did that ever happen to you? any similiar experiences?

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many years ago, i was at the "taste of chicago". i was in the middle of a street full of people, sights, sounds and smells, very crowded. i got very confused and lost my sense of direction for a few minutes. i was disoriented and numb and just stood there for a few minutes, not remembering what i was doing there. i just got numb. it was awful.
anyone else can relate to that?

This happens to NT's to, it's called being overwhelmed.

Oddly, I can be in a crowd of thousands of people and it's like they're not even there. I know that people are in front of me but it's like their statues or ghosts.

Sounds a bit like what happens to me when I get "sensory overload"

Could be sensory overload.

In that environment I would hold my hands to my ears, make some audible cry and probably talk about shooting my self in the head (I tend to that when I'm stressed out by the environment) and getthahellouttta there before I start smashing heads.

For some, if not most of us on the autism spectrum we experience every sense at once where NT's can select once sense to focus on and sort of tune out the rest. Unless the NT has sensory processing disorder which means they aren't really NT, having a differently wired brain and all.

I can be disoriented without being exposed to too much sensory input. That is, when I'm off my routine and have to think actually where I am and what direction and route I'm taking, I feel dumb rather than numb. Usually it happens in the morning, before I fully wake up. Low Cortosil?

if such a situation happens suddenly (or i suddenly realise i'm in one), i indeed have a simular experience.
however, over the years i learned coping mechanisms to greatly reduce the chance of this happening.
like john said, if i concentrate a little, i crowds just blend into a blur that i rarely realize

I remember being in a school trip surrounded by 100s of noisy adolescents and I am quite small so they seemed to be towering above me and really loud. I sat down on the floor, but that was worse as they were even taller. I was taken to the side of the airport and they were convinced I was scared of flying.