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Emerg Services Grocery stores

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Still wonder why I don't like them.....maybe others can relate or jot down why they don't like them as well?

My thoughts:

- Random chaos, human movements are erratic and unpredictable, hard to read intentions.
- Scanning humans for threats is constant while also trying to locate items required for consumption turns into a bit of an overload of the system.
- When they move shit in the store, complete meltdown tends to happen cuz I can't complete the task quickly/effectively without detection, and the human threats become unstable and even more chaotic to me.....ie, the lady with the kid in the cart screaming and the other kid pulling stuff off the shelf while she tries to control him is an immediate and hostile attempt to distract in order to effect a lethal threat within the store.....right?
 
I think (and I'm a supporter not a sufferer) that one issue is that the aisles are too high to see over the top of and too low to see underneath, so you can hear all this chaos that you can't see. Is that kid screaming because he wants a lolly or because someone has a knife to his throat? Is that banging noise a lady knocking her trolley into the metal shelves or something more sinister? Is that rumbling a guy in a motorised scooter or... ?

I do about 99% of our grocery shopping on my own.

Hugs if you accept them.
 
Fluorescent lights.

No two are the same so it takes FOREVER to memorize where everything is located. (New to me grocery stores are the bane of my existence!)

Noisy.

I think this is why I love Aldi. Four rows, can be memorized in 2.5 visits. Quick in/out.
 
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There’s a lot of stuff to look at, nothing to pay attention to, and almost no possibility of any kind of threat whatsoever.

The higher the threat level? The calmer I actually am.

Virtually no threat level, means my mind will start inventing threats (looking harder and harder for what I’m not seeing, things get brighter/louder, everything starts “popping” because nothing is popping /standing out) ... meanwhile every product all brightly colored in notice me notice me notice me packaging creates this attention grabbing nonsense, kaleidoscope circus acid trip of jangling colors, and metal on metal, and tile, and footsteps, and words I can’t even really read anymore... but I still have a task to complete (buy food) which I can’t think on with the rising roar of all the background noise (as I’m looking for things that aren’t there, and hearing everything about 50times louder than it should be) so in order to actually pay attention to what I’m trying to do I have to UP the importance of buying something... and then all of a sudden I’m faced with the emotional equivalent of a life or death choice if I buy the “wrong” cereal , which is stupid. And I know it’s stupid. So I’m pissed off, in addition to being overwhelmed & overreacting, and increasingly hypervig... :wtf:

f*ck the grocery store.
 
I’m faced with the emotional equivalent of a life or death choice if I buy the “wrong” cereal , which is stupid. And I know it’s stupid. So I’m pissed off, in addition to being overwhelmed & overreacting, and increasingly hypervig

f*ck the grocery store.

^^^Oh I know...and why is the rolled oats no longer in the cereal section???? For heavens sake:banghead:
 
Still working on this although I am much better. Shopping was never my thing, but now? I have to be close to starving to go. I always pick a time to go food shopping when I am feeling strong otherwise I am a disaster every second I am there and it can ruin a day.
1, Ceilings too high - tried wearing a hat. Sometimes that worked.
2. Too many people and I had a real sensitivity to people on my left peripheral side. This is still a challenge for me.
3. Making decisions. When I was melting down while shopping, ex SO would send me to get a can of soup. That would keep me busy until he came to get me because I would be frozen in front of the soup section trying to figure out which of the 100's of soups I should pick out. I can now make decisions, so this no longer is a problem for me.
4. Made a list. If I knew exactly what I wanted it would keep my executive functioning going. If not and I started to wander aimlessly in the store I would throw myself into dissociative hell.
 
This is one area where drastically changing my consumption lifestyle automatically helped to eliminate many of the grocery store stressors that used to pluck my every last nerve, repeatedly, along with helping me better manage and navigate many of the "dis-eases" I'd been diagnosed with. It took quite a while to learn how to more healthily navigate it though after thinking I already knew what I was eating, which unfortunately eliminated about 80% of the products most stores around here carry and that I used to stock up on, so I guess it was eventually helpful for the overall navigation/potential panic process, but was one hell of a punch in the gut for the realization of what they're actually passing off as edible and supposedly nurturing substances, and the nasty side effects of each. I no longer shop in the sections that offer any of the following items: meat, dairy, eggs, alcohol, caffeine, gluten, and highly processed artificial stuff, so that helped greatly eliminate much of the real estate I need to cover when I get there. I still find it funny/sad that only one or two aisles, if that much, are marked "Health Food". What does that say for the rest of the store's food, ya' know?

I no longer venture into most of the aisles and departments that are typically the most busy, we grow some of our own stuff, barter what we grow for other stuff we don't grow, get much of our produce from local folks during garden season, visit farmers' markets, hit up Aldi's for the beans/shrooms and other produce varieties I can't find locally, or that are out of season, and the other stores in our hood each have specific items I now know are the best deal, so I only go in to go straight to those shelves and then get the hell out. I often check the produce clearance rack and the other clearance racks as I often luck into some amazing deals on the foods most often passed over by others. I do a grocery tour now instead of just one visit, which can be daunting on a shitty day, but then again, simply breathing can be bothersome on those days.

I tend to be comfortable most days engaging others in random conversations, too, so that helps a lot. To me, venturing out has become more of an entertainment factor than a major stressor, but I do have to remain very mindful of my head space and the ability to get the hell out of there quickly based on smells, etc. before doing so. Some days it's just best if I don't. Other days, perceived assholes and obstacles seem to outnumber my ability to ground myself, making it necessary for me to abort my mission. Grateful for a hubby who's willing to go when I can't.

I recently tried the online grocery order/pick-up at the local wally world neighborhood market on one of my more "off" days and that was nice. I was able to avoid all the chemical camouflage most folks refer to as "good hygiene" that makes me sick for days. You have to plan ahead for that, though, as you can't pick up what you order until at least 5 hours later than when you place the order, and must spend at least $30 to use it....which also can help with impulse purchases and such, but sucks if you don't need/can't afford that much the day you need stuff. It felt really weird to me to unpack bags of stuff I didn't pick off the shelf myself, but once I got everything put away, it felt like I had just pampered myself. Which brings it's own load of guilt attached, still. You'd think being able to navigate the basics would eventually become easier, but so much of our existence is one hell of a challenge. Wishing everyone more pleasant navigating of the masses in all regards. It's a jungle out there!
 
I do a once a month shop at about midnight with a list when they are about to lock the place up. I'm usually leaving with the staff. I ignore the strange looks now. I wasn't sleeping anyway:rolleyes:

There's a bloke that sells vegies from the back of his truck a couple of km's away in a park on Saturdays so I get my fresh stuff there.

I buy 10 loaves of bread and freeze them. Same for meat.

That's my shopping done and dusted...:cool:

But I still don't know why they move stuff around...:(
 
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