Unusual Sensory Issues

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I recall being asked where I wanted to sit outside a restaurant and completely frozen looking at the hole-ridden and solid, round and square chairs and tables... trying to figure out which was the least offensive combination.

For me it's all about the number of stress factors. In this case it was manageable b/c I was with my Autistic BFF during our relaxation time, so my window of tolerance was fairly wide. I have a paper/wood aversion and when with my children (high stress) I can't use a paper straw or cup. Even when relaxed I avoid that texture as much as possible (albeit tactile, not visual). My meltdowns are typically freezes followed by crying jags. For visual discomfort I froze but was able to continue - my BFF and discussed the issue which is nice b/c she's a huge source of validation. When I watch action movies, I get a "high" from all the visual stimulation. A 10-minute "buzz" (feels like intoxication) afterwards. But that also happens at dinner parties, so it's probably just a stimulation thing in general.

-music that is loud that isn’t the kind of music I like
-balloons popping
-the Arthur theme song
-hunger ( I hate)
-smoke alarms

I don't even know if this is unusual, but it's not listed in most of the sites where I researched autism.
Literally just people talking.
It's too much processing, and I would rather just drown it out with my insanely loud music. And loud noises aren't too bad to me as long as they have a rhyme and reason, but like a crowd of people talking just drives me insane. If I'm not having a conversation (productive, not small talk), talking is just unbearable.

when I was in my 20s, my fave color was pink, but I had tooo much pink in my bedroom, pink walls & pink blinds on my windows & siding door, i hated it, I didnt want to live in my room anymore.my fave color is blue now, I also had pink on my body cuz of my Psoriasis. Unfortunately when my cat meows alot, non-stop, it can really hurt my ears. Same thing for her scratching my sheet.I can"t take it.

The sensation of wet wood is very irritating.

The feel of wood popsicle sticks against my tongue causes serious goose bumps. I get the same reaction from washing wooden kitchen utensils.

I've never heard of anyone else having this weird sensory issue!

If I encounter an unusual, or unpleasant, or just strong odor, for the next day or few days, despite bathing, changing clothes, being in a different place, etc, I distinctly smell the odor again and again. When I have asked others present if they smell it, no one ever does, leading me to conclude it is an olfactory halucination. Does anyone else here have that happen? If so, is it frequent?

The smell of breath sickens me. I seem to be the only one who must fight the urge to GAG when I suddenly get a waft of foul breath at the gym. I can smell someone's breath 10 feet away. It's a radius around them. Nobody else appears offended. If it's bad enough I'll vocally respond with grunts and gags, not on purpose but as an automatic reaction. This doesn't happen with everyone near me; only on occasion, averaging one person per gym visit. But when it happens, it's BAD, and I mean B A D.

I see people closer to the offender and they have normal looks on their faces, as though they either don't smell it or if they do, it doesn't bother them.

I'll easily detect someone's breath when in casual conversation and it can be very distracting.

I know that the bad breath industry makes hundreds of millions a year, and bad breath is a huge deal in a modern society, as evidenced by fresh breath ads all the time on TV, and all sorts of online content about how to treat bad breath.

But am I overly sensitive? Anyone here feel the same way? I wonder if this is an autism thing. Covid has dulled my sense of taste, but my ability to smell bad breath from 10 feet away, and perceive it as exceptionally foul, has remained unaffected.

I’m learning all sorts of new things today. Reading some of the sensory issues I can relate to that I didn’t realise were sensory issues.

Most of my issues come from textures of food. I love thick shakes, but can’t eat ice cream. Anything to do with nuts. Dried fruits etc. The list goes.

Visually I can’t look at a newspaper/magazine where some pages are folded over or under. It makes me feel sick. I’m the same as whoever mentioned lining up their carrots in a bag, or qtips in a box. I have to line things up. When I was a child I thought I could see atoms that things were made of, but perhaps it was a sensory issue back before I knew I was autistic.

Also, does anybody else get distracted by their feet when they are walking? I find that half my attention is on the sensory input coming in , leading me to miss important things like power poles, other people when I’m walking.

My other main problem is hearing voices in a room. If there is more than one conversation going on in a room, I can’t follow what is being said. Same thing with watching tv. I have to turn the volume up to drown out the birds, cars, wind, flies, factories etc. If I don’t, it’s just a mish mash of sounds.