Sensory overload

[Stephernovas]

I'm still struggling with physical pain, and have just come down from a 1-2 week weird overloaded panic dissociation state (my stress tolerance level had been exceeded by an exceptional amount and I kind of lost it for a while). But, happy to report I finally came down and have been able to return to my somewhat normal self - for now.

Anyways, one of the activities that helped me calm down was swimming. It was also supportive to my physical pain. Sometimes I'd do laps, swim underwater, and other times I'd float for the entire hour doing nothing but counting the tiles on the ceiling. I've gone everyday for probably about a week now, but today I felt as thought I was in there 'too long'. I did the normal things I did previously, and didn't do anything super vigorous. When I got out, I felt like my perception was off and I struggled really hard to process things. I stopped at the Wal-Mart next door to my gym to grab an item, and I felt so tired and just overall awful. It was almost as though I was concussed. I felt so terrible I thought I was going to drop down and cry or faint on the spot. I tried to figure out what was wrong with me, but all I could think was that there was just too much going on around me, and I was trying to do too much. My body was giving me grief, and my brain was simply not having it.

Before I made it home, I stopped to pick up some take out for dinner. Luckily my food took a few minutes to make, and I sat in a darkened area and scrolled through my phone. That seemed to help, as when I finally realized it had been quite a few minutes that I'd been waiting, I got up feeling a little better.

I'm home now, and ready for bed because my brain doesn't seem to be able to handle a lot lately. But I thought I'd write this and asking you all...is this a thing? This somewhat happened to me at the mall earlier in the day too, but I brushed it off. I keep thinking about how busy I was before, and the kind of workouts I enjoyed pushing my body through, but the thought of it now makes my head want to explode. I mean, I was diagnosed with post-concussive syndrome, but other than this, I really think those symptoms have decreased (plus there is likely overlap with PTSD)....anyone know much about this, or have experienced it? Blah.

 

[Sweetleaf]

I have similar things happen to me sometimes. If it gets too noisy, too bright, too much movement, too much going on, I sometimes start to get overwhelmed and begin to kinda freak out. Hypervigilance and anxiety crank up.

I imagine the floaty feeling from after swimming could have contributed to things, also zoning out for a while, either in activities or just sitting there, can make stimuli seem like more of a thing than they normally would, and if you went for your swim longer than you normally would, I could see that extra calming-activity-time may have brought down the sensory overload threshold, temporarily.

 

[Reflections]

Congrats on getting through that tough 1-2 week period :)

I deal with anxiety, dissociation, and sensory overload. When sensory overload gets really bad I get migraines and my brain starts getting extra foggy or dissociated. Eventually I become exhuasted. Being alone in a dark room helps. I also take migraine medicine or use a ice pack on my neck. I think for me anxiety taxes my brain to the point I cannot handle anymore info inculding sensory experiences even ones I normally like and enjoy. If I've gone through a stressful bout, I try to be mindful and give myself extra time to recover.

 

[Stephernovas]

Congrats on getting through that tough 1-2 week period :)

I deal with anxiety, dissociation, and s...

Yeah that’s basically what I had to do. I got home, ate, showered and then set myself up on the couch in a dark room. I put on a tv show and played on my computer as tolerated. Decreasing stimulus and self care worked well.

I’m slowly realizing exactly how much stress I put myself through and how much I’ve overloaded myself thoughout the years. It took almost being completely smashed to death to slow down though...sad

 

[Reflections]

Yeah that’s basically what I had to do. I got home, ate, showered and then set myself up on the...

Well you did a good job taking care of yourself, getting food, shower, and down time!

I hear you and it is sad that we had to get to a breaking point. I put myself through a lot of stress often without knowing it. I wasn't taught real self care growing up and was expected to do more than what is healthy. Through mindfulness I'm becoming more self aware and learning to self care. I'm learning this slowly too after some major life crisises. You know, I think we both did our best after going through some really tough stuff. Now we're getting better at it and that's great!

 

[Angelwings]

I too, get over stimulated. I can't handle a long time in a place like Wal-Mart or Target. My head starts to swim and I get sick to my stomach. Too many things to pay attention to. As soon as I am home on my laptop or in the tub watching Hulu on my phone I start to feel better. There are times when I have to make my son be quiet because the random screams of joy or pretend death from a decepticon (an evil transformer), can make my nerves go wacky...and the television!! It gets SOOOO loud and I have no idea how. Anyway, over stimulation is an issue for me as well.

 

[Fadeaway]

Could be a combination. You can easily over do it in the water with out being aware how much energy you are using to float.