Published on 12, July, 2020
I went to the cinema today - haven't been for absolutely ages, partly though lethargy, but also a significant part was due to worry about how loud/bright/noisy/shiny/peoply it would be.
A good friend asked me to go with her/hubby/their son - I took 2 hours to reply to the text, as you do when your initial thought when anyone asks you to do anything is to scream "no" and curl up in a ball. But I didn't talk myself out of it.
And I'm glad I went, coz it was okay. She's one of the few people who know about my AS, so wasn't surprised when I said "I'll need to wear my earplugs, and I need to sit on the end of the row". It was quite loud, but the earplugs reduced it to an okay level for a couple of hours; it was quite bright, but I shut my eyes in the bright shiny flashy bits, and it wasn't too peoply.
So I'm glad I did it!
I'm sensitive to noise and avoided the cinema for around 15 years. Anything sudden, from a door closing to someone clearing their throat makes me jump, and I just found it too humiliating. I love films, though. So I've started to go again, but wear earplugs now. Vue cinemas have very spacious seating as well so I don't feel so cramped.
We like the VIP seats in the Staines Vue.
Hi, @Bagpuss7. I think it's great that you managed to go to the cinema. Having an ASD entirely changes your day-to-day life. I'm in a similar situation, but when I was there, I got terrible anxiety and thought I was near to getting a psychosis, so I ran away. Since then, I have fully transferred to online watching movies and tv series on Netflix. Recently I bumped into this platform yeahmovies.tv, and I see it as more affordable. Does anyone of you have an account here? I'd be grateful if you'd advise me if it's worthy or not.