forum do any of my neurodivergent babes have any advice
Started by @south-is-a-tad-bit-outraged
tune

people_alt 52 followers

@south-is-a-tad-bit-outraged

so i've been having really bad sensory issues lately, like sudden loud noises or being too aware of some shit like my socks or my eyelid on my eye. does that make sense? does anyone have any advice to stop the sensory stuff from bothering me or at least being able to stop the panic attacks when i feel them coming on? sorry this is so random

Deleted user

Okay, so I can't help because I have the reverse of what you do in that I physically do not feel sensations. However, my girlfriend also struggles with sensory issues, and here are some things I notice her doing:

As obscure as it seems, she really does calm down to ASMR and those like, slime videos where they crush the slime. Grounding is key for her, she really needs to have something to draw her back to earth and back to herself.

Another thing that helps both of us go down from panic attacks is being aware, but selectively. Like, choosing a sensation to focus on. It does get overwhelming for my girlfriend to do this sometimes but sometimes deep breathing and just listening to the wind does work.

Also we both do for different reasons is blast music to drown out all our other senses. For me it's music with a lot of stuff going on, lots of instruments, but my girlfriend prefers acoustic covers or those vitamin string quartet covers of songs. I say play around with it a little.

But what helps her most is the ASMR/Slime, so maybe there is some merit to those. I usually just use them to fall asleep to because they're so boring but I'd also hate to dunk on the love of my life so um… just experiment a little, I'm sure you'll find something.

Extra note-invest in noise cancelling earmuffs. Not headphones, but earmuffs, sometimes music is too much and if you can block out one sensation you can deal with the others. My girlfriend has a pair and she uses them for concerts, movies, large crowds, etc. Also, sunglasses are your friend, regardless of sensory issues, because light can get bright and it helps to have something to dim things down.

@Pickles group

  • Personally I find that a big factor in being sensory overloaded is realizing that that's what's happening, and I'm better able to control at least my reaction to other people. Thinking "oh no one's doing anything wrong, it's just really fucking loud" makes me snap at people less. Doesn't really help my internal response though.
  • For noise I find that just having earbuds in helps me a lot, and also just with general feelings. I pretty much always have earbuds in whether I'm listening to something or not just because it feels Better. Use with caution, it gets me in trouble with my parents a lot
  • Find clothes that aren't sensory hell and get multiple of them. I have three of the same pairs of jeans, three pairs of really similar leggings, and socks, shirts, and sweatshirts that are all the same style. I wear the same boots every day and I have the same scrunchie on my wrist at every moment. Kind of boring and very comfortable but I have a couple nicer things that aren't so bad that I wear when I'm having a "good day". And it's nice to know that when I wake up and feel disgusting I have a whole closet full of clothes that feel like they're hugging me just right.
    I think it's also a little bit about wearing them in and getting used to them though, so