Reducing sensory intake

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Is there anything, natural or synthetic or chemical, that reduces sensory intake? i.e. prevents sensory overload? I mean outdoors or in public places.

What type of sensory input? Auditory? Visual? Other?

Auditory: Earplugs (Mp3 players some times work)

Visual: Sunglasses or Irlens glasses

Touch: special clothes have been designed for those. If touch is a problem, wear dorky cloths and no one will WANT to touch you.

Don't know of any other ways... they are just ways I have used.

I was wearing sunglasses but forgot my earplugs, which would have helped. But when I walked my dog this morning at 6am, I went into meltdown. I was so upset that Dawg tried "help" by taking over and I was too freaked to see what he was doing, so it became a mutual yanking expedition ...

I live on a 4-lane boulevard with lots of traffic and lots of people even at 6am. Usually we go to the corner and back. This time I was trying to bring books to the book drop, 3 blocks away. But that shouldn't be such a disaster! Anyway it got that every human and every passing car was emanating so much sound and motion - not to mention humans with dogs whom my dog was hauling me towards and I was hauling away from. Somehow even my skin was crawling, all 5 senses were totally freaked.

There's a fountain in front of the library with benches and I sat there, hoping to reset my system with soothing sound etc. but it didn't work, mostly because that attracts people who assume that I want to be sat with.

Nightmare on the boulevard at dawn.

So I arrived home seriously wanting a sedative (or something) to take before going out. I guess it doesn't help that they're fixing the garage *and* the roof of my building, and they've been drilling from 9am to 5pm for a month. So maybe I'm already up to semi-rattled even before I go out.

Anyway - back to the question - is there something - a pill or a cup of tea or a funny cigarette - that would turn me into a zombie for an hour? I know there are gizmos than can reduce individual senses, and I have some, but how can I become oblivious?

Sounds like a good book.


Well, that is enough to drive anyone mad. No wonder. Your nerves must be shot.


Why only an hour? I wouldn't know about funny cigarettes. I try to stay away from weird tea because in my experience I have had adverse reactions, making me more jumpy and hyper, sometimes extremely so where I have to pace or run around the yard in circles to work it out of my system. Seriously though, IMO, it would be better to be able to address sensory issues without any substance outside of yourself if possible, although sometimes I can understand how a sedative would be necessary. What about Yoga? I know, everyone says "What about Yoga?" But really, controlling your mind, mental activity, thoughts has been proven to do wonders for restoring health and wrecked nervous systems.



You can only become truly oblivious when you cease to exist. In the meantime, I can recommend two books. These are not written by Autism "specialists" as far as I know, but they really address and offer great advice for the problem of extreme sensitivity.

1. "too loud too bright too fast too tight" by Sharon Heller, Ph.D.
2. "The Highly Sensitive Person" by Elaine N. aron, Ph.D.

Also, Izaak's advice is excellent. Where can we get those Irlen lenses Izaak, and can we get them without a doctor's prescription? Are they expensive?

Unfortunately, alcohol accomplishes this quite well for me.
I just turn into an chilled-out pile of marshmallows.
Since that is not an effective way to interact with the outside world,
I use the aforementioned mp3player/sunglasses/comfy clothing regimen,
And sometimes use herbs and extracts to get at the feelings and sensory stuff that the gadgets don't fix. Kava Kava, for example. Borage and Lemon Balm, too.

Hopefully, you'll get plenty of good responses, here

a tiny bit of the funny cigarette has been very successful in completely stopping sensory overload. I just can't overdo it because I want to be functional.

Years ago when I tried it, it had the completely opposite effect on me, and I ended up not just with sensory over load, but synaesthetic sensory overload, which was worse than pretty much anything else I'd ever experienced up till that time.

Added to which, it took me six weeks to get my neurons back to my normal afterwards.

I also enhance the coverage with a visor or hat in addition to the sunglasses.

Excellent book! I'll have to check out the other one you recommended as well.

Also: valerian root extract works extremely well for me, a natural sedative, and you can get it in various dosages, depending on what you need. I have three bottles - one each of 100 mg, 250 mg and 500 mg.

Same thing here! I don't know what the hell that (reaction) was but it scared the sh*t out of me. I thought I was temporarily psychotic or something. I never went near the stuff again.

Irlens lenses are only available through Irlens clinics (usually associated with Dyslexia Clinics as the primary use of Irlens is to treat Dyslexia. Though SOME forms of visual sensory difficulties in SOME autistics are helped by Irlens tints. They aren't overly expensive though in Australian terms a complete set of tinted classes (including frames) were $120.

St John's Wort, Valerian, Skullcap, Vervain, Passionflower and Chamomile (all available as teas) have mild sedative and/or nerve tonic actions, I think Skullcap is the most effective. Peppermint also has some nerve calming properties, that at least is easier to buy. Best to ask a professional naturopath (e.g. at a health food store) because mileage varies depending on you and the strength of what you are taking - beware that some of them shouldn't be taken with heart conditions or while pregnant. I know this because I studied herbal medicine for a while. I am very susceptible to those sorts of things so I am careful what I take - a few years ago I drank chamomile tea regularly before bed to help me wind down and get to sleep but I just had even more vivid and scary dreams than usual.

re Irlens - I don't have that, but I did get 8% blue tint on my glasses and it makes the world look "normal" to me. With me own vision, I see the world with a kind of poison mustard overcast. But now that you mention Irlens, I understand (for the first time) why the technician was so upset when I asked for the blue tint. He kept telling me it would not help me see and he was desperately trying to talk me out of it. I wouldn't have been able to get the blue tint at all - he must have thought I was trying to get Irlens. But the optometrist's own wife uses blue tint for easier seeing, and he wrote it on the order, so I got my blue lenses.

The next time I bought glasses I got them on-line and just asked for blue and got it.