Sensory Overload

[Meg]

This is a big for me. Does anyone have specific locations or times when this is worse? For me it tends to be grocery stores, malls, and the afternoon. Sounds bother me most followed very closely by certain lighting.

 

[Kari Suttle]

This is a big for me. Does anyone have specific locations or times when this is worse? For me it tends to be grocery stores, malls, and the afternoon. Sounds bother me most followed very closely by certain lighting.

Yeah i get sensory overload too. It happens at my part time job a lot - i work as a cashier at a grocery store - which often leads to me shutting down. It happens at my full time job, babysitting, sometimes too if i didn't get enough sleep the night before, i'm not feeling 100%, etc. Sounds and chaos is what triggers it for me, sound has always been a biggie for me. Normally i can hyperfocus on my customer and i'm fine but if someone distracts me or i'm just not 100% right then i can lose focus, especially if its near the end of my shift and i'm getting tired.

 

[Meg]

It seems as though you do try to push through it, I am currently trying to do more of that yet unfortunately more often I will just avoid. I also have panic and anxiety so I don't try hard enough to push through it as I could.

 

[apsie]

Light is a trigger for me.
Sound not so much anymore, I've learned to cope with it beter.
When its not cloudy, I tend to stay indoors and keep it as dark as I can.

 

[clg114]

This is a big for me. Does anyone have specific locations or times when this is worse? For me it tends to be grocery stores, malls, and the afternoon. Sounds bother me most followed very closely by certain lighting.

For me it's bright, overhead, artificial lighting and loud, chaotic sounds. Malls are the worst, I would rather eat a bug than go to the mall. However, I have been this way for a lot of years and it just makes me uncomfortable now.

 

[SameStars]

Malls, especially clothing shops, and grocery shops. It's the combination of artificial lighting and sounds of other people. Sometimes when I'm not sure what to buy, the chaos will hit me harder.

 

[Harrison]

Malls are my living nightmare, can't go in one. I shop at a small store locally and pay twice as much rather than go 2 miles to the mall.

 

[Meg]

to me is also like when I was in college and people went to clubs. I never understood why they would enjoy that or why putting any of your senses through that would be fun and not torturous.

 

[apsie]

Heh I went to a club once. My god did I laugh!
About 300 youngsters all "dancing" (It made me think of myself during a grand mall) the exact same way to the most annoying sounds they call "music", while drinking and flirting and simply being obnoxious and loud really. Ofcourse some folks there did not take me laughing very good so I only stayed for 1 "song".

Another thing, I remember when I was very young I used to sprinkle a little cinamon powder on my hair before I went to school.
It gave me a smell to focus on.

 

[AspieSam]

Yep! And I talk about it a lot on my sensorysolutions1.com blog. Especially in the archive section. I'm an adult aspie too.

 

[AsheSkyler]

I get closer than I like to an overload almost every night from noise and poking. Toddlers and autism don't mix well. Especially when the husband has the TV on all day.

 

[Cali Cat]

Not so much specific locations or specific times. However, noise and general chaos can cause me to overload. I hate grocery shopping, and pretty much shopping in general. I never thought about it before, but maybe this is why ... too much "input." And now that you mention it, some lighting is disturbing to me too. Sometimes fluorescent lighting causes me to feel dizzy or faint.

 

[Nitro]

Until I really need to see in my home,most of my lightbulbs are blue CFL ones complimented with black lights.
I often wear sunglasses at night

 

[Flinty]

Anything that would be called a "party", which means both crowding and being expected to socialize. Also, anything where socializing is expected.

 

[DogwoodTree]

My threshold drops to almost nothing if I'm stressed about something, like a problem at work or a computer that's not working right or something. If I'm calm and in the right frame of mind, though, I can take quite a bit before getting overwhelmed.

Malls don't bother me if they're not crowded, but even my own house is overwhelming if there's too much going on here. It's more the comparison between where my threshold is at the moment vs. the amount and type of energy around me, which tends to get more intolerable as the number of people increases.

 

[Nadador]

For me, any artificial environment can be overwhelming. Too much of unnatural light, smells, sounds at once and I get fuzzy and anxious, shutting down after a while. I spend as much time outdoors as I can, and keep my living space as natural and calming as possible: no TV in the house, only candlelight in the evening, no chemical cleansers. If I didn't, I would be able to recharge well enough to face the day in the outside world.

I am often in chaotic and crowded conditions for work, and it can wear me down quickly, especially if I'm already stressed or not well-rested. If I can't get a break often enough, a panic attack or an uncontrollable bout of Tourette's tics may ensue. I avoid such conditions in my personal life. I'm no fan of shopping centres, concerts, parties, etc. I have a hard time making even small decisions in those environments, oftentimes.

I'm also very sensitive to small background sounds, occasonally, like a ticking clock or the sound of someone chewing, even if the room is relatively empty and quiet otherwise. In the wrong mood, those sounds can make me anxious, even irritable. It's amazing how overwhelming little things can be.

 

[Ailie]

I get closer than I like to an overload almost every night from noise and poking. Toddlers and autism don't mix well. Especially when the husband has the TV on all day.

This exactly!

 

[Meg]

To add on to what some of you are speaking about with sounds and background noises, sometimes the most overwhelming for me are when I can not properly decipher what is going on. I often response with severe panic, for example if too many noises are happening at once, sounds, voices, laughing, sneezing, chewing, the tv, I can't separate the noises and it becomes so overwhelming and sometimes confusing leading to a panic attack. I love music and if it is not disjointed the sounds are okay together, however, if it is just party noise I can't differentiate and I feel the need to get away fast, usually outside or somewhere dark and quiet.

 

[Kari Suttle]

To add on to what some of you are speaking about with sounds and background noises, sometimes the most overwhelming for me are when I can not properly decipher what is going on. I often response with severe panic, for example if too many noises are happening at once, sounds, voices, laughing, sneezing, chewing, the tv, I can't separate the noises and it becomes so overwhelming and sometimes confusing leading to a panic attack. I love music and if it is not disjointed the sounds are okay together, however, if it is just party noise I can't differentiate and I feel the need to get away fast, usually outside or somewhere dark and quiet.

Same here, Meg. You hit the nail on the head with that explanation - I just can't separate the sounds, I hear them all at once as if i were listening to ten different songs all at once. As long as I am calm and in a good mood I can process it well enough but if i'm already stressed out it creates a lot of anxiety. Like with you it can lead to anxiety attacks, or shuttdowns. One or the other.

 

[The Penguin]

My issue is being around people in general. It can be family, work social events, or in public. I always get panic attacks. I get overwhelm as I don't know what to talk about with people. Furthermore, most people talk about things I don't care about. When I feel uncomfortable in these settings is when I have panic attacks. This is why I don't like interacting with people. What will be a challenge that I will need to meet many people if I want to build a business. I do allow myself to have enough energy to handle that as I know I need to earn an income. Outside of that, I just can't stand being around people.