Sensory Issues

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- Any kind of multitasking is almost impossible for me, but especially when it comes to speech, whether it's listening to more than one conversation, or reading/writing while there is talking/music with lyrics at the same time. Makes it impossible to process thoughts.

- Crowded places, having to squeeze in closely with strangers, all the noise and different smells (perfumes, BO, etc)...

- Certain materials, like velvet and chenille, feel disgusting to me. Also agreed on someone's post about turtlenecks, can't stand anything tight around my throat, and cut tags out of almost everything I own.

- Bright lights, especially if overhead, give me headaches. I can feel them beating down on me, and notice every flicker.

- Strong preference for plain/simple foods, although I am working on this. Still can't stand certain textures (like mushrooms or viscous sauces) but trying to eat more 'complex' foods like Indian curry, which I have started to enjoy.

- Loud mechanical sounds, like motorbikes, leaf blowers, big blenders, vacuum cleaners, etc. ESPECIALLY the Xlerator hand dryer. When I was a kid using public restrooms, I used to hide in my stall, hands clamped around my ears, waiting until people stopped drying their hands so that I could 'escape'.

Yep....the rest room is a place for people to do their business, not have long conversations LOL

Public restrooms are disgusting. All my worst nightmares (of the gross-out variety) involve public restrooms. People think toilets are places to dump various items of a personal nature. I also hate when people don't flush.

My senses are sensitive in a variety of ways and has a variation of intensities. Don't always know what is causing a bad day or a good day -- just have to figure out how to deal with it myself. The most recent example:

I had my tractor serviced & it was brought back to me a day late on Friday. That started a whole cascade of problems, because I was racing the weather to get things done before the forecast of rain came true. Deadlines stress me out, but I am very good about getting jobs done if I don't have to rely on other people. Other people always mess up my schedule. That makes me angry & sets my sensitivities on high.

There was a safety switch that needed replaced on my tractor. I don't think they actually replaced it, they just "fixed" it. Saturday I was doing work in my yard, & soon as the switch was jostled it went out again. I was angry because had just mixed a lot of concrete & needed to drive it up a hill to where I was going to dump it. My tractor wouldn't start, due to the safety switch going out. It was 90 degrees Fahrenheit, & wearing cotton clothing to cover all my skin, including my face, to protect from the sun, & a hat.

I tried pushing & pulling the cart up the hill, but it was too difficult. I ran to a neighbor's house but he didn't answer the door. Another neighbor, an old man, asked what I was doing. I tried telling him about the tractor & concrete but I was having a hard time talking. That always happens when I physically exert myself -- can not talk & work at the same time.

He followed me to my backyard & he helped me push the cart to where I needed to dump the concrete. Then filled the cart again 2 more times & finally got the concrete all out of the mixer. I yelled at this old man a couple times because he kept talking & asking me questions that I wasn't able to answer, due to being too hot, out of breath, frustrated, etc. I said I was sorry, but don't think he understood why I couldn't communicate. It was awful. It is always awful, because that happens every time I try to work with other people -- which is why I avoid it if at all possible.

I'm usually by myself, because getting along with others is nearly impossible with my sensory issues making communication very difficult.

My sensory issues mostly have to do with sight. I can't stand seeing certain textures. If I see them, I can feel them, and that's even worse than actually touching them. Chaotic scenes overwhelm me to the point of physical exhaustion. Places where the lighting is unusual is also hard to process - places with uneven or colored lighting, for example. Flashing lights drive me crazy, too. I have some minor problems dealing with sound - mostly echoing and collections of voices - and motion, but I have those problems under control. It's really just light and visual chaos that makes life difficult. I'm considering getting some lightly color-tinted lenses. I imagine that if everything's the same, pleasant color, the world will be easier to process.

Colored lenses don't make everything 1 color. I have light yellow lenses, & but still see rainbow color variation. Although, I only wear them in my house. I always wear dark sunglasses (prescription) outside my house, even at school, because light brighter than 40W bulbs gives me head & eye aches. I only use low watt bulbs in my house.