How do you know if you are having a sensory overload?

Oh god I resemble that remark so much.

That's very helpful, thank you. It's good that you know what triggers you now though.

That's exactly what I'm going through now, I'm looking more into the various aspects of the condition and ask myself if I have that aspect. I don't have big meltdowns more than once every month or every couple of months, but I do often feel very irritable and anxious and I'm trying to find a reason for it.

Maybe you could try and get some invisible earplugs, someone on here mentioned some from Boots or Specsavers or something, that they mould to your ear and you can't see it, and they just reduce the sound levels. So you would still hear your son, and the people around, but hopefully in a less overwhelming way.

I wasn't aware of why I felt frustrated or why I was snapping at everyone only that I just wanted to go home and be in my comfort zone 

It was whenever I phone an old Support Worker - from my time in Magherafelt - during hospitalisation. He suggested that the possible cause is sensory overload.

I’m not diagnosed and I’m not sure about sensory overload myself but your post got me thinking. Yesterday I went to watch my son’s nativity play (he’s in primary school) and I realised that I always had trouble of holding back my tears during children’s performances - I used to say to myself that I must be super emotional, because I’m the only parent who cries. But yesterday I realised that the real reason is the noise, crowd, children singing and performing (they are young and anxious so they are awful at it, they can’t act and I hardly understand them) I really don’t like those school plays and I’m always tired afterwards but I have to be there for my son.

So before your diagnosis, when you heard all these sounds in the shops, were you aware that that was stressing you out? Or were you feeling stressed and overwhelmed and didn't know why?

For me I didn't know I was having a meltdown until diagnosis when it all started to make sense. 

I would get overwhelmed in shops when because I could hear several conversations going on, tills pinging, peoples footsteps. 

It was more noticeable in the buiser times of the year and now I know the cause and that I need to remove myself from the situation I find it a lot easier to prevent a meltdown 

I'm sorry it got that hard. Did you always know when you were having an overload what the cause was? Or is it something that you figure out after the fact, or that you are now able to notice?

That's great, I'm really happy for you that it's making things easier. This is really encouraging.

I was hospitalised back in May due to sensory overload; plus too many Co-Codamols - I have stayed away from them ever since.

For me, it's an impending case of chaos — too much to do, and not enough time to do it.

I am only just starting now to be able to link feelings to overload, since diagnosis. For example yesterday I had a creeping sense of irritability and that people were too close, too noisy. I was starting to snap at people - previously this would have carried on until I had to remove myself from the situation or had a row with someone and I would have carried the fury away with me and then also increased it with fury at myself for not understanding why I was furious. Yesterday, something clicked and I suddently realised it was too much sensory wise. I went home early, listened to music that calms me down and went for a walk by myself  somewhere quiet. Today I am tired but it didn't get as bad as it normally does as I understood all of a sudden what was happening. That felt very different to previously.