Published on 12, July, 2020
I know a lot of us autistic people have a heightened or more sensitive sense of taste and smell, I do myself.
I wondered though whether anyone else has experienced their sense of taste or smell being extremely hightened during periods of stress or burnout?
Im suffering with autistic burnout lately and the last couple of days Ive had to sort out a lot of stressful things around the house and with the bank etc so have been feeling overwhelmed and exhausted. Today my sense of smell has gone crazy, I am constantly smelling smells on myself. I can smell strange smells I dont usually smell from clothes, bedding and my wife as well. Its like someone has turned my sense of smell up to 11 and I can smell everything around me all the time
My dinner tasted burnt even though I know I didnt burn it and my wife said it wasnt burned and the cheese tasted rubbery. I swear if a dog farted 3 streets away I would smell it right now,
Has anyone else every expereinced anything like this?
yep. an ashtray in the room next door will do it.
i expect it and it forms a negative feedback loop when it wakes me up
like lighting up scentless candle 2 rooms away? no window opened to cause draught and bring smell to me
that makes sense. It was wierd today, I was very burned out from doing difficult jobs the last couple of days and from socialising. My wife says shes noticed this happening to me before but I dont remember it. It was like I could smell every smell if that makes sense, like all the things you dont normally smell
for me the most sensitive detections happen in situations when I'm fully focused on something, so it happens involuntarily, and sometimes it is a distraction, I wonder if it is my ADHD doing it
Is it worse when your under stress or burnt out?
yep. electrical hums from the house next door at 2am.