Sensory Overload

Restaurants with too many voices tend to disorient my senses. I noticed someone else posted how much they hate the grocery store - me too! The lights, too many people, too much noise - ugh. 

I also go to the ladies room to deep breathe, reorient my senses in the quiet. Cold water on my wrists is something a teacher taught me in 1st grade! It works. 

One thing I always have done - even before I had a diagnosis-  is drive my own car wherever I am going. This way, if I get too overstimulated or am on near-panic mode … I can leave.   This usually only happens if I am really tired or if I have been out too long.  So now, I nap an hour before going out with friends (try a weighted blanket - heaven!) and I drive my own car. Escape is easier this way. 

Try Flare Ear Plugs - they are unnoticeable! It buffers the annoying noises but you can still hear conversations -really  helps! (Amazon).  

If you get overwhelmed- just be honest and tell a friend. 

I always take my earphones and have my phone ready to play music so I can plug in and escape the noise. Going to the toilet is another good idea or pretending someone's called me and walk out of the shop for better signal. These are my go to plans if I start to get overwhelmed, which is frequently lolol.

I try to avoid places that trigger me like shops. If I decide I want to go shopping I choose smaller and quieter shops and if it's a big shop I look up on Google when it's quiet and that helps me. Morrisons here have an autism morning where they play no music and dim the shops lights...this is on Saturdays so I tend to go shopping with my mum on Saturday morning.

Tell them you need to go out for a break! I yendo not to go to supermarkets or shops — unless they are absolutely, neurotically tidy and clean, with things arranged to millimetrical perfection. Online shopping is an alternative, though I can’t cope with the ads and banners which constantly pop up!

Omg yes I love my buds

Thank you for your response; this is really helpful 

Thank you for your response!

This is really enlightening and will help me a lot; thank you!

Thank you so much; this is really helpful!

I relate to this. I used to know i felt off or anxious but i couldn’t work out why, I now know if I don’t know why i feel that way, it’s probably because i am over stimulated.

I find that wearing sunglasses and headphone helps me. Especially if I am going out with others I always make sure I have my sunglasses with me. As others have mentioned going to the toilet and just regrouping and having a second alone quietly helps me too.  Lastly I find practicing breathing and grounding techniques helpful. That way if I am ever in a situation where I then feel over stimulated, I can try zone in on myself, how i’m breathing. 

I hope you find some strategies that help you feel more comfortable 

I find that generally I'm too masked to recognize triggers when I'm out. My counselor says I not only mask but dissociate as well in public. So the way I've been figuring out what's triggering my is by writing it all down when I'm more calm at home after an event. 

Eg. 

6am - woke in pain didn't think to take pain relief. Had a drink couldn't face food

7am -sat in bed. Weather noise outside, windows rattling, rain, dog licking 

9am - walked dog. Cold. Shoulders tense. Wind noise in ears, hat too hot, hip pain, waiting for text response to know whether to stop at friends for cuppa. Cold. Avoidant of other dog walkers

Then I can see I was overwhelmed from the moment I woke and kept getting more overwhelmed by my senses. 

The next step is to plan for the next time. So pain relief by bed,  different hat, another jumper, different coat/different route that avoids the worst of the wind when going out.

Putting that into practice when I go for a walk later, however, will be the challenge because I don't stop and think, I just pick up the dog lead and go!

On the very rare occasions I venture into town, earphones are a must. I have in ear ones, that effectively shut out the world, so a lot of the sensory input is limited to music that I choose to listen to. This helps me.

jazshanks said:

Lots of people talking at once can do it.

Oh boy is that the truth.

Ben

Go to the loo. Decide if you want to leave, if you do, go back and tell your friends you don't feel good and go home.

Supermarkets and nightclubs are hellish.

Dip your face in cold water if it helps.

Find a quiet place.

Breathe 4 seconds breathe in, hold, breathe out for 6 seconds repeat.

Predict noise, lighting, touch, smell etc before going. These are the senses which get overloaded. Lots of people talking at once can do it.

I get sight disturbances when overloaded.

It's ok to go to bed early on Saturday even on fridays!