Advice on Managing Sensory Overload in Everyday Life

"Wear a coat or hoodie when everyone else is throwing windows and fanning themselves… not because it is warm but because it is a random day in Spring or Summer" - exactly!

My worst sensory issue is temperature, I'm so sensitive to it. The cold can feel like pain to me, particularly in my hands & feet and around my neck. I wear boots, gloves and a scarf from the end of September until at least the end of April. (And keep the boots, and often the scarf, on in work)

I'm only comfortable wearing summer clothes (without a cardigan) if the temperature is at least 22C. I do also get uncomfortable if it's above 30C, but that's rare and short lived in this country and everyone puts fans on and complains when that happens anyway.

At work, the heating usually goes off at the end of April, no matter the temperature, as "it's summer now"  As soon as the forecast shows it will get up to 20 degrees that day, the windows are opened, even if there's a strong north /north-east wind blowing. Luckily, last year I moved from a large open plan office to one I share with only one other person, who feels the cold just as much as me. Also I keep a light jacket at work and have an electric heater that I can put on when they turn the central heating off.

Before they had NC tech I used silicon ear putty that worked the best but I needed hearing aids so now I have the NC headphones over-ear. At-large life is a lot more accommodating these days, too.

shades =

I'd been looking at those loop plugs for work days where I'm in the office (other days at home so I'm fine) , do they work? Do you find people ask what they are and why you wear them?

I'm okay with noise. It's day-to-day stress which overloads me. Dealing with the demands of life throws me off kilter.

I can totally relate. I am still trying to fully understand all of this. I was diagnosed at the age of 40 so I am very late to the party and trying to figure it all out. I have always felt like I only have so much tolerance and energy for anything. It's difficult to differentiate between times when I genuinely am just tired and stressed or if it's down to burnout etc. For example, at times I have gone to see a stage show, comedy act, whatever it may be, I get so far through the show and then feel exhausted and unable to keep reacting in the same way, such as finding it as funny as I did at the start. I can be telling myself that I am enjoying the show and this is a great experience but part of me just wants it to end so that I can get out and relax a bit. It's as if I only have a limited amount of laughter etc per day. 

I also struggle with days out, in the past I have had a day out with someone, just having a slow walk around somewhere, taking in the sights, maybe going into a few shops etc, not doing anything strenuous or stressful but by the end of the day I would be utterly exhausted. It doesn't really make sense but I would be totally drained. 

As I say I am still trying to understand all of it. I also suffer from depression and anxiety so that has an impact too. Thank you for sharing your experience, hearing other people's views really helps.

Iain, I don't litterally fear there might not be enough air to go around, it's just one of those passing thoughts. I'm probably not a logical thinker, I can be very logical at times, but I'm also a very magical thinker. I think if you lived in such a rural place as I do then my sort of fear might seem more logical too and you have to admit that air quality in built up areas is poor.

For me, the biggest struggle to overcome has been no longer letting my self-consciousness deter me from doing the things that help take the edge off overwhelm. Now that I’m deep into my forties, my battery is permanently lower than ever, so it’s a case of ‘even if I look I right pillock, and even if I get teased and quizzed about it, I will…

wear sunglasses a lot at all times of the year, and especially at work, even though I’m nowhere near a window. 

Use earplugs or sound filtering inserts, anywhere that I find myself unable to strip out background noise naturally like NTs can do. 

Wear a coat or hoodie when everyone else is throwing windows and fanning themselves… not because it is warm but because it is a random day in Spring or Summer. The logic of this defeats me, but that’s democracy for you so.. fair enough!

Sleep and rest often, knowing that rest is not laziness and that my days of feeling guilty for not having the energy reserves for anything beyond ‘work, get home, hibernate, recuperate, repeat’ are done with. 

I've found sunglasses and loop earplugs a lifesaver, helps me with sensory overload in such a big way.

I couldn't live without them anymore.

I'm sorry you're struggling but I relate 100% with this. Life is just one big sensory overload and it can be extremely difficult to cope with every day life. 

For brightness I wear sunglasses, they make a huge difference to be honest so I highly recommend you give this a try.

