When every sound is too loud, every light too bright...

[Justmehere]

Do you ever find that when your stress cup fills up, more sensory input leads to greater dysregulation?

If so, what helps?

 

[somerandomguy]

Crowds completely freak me out when I'm overstressed. Crowds are fine when I'm not.

Grounding techniques help. Also, 10 out of 10 times the reason I'm in a crowd when I'm overstressed is because of my kids. If I can remember I'm there because it's for them, that usually helps me get through it.

 

[Innordinate]

Do you ever find that when your stress cup fills up, more sensory input leads to greater dysregulation?

If so, what helps?

Yeah. For sure. Mostly auditory inputs but also visual became extremely overwhelming.
Brain can't make sense of anything and I either shut down completely or dysregulate, or both.

Alone time helps. Quiet inner peace.
Headphones/music to block out noises.
Any grounding technique
Reminders to breathe, focus on breathing
Counting and reminders to reframe responses and that I'm the only one in control of my emotions.

Sometimes one thing will work one time, not another. Sometimes I need more than 1 thing. Sometimes nothing works and I need to isolate until I feel more stable.

 

[Sideways]

Getting immersed in nature. Walking somewhere where there’s just me and doggo and the trees, or along a beach.

And sleep. Lots of sleep.

Sometimes it simply can’t be helped and I wear my dark sunnies everywhere and have calming music playing through at least one headphone (pretending to listen to people with the other), and bring out the breathing exercises big time.

 

[Keming]

Overwhelming stimuli bothers me a lot. Only thing that helps me is grounding with a small fan. The cool breeze is light, just enough to feel but not enough to overwhelm. Can't have music, can't have video, can't read, too stressed/distressed to walk it off, but the fan helps a lot.

 

[jaccat]

Mostly I end up shutting myself away and trying to focus on something simple, like a favourite book. If I’m at work I try and find jobs that get me away from most people and take my breaks outside or in my car, where there’s no TV or radio, or conversation etc. I probably don’t deal with it very well.

 

[ladee]

Noise! Any kind of noise will send me into hiding when this happens. Nature and a horse who had adopted me. Yes, he adopted me!!

Because the heat has been unbearable, I can't go for nature walks as I would like to. But I can spend hours with the horse and my dog and my breathing starts to regulate, my brain becomes more quite.

It also seems there are times when it's worse. Probably I am already on a downward spiral and don't pay attention until I am on overload.

 

[Friday]

Yep. Right there, right now, as a matter of fact. (Read last night, I finally gave up on the blinding). I have my tablet turned down to the lowest light setting, AND am wearing sunglasses. It’s still kind of stabbing me in the eyes. The earbuds aren’t in my ears but I can still catch every line of dialogue just fine, and the sound of someone crumpling a paper towel about a hundred feet away sounded like one of those thunder machines.

What helps (in no particular order)

- Sleep
- Drugs
- Explosive Bursts of Energy (real emergencies)
- Deliberate Sensory Overload...

... I used to go dancing, often on top of -or directly in front- of the VW Bus sized speakers. Mostly the underground music scene. Literally bathed in sound. An absolutely blissful break from overactive senses. A car’s speakers at window vibrating max isn’t quite as good, but as long as I can feel the bass in my bones? It helps. Today I knew it was going to be bad when I set Bach’s Cello suite №1 in G Major on repeat. I love that piece. But it means I don’t have the energy to kick into rage and blow off a bunch of stress before it knocks me down (or we’d be looking at an entirely different genre of music). Bach isn’t music to dance to. Or raise hell to. It’s music to live to, rise to. And cello is low enough to feel in my marrow, but soars sweet enough high enough to kiss my nerves. Which meant I MIGHT have enough energy to make it home before I fell on my face, as long as I rode the music all the way home, but it’s probably going to be a rough few days.

... Hot & Cold showers (head in front of the nozzle, hand switching teamp back and forth). // Sweat lodge & Icy Plunge // Sauna & Snow Roll

...etc. >>> Things that so completely overwhelm & subsume there simply isn’t the space for any OTHER information to be assaulting my system. A break from 4/5 senses by lifting up 1. Bliss. <<< It’s essentially taking ADHD sensory tricks and supercharging them to PTSD levels.

 

[Freida]

Yep
Bose noise cancelling headphones. Best thing ever. Got mine at a pawn shop for $40. Put them on...turn on some spa music or ocean waves and tune out the world...

 

[Friday]

Yep
Bose noise cancelling headphones. Best thing ever. Got mine at a pawn shop for $40. Put them on...turn on some spa music or ocean waves and tune out the world...

Firing range ear protection is another great one. The ear plug type, with the little flange... so you can still hear everything, just muted... or nip the flange in and get the full muffle. >>> EarPro Products <<< Sonic Defenders! WooHoo! Less than $15 each means I’ve got a few of these puppies stashed in various places.

<cough> Or even pop a pair of real ears on over the plugs (which is what I do on the range) for the only hearing sound through your jaw and body option.

I get paranoid, though, and even listening to music just use one earbud, so I can hear what’s going on around me. I pretty much have to be armed, surrounded by other people who are also armed, in order to completely block my hearing.

 

[Spacefish]

Oh wow - so glad it isn't just me. I get to a point where I'm to the brim and can't take any more in. Perceived movements within (usually) my peripheral vision gets exaggerated, tactile sensations become too much. Noises and light almost hurt, I need silence, low light, pull the curtains. Horrible horrible.

 

[SeekingAfrica]

Oh wow - so glad it isn't just me. I get to a point where I'm to the brim and can't take any more in. Perceived movements within (usually) my peripheral vision gets exaggerated, tactile sensations become too much. Noises and light almost hurt, I need silence, low light, pull the curtains. Horrible horrible.

Same exactly!! Most of the time it happens when overly stressed like now. Although there are few things that almost always are too much, one of which is sounds from construction. But when I get beyond overwhelmed all my senses get heightened. Loud noises of construction or storms or any other are too much. Crowds and crowded buses and stores make me claustrophobic. Too bright light hurts my eyes. I also get a lot more jumpy at unexpected noises. When outside, listening to music helps a little. Sometimes repeating a mantra grounds me a little bit. But there are times I just need to pass through it. This week has been like that in waves and often I would close windows and door even though it was hot, and put curtains down at 4pm when there was most sunshine. There is a huge storm out right now, the kind where you can't hear your own voice from it, so I closed windows and curtains, got plush blanket and I'm going to put headphones on, because otherwise I can't concentrate.