Sensory Overload

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The Holidays For Me As A Black Autistic Woman

The Holidays For me As A Black Autistic Woman

We all love the holidays don’t we? Family, food, festive gatherings, gifts etc… well me personally I hate them! Here’s why. We come together and bond over food with our family we bond over gift exchanging we bond over catching up with what those we haven seen in awhile are doing, its all love languages its all love, so how could you Hate, Love? Love can be triggering too, as a late diagnosed autistic I was and still am looked at as rude and stand offish meanwhile I’m just trying not to faint from sensory overload , yes it’s great to see family you haven’t seen in a while its beautiful they all came together, cooking for each other is a act of love but for me… seeing too many people at once especially those I’m not really used to, gives me anxiety, being forced to eat different foods made by different people ( because turning down food at a black gathering is a crime) with different taste, textures, smells, the mixture of all the different smells and seasonings because you know seasoning is important, the overload of the different range of and tones of voices all running together etc is adding to the sensory overload you are already having from the overstimulation from everyone wanting to and proceeding to hug you because there haven’t seen you in awhile, its A LOT and while it may seem harmless those that don’t understand autism and doing harm by not even attempting to learn about it I don’t fault my family or black community because a black face has never been the face of autism and a black women has definitely never been the face of autism, luckily at black family gatherings there’s a coat room you know the designated room where all the coats are in a room on someones bed ( which by the way bothers me because that’s outside clothes on a bed) but that’s besides the point, there’s a always a room with coats and occasionally a sleeping baby, but my point is its quite there and I can escape and hide there until I’m physically and mentally able to somewhat function around everyone again, to avoid being called rude or being in a bad mood or being disrespectful , black grandmothers and elders do not tolerate disrespect and what black grandmothers do you that are familiar with autism and autistic traits? Not many if their not doctors, teachers, or some other type of expert etc. so while the holidays are great for some and I love my family and relatives The Holidays for me as a Black Autistic Woman are something that I celebrate being over #Autism #Autistic #AutismAcceptance #actuallyautistic #autizzy #SensoryProcessingDisorder #SensoryOverload #Neurodiversity #neurospicy #neurodivergent

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PTSD trigger plus sensory overload #PTSD #SensoryOverload

Today at work I was overwhelmed there were three teens and I am 24 years old. I work in a restaurant. The phone was ringing and we had gotten busy and one of them went to grab it and I said not to answer it. My manager (who is also my friend.) Told me not to tell him that. I'm not really sure why I said that and I shouldn't have told him that. What triggered me was the tone she used it was a tone that brought up alot of feelings and combined with all of the noises(people calling things out, timers going off, the three teens getting in a group and talking ect.) I started to get upset and cry a little. I went into the back and my manager let me hit her vape and take a minute outside.
I'm still obsessing over this, I kept apologizing throughout the day when she asked me what was wrong I told her it was the sensory thing. I didn't tell her the ptsd part because it is hard to explain to somebody what triggered it without making them feel bad and I have this obsession of not wanting people to be mad at me. Thanks for reading my rant about my day

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sometimes I just can't

Sometimes I feel like needles are stabbing in my feet

Sometimes I struggle with my food no matter what I eat

Sometimes I wake up tired, more than the night before

Sometimes I just get angry that my body feels so sore.

Sometimes I feel so heavy, like I weigh a thousand pounds

Sometimes I’m bothered by the lights and sometimes by the sounds

Sometimes I need to just go off on a little rant

Sometimes I do lots of things, but sometimes I just can’t. #Fibromyalgia #Endometriosis #ChronicPain #SensoryOverload

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Do you struggle driving during sunset/dusk

I have always struggled driving during this time of day… the sky is changing, the light is changing, there is a mixture of cars with their lights on at different brightnesses.

I’ve never really thought much of it, I just try to avoid driving during this time of day as it gets too much.

After she was driving during this time of day earlier this week, it dawned on my wife if it has some sort of link to Neurodiversity.

Thoughts?

#Neurodiversity #SensoryOverload #BipolarDisorder #ADHD #Autism

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Have you heard of the term “sensory defensiveness?”

I helped make a recent video about sensory overload (linked in the comments below) and from it I learned about the term “sensory defensiveness.” I had never heard this term before so I decided to look into it.

From what I can gather, sensory defensiveness refers to the flight or fight response being triggered when a sensory input is interpreted negatively.

It’s difficult to say if this is another way of making sense of concepts like overstimulation and sensory overload, or if it’s actually a different experience entirely.

Have you heard the term before?

#SensoryProcessingDisorder #SensoryOverload #SensoryDefensiveness #Autism #ADHD #Disability #Anxiety #Neurodiversity

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What do your sensory needs look like?

As Autism Acceptance Month winds down, something that has been on my mind lately are sensory needs, and I was wondering what yours look like?

For me, honoring my sensory needs can look a little like this:

❤️ Wearing noise-canceling headphones or noise reduction earbuds if I'm stressed or overwhelmed

🧡 Using my weighted blanket or getting a strong hug from a trusted person

💛 Avoiding touch and removing myself from situations if I'm extremely uncomfortable

Share yours with me in the comments below. P.S. Your needs are so valid. Sending strength and solidarity to you. 💜

#CheckInWithMe #Autism #AutisticAdults #actuallyautistic #SensoryProcessingDisorder #Disability #DistractMe #52SmallThings #selfcare #neurodivergent #neurodiverse #Neurodiversity #TheNeurodiverseCrowd #SensoryNeeds #Anxiety #SensoryOverload

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#PossiblyAutstic #CheckInWithMe

I received a neuropsych eval at the beginning of last year, and I initially accepted it, but recently started becoming really suspicious about it. I’m hyper-empathic, I don’t understand a lot of social constructs, and the more people try to help me or explain it to me, the less I feel like it’s something i can make *a thing* in my brain, i don’t have a sense of self whatsoever, and I get panic/#Anxiety attacks which I’m starting to suspect are actually meltdowns. And i get them in workplaces, which makes me nervous about future attempts at getting jobs. But I get rejected from most jobs I apply for anyway unless I bs my way to the interview. I recently started having issues with #SensoryOverload too…. Needless to say, I’m nervous, because I’m about to move, and I need supports, but I’m not sure if I’ll be believed where I’m about to move to. I want to feel safe being myself, having the needs I do, and learn how to be okay with who I am. That’s what this label would do.

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Help on Sensory Overload Crash?

I am absolutely exhausted. My stress levels have been so high that I’ve had sensory overload episodes twice in one week. I woke up this morning and have done nothing but lay around curled into a ball. I feel sad, tired, and sometimes nothing at all. I went back to sleep for an hour and felt better for twenty minutes. Then I was back to not being able to get myself to move. I simply do not have it in me. Has this happened to anyone else? I need advice. Anything really. I’m just so tired. #SensoryOverload #Anxiety

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