Using sunglasses and earbuds?

[phemstros]

I have to go through mobile days, going about with sunglasses and noise cancelling earbuds. I do it to limit my ability to react. Sorry if this is stupid, but I don't know if I am normal because I needed the loo today at the supermarket. When I came out there was a queue of older women waiting, thank God I had my stuff in, but walking out after a bit one touched my shoulder like I felt so close to my adrenaline flowing across all of me. Am I the only who has to do that and keep moving? Just some days not every day. Sorry if this is stupid. Thank you.

I had to breathe for a while as she shouted at me, told her never touch a shoulder like that again

 

[MrMoonlight]

Earbuds and music really help me when I'm out and symptomatic. You can adjust the volume so that noises and people are muted. Glad you are finding it useful.

 

[phemstros]

Thanks, it's nice to post on here without being in a crisis. Might keep me from one.

 

[OM_™]

noise cancelling earbuds

Thanks to these NCE's I can live in my own little bubble and go out without triggering. I wear transitional prescription glasses that look like sunglasses even on overcast days...not so good indoors, at sunset or after dark. Do you wear your sunglasses at night time too?

 

[phemstros]

I have worn them at night although I have those spaces well managed. I don't have anything prescription, so I do wear them through low light, overcast etc, particularly walking in/out of offices, shopping centres, and down the street. That bubble stops the hypervigilance from kicking in - also when I'm driving, incidentally, but only if it is genuinely sunny. I love music but find more peaceful concentration in the noise cancelled quiet. I can't pick at will, but I can put the buds in and it'll go how it goes

 

[Friday]

Sunglasses have been my dearest friends since the 90s.

I added 1-Earbud, to my sunglasses, in the early aughts. (2 and my hypervig-panic skyrockets. I need to be ABLE to hear ambient-anything, whilst also able to ignore).

1 better than either? A camera or kid. Which (either a camera or kid) gives me all kinds of “permission” (social contracts) to act crazy as fawk in public & attract zero attention. As “Why the hell are they…???” Is instantly answered and dismissed by anyone/everyone around me. Parent having fun, photographer getting the shot. Okay.

A dog is another cool-in-public-trick… but will backfire as people want to interact with your dog (and you, vicariously). Kids & cameras? People instant dismiss. Dogs explain, but also attract.

 

[phemstros]

I get a bit intense with cameras not a good prop for me, although you're definitely right about kids. My old dogs were hassle but ours now is a dream. Everybody says hi to him, but his manner means I have control over that social interaction and won't have any adrenal response. Just takes ages to get anywhere with a dog that popular!

For the buds, I know wym but I find a calmer discipline in scanning my surroundings and picking up sounds, or changes in pressure/movement and reacting
By restricting the senses it calms but I definitely see how it can go the other way

 

[Sues]

I would love to be able to wear earbuds, but I have to be able to hear what's going on around me. I would panic without that ability to know what is going on and to be able to scan for danger.

 

[Friday]

I would love to be able to wear earbuds, but I have to be able to hear what's going on around me. I would panic without that ability to know what is going on and to be able to scan for danger.

1 earbud in. Your actual attention.

1 ear free. Your ambient awareness.

You will occasionally be irritated by very LOUD things in your free ear making your earbud ear “mute”. But it is occasionally. Instead of deaf/dumb with 2.

 

[Midnightmoon]

1 earbud in. Your actual attention.

1 ear free. Your ambient awareness.

You will occasionally be irritated by very LOUD things in your free ear making your earbud ear “mute”. But it is occasionally. Instead of deaf/dumb with 2.

Yep, this is exactly what I do, one in one out!

 

[SeekingAfrica]

I do one in one out if it's late at night.

Had to go somewhere early at night so for a first time in a while I didn't have earbuds in and it felt like even the park I used to walk constantly as a teen was now too bright and chaotic with adults and children everywhere shouting and it was way too invading.

Usually I always have wireless earbuds in, even without music it prevents people on the bus to talk to me unless it's important enough. Music just saves me in buses. Especially if they are crowded and I can't use phone or anything else and all the crowd around me is setting me off. On bad days that kind of crowd is to be avoided of course, but on tolerable days when this is my one trigger music saves me.

 

[beckyblue10]

Yes any ear plugs calm me down, hearing my own breath when I have them in is very calming to me. My noise cancelling headphones are vital to me at work as it's a noisy environment. I am learning that turning the volume down when I am overwhelmed is vital. My lovely kids will see me starting to spin sometimes and say mummy headphones. Which is so lovely of them.