My sister also has autism and wears glasses and she has transition lenses which automatically darken when she goes outside. 

And said it helps her with brightness.

For noise I would recommend you try ear plugs. I have some loops which really helps ease sensory overload from loud noises. I wear them at work (I work with little children) and they are honestly a lifesaver for me! 

I was struggling every day with the loudness from the children, they are so loud but with my loops it's a lot better now. 

When going out try to avoid the busiest times of the day. When I go out shopping I go first thing in the morning before the shops get too busy, and also on a Saturday morning here Morrison's have an autism morning where they turn off the music and dim the lights. 

So awesome.

I hope things improve for you. You definitely are not alone with this though. I think it's something most of us deal with on a daily basis.

TheCatWoman said:

when I go somewhere busy, I start wondering if theres enough air to go around?

If you are a logical thinker try to focus on the fact that people don't die in these places to the science must be sound.

Maybe try to see the bigger picture of the urban heat island effect causing the hot air surrounding all the buildings, vehicles and people to rise, drawing in more breathable air from outside. Any plants (even grass) will be creating O2 as well so it is a very established model that works well.

Sometimes this can be enough to overcome the less rational fears that try to drag you down.

Yes I do this too, while walking, scanning the area for bolt holes, like a park. And inner world. It's a richly appointed place!

The hardest distraction for me is smell. I have yet to find any strategy for that, outside of fleeing or carrying an industrial mask around which is, well, yea.. it's weird.

My strategies are (nothing is 100% effective but I can come close sometimes)

•avoid busy times.

•NC headphones

•Sun glasses

•If I can't avoid the crowd I distract with an audio book or music on the head phones and find a small personal space to claim in my head.

•avoid being around those too bright or strobe-ing lights.

•repeat saying or doing something over and over that is task oriented like "The next thing, just the next thing. the next thing.." or "aisle 12 aisle 12 aisle 12 aisle 12.., on the right on the right..." while looking at a map in my head.

•Sometimes in overwhelming situations I must navigate to get to a certain goal, like the goat cheese at a busy farmers market for example, I imagine myself as a sort of game piece on a gameboard, navigating a mine field of distractions. I see myself from above and replace the actual setting for a simplified bird's eye view.

I hope you can get creative and find some that work for you or borrow freely from the rest of us. I am hoping to pick up a few tricks here on this thread!

I live in a small town, but even here it’s often too loud and too much. I always take ear plugs and sunglasses with me. Sunglasses help me deal with strong led lights in a shopping center and ear protection with noises. I always look to close to some quiet area such as park. If I go to party (it happens very rare) I make sure, that the host wouldn’t mind if I take a break in separate room, it was last time 7-8 years ago. Best way at home is I fully cover myself with a blanket and cover my ears, close my eyes and let myself calm down. It goes away quickly, within few minutes. But of course it’s impossible outside. I usually choose quiet areas, or walk close to them to be able to go there quickly. Music also helps me sometimes. I concentrate on it and dive into my inner world. 

I live in country, no flashing bilboards, no big shops no big towns, it can still be noisy as I live in a village and we're near an airbase and have fighter jets screaming overhead sometimes. I couldn't live in a town again, when I go somewhere busy, I start wondering if theres enough air to go around? On the whole natural sounds are much easier to cope with, where I used to live we had the "maternity field" next to our house where all the ewes were put with their new lambs, every spring there would be a cacophony with the high pitched voices of the lambs shouoting 'Maaam' and the deeper voices of the ewes repyling 'Here'.

I expect everyone is unique in their approach to guarding against / managing sensory overload (albeit, there will likely be some common strategies and themes).. 

Sometimes, for me, in situations were I might anticipate having limited ability to influence matters; it can also be about actually adding a chosen sensory Input.  Basically, this approach is a self-distraction instead. 

Sort of: a sensory overload of my choosing.  E.g. to myself , silently: "ignore the child screaming over there on this bus, with their Mother, ...notice more: how the bendy ,/ prickly silicone hedgehog toy ball feels in the grasp of my right hand as I fidget with that toy".