Autism and walmart?

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It's a nightmare for me because misbehaved/screaming children are so common, running around and screeching.

I never ever wish harm upon another person except in cases like this. Won't go into details.

This is how I am in stores, but especially Costco and Wal-Mart.

Yesterday, I walked under one of the loudspeakers right when there were multiple announcements in a row (I couldn't count after the third) and I just closed my eyes, couldn't think, couldn't move, until it was over. I actually forgot where I was and why I was there for a bit. So much overload, and something like that happens whenever I go somewhere. It's no wonder I'd walk out of so many stores in my 20s without buying anything.

I need comments on my other stuff just saying x.x;

I love going to WalMart! I'm hyposensitive and all the sensory stimuli in that giant space flows over me and gives me a feeling of happiness... unless the store is very crowded. If there are too many people in there, I cannot enjoy myself and become rather anxious. I avoid going at the beginning of the month and the 15th because in the community I live in, those are the paydays and everyone's out grocery shopping.

Wal-Mart makes me cry! Literal, physical tears. I guess I give off some sort of friendly vibe because everyone there wants to talk to me and I have big time stranger anxiety. Also, I seem to be some sort of trouble magnet and I always manage to have several mini-disasters in Wal-Mart. Was there earlier today and I'm still trying to recover

I cannot stand Walmart. I'll pay more for less selection just to avoid the place.

I try to avoid Wal-Mart, but then again, there's both a Target and Kmart that are actually closer to me than Wal-Mart is. I don't mind paying a little extra to get cleaner stores and people who are willing to help you find something.

it used to scare me, but now i go right to the crafts and hobbies section and that draws my attention away from the sensory overload. I like to make jewelery and looking at the wide array of components makes me feel peaceful.

When I go to Wal Mart Super Center, there's always a bird or two flying around and landing on the supports near the ceiling. I think it's unconventional a bird would voluntarily fly in there to roost and stay, especially since there's rotisserie chicken and wings and popcorn chicken being cooked.
I enjoy Wal Mart more now that I use the self serve checkout stands.

Big stores like Wal*Mart can go either way for me.

If I'm by myself during a not-crowded time and I have music on my headphones, then I can usually just wander around and casually get lost in the endless rows of bric-a-brac. That is usually curious and fun.

But if I'm in a hurry, with someone else, or looking for some very particular important thing, it changes. The pull of sensory-input becomes menacing and overwhelming. I get foggy and confused. I might forget what I was looking for. I get panicked and usually have to leave before I have what I came for, which compounds things with frustration. Not good.

So I like to go by myself during off times, obviously

I can relate to Acacia's post. I want to beat the s**t out of people when it's busy and I go around the corner and almost run into them. I do most of my shopping at like 3 am. That started when I got paid at midnight and went to cash my check there since I didn't want to wait for banking hours. I get direct deposit now, but still shop at 3 am. But yeah, I totally hear that getting lost in the bric a brac. Not always good for me to do that though. I go in for a 5 dollar item and somehow it seems every time I check out at those times, the final tally is 34 dollars HAHA

Before living where I do now, I lived within walking distance of a 24-hour Safeway - and before that, a 24-hour "Food 4 Less", and then a Safeway before that.

I really miss being able to go to the store after midnight when practically no one is there. I feel like when I'm in stores at peak hours (which I nearly always am these days) that I am surrounded by a chaotic mass of carts driven by humans intent upon a collision with me. I have to get in, get what I need, and get out as quickly as possible. Coping with overload is difficult, and if I have to do anything more complex then getting a few non-clothing items, I am going to be headed for a meltdowny state of mind (although not usually a full meltdown).

I used to just walk out of stores before I was anywhere near finished. I got overwhelmed by everything - lights, sounds, smells, people. Clothing stores were the worst because I had to find clothing I liked, try it on to insure it fit, and then try to get out. I am actually really awful at shopping for clothes because I rarely finish. I still have trouble with this - the last time I purchased clothes (at the end of December) I very nearly hit the same point I typically hit before. It's just difficult for me to be in a crowded clothing store trying to find clothing I can and want to wear, trying it on, and paying for it. It takes up all my energy to hold myself together long enough to get out of the store.

I was actually surprised to realize that it had been a few years since I'd had a real meltdown and abandoned merchandise in a store, though. The last time I remember clearly was about five years ago, after going to a busy grocery store I had never been to before. I didn't know where anything was and I just got lost and frustrated...within the first five minutes.

Earlier in my life, I could do it as long as my wife was walking by me. I followed along with her zoned out in a trance like feeling, but I would never go to the store unless I vigorously worked out beforehand. So I was also probably feeling the exercise high and the relief of not having demands at work.

My wife had the plan for where everything was and what to buy. I was just the silent observer lost in the crowd of people, sights, and sounds with no intention or worry. I do remember the sounds of the beeping of the registers giving me a strange kind of feeling. By the time I got to the cash register, I hardly had the focus to write the check. And I do remember the feeling of being lost in the environment, but at that time it was not a bad feeling, actually pleasant in a way.

If I ever went in by myself it was the mission to get what I needed and a mission to get out as quickly as possible. I've never enjoyed shopping and unless the object of the mission was part of a special interest. I'm lucky my wife loves to shop.

Later, as I was under more stress it became very difficult to tolerate the environment of Walmart, even when I was with my wife. Thank goodness they had a book section, where I could escape with a book on the couches they provided. I probably read 100 books at Walmart for free. I just remembered the page number and continued on at the next visit.

For those that find it unnerving to go into a store like that, if you are able, try vigorous exercise beforehand to see if it helps. It seemed like the natural endorphins and other increases in good brain chemicals coated every nerve in my body with a feeling of protection for many years.

As I remember, I don't think I went to any stores for 20 years without a vigorous workout prior to going. I just felt like I had to do it. I didn't know I had Autism at the time; It seemed to work well for me in those earlier years.

For a person that feels other peoples emotions Walmart is a hellhole of stressed out irritable people. Like being trapped in a zoo with angry lions and tigers.

I'm not sure all people with Autism have defective mirror neurons; there were times I couldn't feel it and times where it was overwhelming. For me it got worse with age.

It's more expensive to go to other stores, but sometimes it's worth a mental health break.

Interesting topic ... I don't really have a problem with Wal-Mart itself, although I rarely go there and go at off-hours when there aren't crowds. My Wal-Mart recently remodeled and has a lot less inventory, so I go there less often.

What I often notice in Wal-Mart are the people who never buy anything. They just race flat out around the store up and down the aisles like they're late for an appointment or something and need to buy something fast. But they don't. I see the same people in another part of the store with empty carts. They never actually buy anything, they just rush around. Do they go to Wal-Mart to practice rushing around because it's a big, crowded place? Is this some kind of therapy for a spectrum disorder for Type-A people?

Tesco is UK equivellent to Walmart.
I like Tesco but I don't like going in there on my own. Crowds and noise? That is a yes and a no answer. People glare at me as though they don't like me being in there. Toddlers agitate me because every corner you turn there is one screaming it's ugly head off (that's the problem with being in southern England - almost everybody seems to have screaming toddlers in tow). Otherwise, if it weren't for screaming toddlers and critical NTs, Tesco wouldn't be so ''scary'' to go into on my own.

Walmart makes me want to die.

You sound like you're just being affected by sensory issues. Target gives me the kind of effect you describe. I love that place.