My Experiences with Sensory Overload
The first time I wrote this I tried to make it sound professional and end on a good note, but there was a fault with the app/my phone, it got deleted, and I realized that although it sounded nice I wasn't that upset because it wasn't how I really felt. So here's the revised version--keep in mind I'm not a professional, and this post isn't specifically intended for help/advice, it's just my experience.
Simply put, sensory overload is when the things you sense (sight, sound, touch, etc.) suddenly feel overwhelming, often causing things like disorientation, irritability, anxiety, 'withdrawal' from the present moment, and many other symptoms. It's like suddenly everything is much too bright, loud, hot, etc. making it difficult to focus, think, or function when what causes it isn't something that would normally bother someone to that extent.
Sensory overload and anxiety are strongly linked, that's certain. For me, I think the anxiety came first and the sensory overload is a symptom. My thoughts start to race, other physical symptoms present themselves, and then what's going on around me suddenly pushes me over the edge--it's too hot and I get angry because I can't think or calm down and I feel like a child, or I'm trying to use a coping skill but all I can seem to focus on is how the room is too loud or too bright. The worst time I've had with it so far was on a particularly rough and emotional night; just the feeling of gravity pushing me into my bed, and the sheets over me was too much, and it made everything much worse. At a certain point, it reversed itself--being overwhelmed by a bunch of different things happening will now sometimes cause anxiety attacks.
I didn't have a name for it initially, or rather I had forgotten the term (I had heard it before, never knowing it's true meaning), but one day I was thinking about how I would be able to describe it; when the word "senses" came into my thought process I remembered it and was able to look up the definition. Many of the coping skills I've been given for anxiety worked for my sensory overload as well, but by knowing what it was called I was able to find some more specific advice. I'd encourage anyone reading and dealing with similar experiences to do research on coping skills as well, or see a professional (there are plenty of people out there who really want to help). Find what or who works best for you.
Overall, dealing with it often makes me feel helpless, hopeless, anxious, depressed and sometimes humiliated, but I'm counting on the fact that it'll get better eventually. That is all.
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