a colleagues home that had them in every room which brought my visit to a close really quickly.

Natural smells I can deal with, even farmers spreading manure (unless it's human excrement).