Extreme sensory overload

[lofeoutthere]

Going out in public or even outside I have an extreme sensory overload. Everything is too bright, too loud, I can’t concentrate and my brain feels like it’s being attached. Anyone else experience this? Does it get better! I can’t even go to the store! It’s not agoraphobia as I’m not “scared” going. It’s just when I do go I get all these weird symptoms.

[DisneyMom3]

Yes! When I go out to Walmart, for example, I’m fine being there but I instantly get a headache, neck gets tight, vision gets blurry.. I think it’s the lighting. Last night I went out to dinner with my husband and my head was pounding, ears where hurting, neck was so tense and sore. I guess my subconscious just gets so anxious. I kept telling myself “your eyes fine.. your just eating dinner”. It sucks.

[Rabbithole720]

Yes, Ive summed it up to Social anxiety. I get those weird feelings just knowing I have to go somewhere. Everything is to loud and the lights are to bright. I have to force myself to go anywhere it truly is a struggle

[Marc787]

Yes, I have same symptoms too. The only advice I can give, we have to keep going outside, go to places even if it makes us very uncomfortable. Get exposed out of our comfort zone. Start with nearby places then go farther, while we are out and about do positive self talk to ourselves, until it gets normalized in our brain and consciousness. The process is painful and hard, but we have do it. Prayers to you.

[anxiousgirl7]

Yes!!! I’m this way exactly

[mandyholly]

Im adhd and get sensory overload nearly every day so does my autistic son. Apparently it’s part of adhd that some people get and seems like part of anxiety from what you guys are experiencing. All my senses are heightened I have spider senses all the time which isn’t always a problem but if I get too much input at once it’s unbearable. It’s usually the smell of strong coffee for example that will set be off making me feel sick and if I don’t remove myself from that situation the lights all get very bright and I always have blue sunglasses with me to block light out ( why blue I don’t know the colour blue calms it down better) then if I don’t remove myself from that situation I’ll be able to hear a pin drop in a different country so I make sure I have my iPhone with ear phones everywhere to drown the noise out. I only seem to get sensory overload when I’m very hyperactive and my autistic son whose 21 has been helping me deal with this. He says it’s best to hug someone you love or like tightly when this happens or hold their hand if you’re in public and this helps due to the exchange in oxytocin, he didn’t know that but he’s been hugging me in sensory overload for years and it helps . I take cyclizine tablets before I go out to stop me being sick for smells, I sometimes wear blue tinted sunglasses watching TV if there’s too much bright light and movement going on or have to switch it off and always carry my iPhone and earphones to drown out the tiny spider sense noises I can hear that no one else can . I have to remove myself from situations where too much is going on and everything starts ‘swimming’ then it stops . I think a lot of people get this I thought I was going mad or had Sensory Perception Disorder but it seems to comes on a spectrum with autism especially, adhd and anxiety, it’s just a matter of finding your own coping mechanism and what sets you off and for me I would avoid a busy supermarket on a Saturday afternoon where all my 3 problem senses would go nuts and go at a quieter time. With things you can’t avoid you learn to cope with it over time and it becomes less frightening when you know it’s just you’re senses being heightened and it will calm down and your not alone!! I’ve even got blue tinted reading glasses now that calm my senses. down it’s all been a bit of trial and error to what works. Good luck everyone