Sensory overload.

[satehen]

Anyone else ever get like this? I’m neurotypical, but sometimes get sensory overload. Like, right this second. DH is playing music on his phone, DS is playing loud games and keeps trying to jump on the sofa or to hug me, the front room is a mess (again) and I feel like I could scream. I just want to go somewhere and be alone, not to be touched and to get some quiet.

[VirgoGirl]

Yeah i get like this a lot. I'm an empath and i need alone time to be quiet and recharge. I can be at parties, get togethers and other events for only a certain amount of time before i get overwhelmed and i want to go home abd get some peace. Sometimes hubby with his phone or with his gaming will drive me crazy too.

[RedRosa]

It's A Room of One's Own redux -- Virginia Woolf wrote about the need that women have for solitude almost 100 years ago. We still need our own space more than ever.

[Mintcake]

Anyone else ever get like this? I’m neurotypical, but sometimes get sensory overload. Like, right this second. DH is playing music on his phone, DS is playing loud games and keeps trying to jump on the sofa or to hug me, the front room is a mess (again) and I feel like I could scream. I just want to go somewhere and be alone, not to be touched and to get some quiet.

My situation is the total opposite. No background noise as I live alone and am very tidy. It's a good place to come home to after work or being out.
So if you want to swap lives for a day, let me know haha. I promise to behave and not touch your dear husband

[moonbynight]

Yes, I have issues with sensory overload. Sometimes less, sometimes more.

Most of the time I don't really notice it, but it's a low-level stressor that builds up over time. I won't realize that something was bothering me until it goes away. Like one time, it was raining. I put in my headphones for a phone call, it made the rain noise more muted, and I suddenly realized how harsh it had sounded. Then occasionally things just build up and I lose it.

Neurodiverse? Neurotypical? I have no idea. No official diagnosis or anything, but it wouldn't surprise me. One of my earliest memories is going into the city to have my hearing tested because I'd failed the screening at preschool. Turns out my hearing was fine, I'm just easily distracted.

I have a pair of Loop earplugs, which reduce noise but don't block it entirely. They're advertised as being able to still hear conversations while reducing the background noise, and really aren't what I'd hoped in that regard, but can still be helpful. Sunglasses help as well. I am trying to be better about proactively using these, as I often don't realize I need them until I'm already overwhelmed.

[Orla]

I have issues with this as well. Loud noises have always bothered me, so at home televisions are never too loud. I’ve slept with a box fan or white noise for years. I always keep earplugs in my bag since most movies are too loud for me.

After the pandemic when my company told us to return to the office, I struggled with my concentration and found myself unable to deal with our open concept office for more than a few days. I think after being home for two years I lost my ability to “mask” how frayed it made me before. I sought neuropsych testing. It has helped me understand myself better and was also grounds for work accommodations, so I’m only in the office a day or two a week.

[moonbynight]

Probably partially due to this thread, I decided to try to do something about some work-related sensory issues.

When my work phone rings, it's disruptive to my concentration. A call comes in, and the ring tone is incredibly startling to me. Even if I don't answer the call, it still totally breaks my concentration and leaves me rattled.

Some days I get as many as 75 calls. You can imagine this makes it hard to work effectively having my concentration broken that constantly, even if I don't answer.

I suspect the frequent startling is also likely part of why I'm so drained after work.

So I tested all the available ringtones (can't add my own, that I can see anyways), and found that *one* did not trigger my startle reflex. At least there was one.

It's not that I like that one better (I mean, beyond it not startling me). Frankly, it's kind of annoying. But something about all the others has me jumping out of my skin, even when I'm expecting it, while this one doesn't. The frequencies maybe? Or maybe this new one is just slightly lower volume by default than the others?

Also, calls ring on both my desktop and my cell phone, which is determined by the organization, and is kind of pointless, since we're stuck at our desks to work anyways. I want the app on my phone for the text-based aspects of it, but it doesn't need to ring under normal circumstances. Not only is it disruptive to have two different phones ringing at me, but it makes it difficult to play music on my phone (which helps with concentration and overall mood), because I can't control the music while a call is ringing on the phone - I can after I answer the call, but then it's playing in the background until I get it stopped. Now I figured out how to silence calls on the phone only, so I can pause the music before answering.

Much better.

No idea how much this will actually impact my overall productivity, but I do think I'm feeling more relaxed today.

The only problem is that I can't hear the phone when I'm not at my desk, and barely then, since the sound is through headphones. There's visible indication of incoming calls on the screen, so it's still ok as long as I'm at my desk and paying attention. Hopefully I get used to the new ringtone and realize it's a ringtone - right now it rings, and I think "Gee, what's that strange noise?" before finally realizing it's the phone ringing. The acceptable ringtone is the sound of a phone with an actual ringer - I guess I'm just not used to that sound as a phone anymore!