Sensory overload

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Through a video that I watched yesterday I found out that I am suffering from severe sensory overload. I have known for sometime now that my sensory issues have been heightened due to the craziness of 2020. But I never realized that it could become quite this debilitating until yesterday. I am a mess, ugh.

I do breathing exercises and a form of moving meditation called Qi Gong, which help to calm me but I need advice on more ways to help lower my sensory issues to manageable levels. My head is in such a fog I can hardly get through my day.

By the way, I am looking into a weighted blanket.

Thanks in advance for your suggestions, RR

I find that even a short break can help when I feel overwhelmed...put on headphones or earplugs, sit in an empty, dimly lit room. If really bad, hiding under a blanket fort helps.

Oh, and make sure your body's basic needs have been met - sometimes I realize I forgot to eat or am very thirsty or something, and fixing that problem helps a lot.

Thanks. Yes, I stay hydrated and eat at regular times during the day. I admit, I used to be worse at that when I was younger.

I feel overwhelmed most of the day, for several months now. My sensitivity to light has been very bad, as well as skin sensitivity. But it's the light that is overwhelming me in the end. I will try to make my room darker.

A blanket fort would be fun. I think I would need more blankets lol.

You only need 1 large blanket for a one-person fort. Haha.

Have you considered replacing some of your light bulbs with lower wattage? Or more "warm" colored light bulbs? I find I like a lamp with a more yellow light in the evenings. And bright, almost blue fluorescent lights have always bothered me. I also turn on the blue light filter on electronics when the world feels too bright.

The only two ways of dealing with sensory issues that have ever worked for me are

1. avoiding sensory stress, and
2. ending sensory over-exposure and moving to a sensory-neutral environment (dark, quiet, alone, etc.) for several hours

Doing things that don't directly stop or prevent over-stimulation has little or no effect for me, and the Qi Gong and the weighted blanket seem like things that aren't directly related to stopping/preventing over-stimulation, so that might be why they aren't working or working well for you.

As far as I know, sensory overload is not generally something that lasts days, weeks, etc. Since you say you have been overloaded for some time now, I'm thinking you're maybe beyond sensory overload and are actually in burnout. If that's true, you might get better answers if you ask about coping with burnout. Personally I would deal with it by remaining in a sensory-neutral environment for several weeks and ceasing unnecessary activity: temporarily stop going to work/school if possible, avoid leaving home unless it's for a soothing activity, etc.

If you're not in burnout, maybe your overload has lasted a long time because you haven't properly managed it.

Aspies are subjected to quite a bit more stress than the average NTs. So much so that it should probably be our middle name. Stress is chemical in nature. Stress releases a cascade of hormones that unless they are used up are stored in our nervous system and muscles. Stress if it is not vented can accumulate within the body and produce distress. Some forms of distress result in panic attack, trauma and PTSD.

There are two ways to treat the state of distress. These are a psychological approach or a physiological approach.

The psychological approach, sometimes called "talk therapy" generally attempts to uncover the root cause of the traumatic event(s) and often leads to the prescription drug route to normalize behavior.

The physiological approach is a completely different approach. It looks at the problem from a chemical approach. Stress instead of viewed from an emotional level is viewed from chemistry (hormones), animal behavior and how the brain operates.

The human brain consists of many components, which are layered like an onion. There is the core, which is similar to the brain of an infant. It resides in the Vagus Nerve and Dorsal Vagal systems and is responsible for “Immobilization” or “Freeze” response. There is the middle layer within the Sympathetic Nervous system that controls the “fight or flight response”. And there is the outer layer, within the Myelinated Ventral Vagal system, the social brain.

If these stress chemicals are properly vented from the body, the body will reach a state of homeostasis and the effects of reduced emotional stress loads in my humble opinion will make panic attacks, trauma and PTSD symptoms less frequent and less intense.

So to begin with let me point you to a couple resources.
1. David Berceli (2008) The Revolutionary Trauma Release Process, Namaste Publishing, Vancouver, ISBN: 978-1- 897238-40-0.
2. Peter Levine (2010) In an Unspoken Voice, How the Body Releases Trauma and Restores Goodness, North Atlantic Books, Berkeley, California, ISBN 978-1-55643-943-8.

Back to the bottom line. What do you need to do?
The Answer - some very unique forms of exercise targeting the area where the stress is stored.

If the stress is locked in your core, they you need to perform an exercise that produces trembling which is called a “neurogenic tremors”. In humans we are taught at an early age to control and inhibit this natural trembling response. As a result, this core stress is allowed to build up and negatively affect our bodies. David Berceli developed a form of exercise called “TRE - Trauma Releasing Exercises” that teaches individuals to generate “neurogenic tremors” to vent stored stress energy locked in the bodies core. Here is a YouTube video that introduces you to this process.



Stress in the middle layer is a function of the fight or flight response. This stress energy is also stored in the body, in the limbs (the arms, legs and neck). Again exercise is the key to venting this stored chemical stress energy. But it is a very specific form of exercise called Maximal or Supramaximal exercise, interspersed with passive recovery intervals. Your social brain (outer layer) prevented you from performing a fight or flight response and as a result this cascade of chemicals were stored. In order to release it, you need to do the actions that you held back from doing.

If it is locked away in your legs, a very specific exercise should help resolve the stress energy. This is exercise that will purge deep stress (exercise in which maximal oxygen uptake is 100%), is to perform ten 6-second maximal sprints (a 50-yard dash), running like a bat out of hell with a 30 second recovery between each sprint. [This emulates the flight response in a panic.]

If it is locked away in your arms, then use a punching bag, speed bag or even a pillow as a target. Strike the object as fast as you can and as many times as you can in 6 second burst. Move your arms/hands so fast that they become a blur. Perform ten (6-second burst) with a 30-second recovery time in-between. You don't need to punch the bag hard, a light touch will do. It is the intensity and speed that counts.

The neck is a fifth limb. Many animals have two arms and two legs and one other extremity, their neck. They use their neck, vocal cord, jaw and teeth both offensively and defensively. Lions roar, bears growl, dogs bark and wolves snarl. The sound produces fears that can immobilize their prey. Herd animals will use vocalization to alert the herd of the predator’s presence. Many times it is the jaws of a predator that will rip their prey apart.

When an infant is in distress, the child will cry and scream. Individuals have been taught to constrain and control this action because this behavior is very disruptive. About the time a child sets off to school he begins to be ridiculed for crying – they are called “crybabies”. But by inhibiting this natural reaction, the stress energy is not vented but rather stored. And this stored energy needs to be vented and released in order to avoid distress. So the main question is “How does one scream in a socially acceptable manner as an adolescent or adult?

One needs to vent the stored stress energy in their neck muscles, vocal cords, and jaw. The best way is to scream at the top of your lungs several times. But this must be done in a socially acceptable manner. Never scream at a person. I live in the rural countryside and my dog is a free-range dog. When it is mealtime and my dog is up and about; I call my dog very loudly.

R-o-c-k-y. Come here puppy. R-o-c-k-y.
R-o-c-k-y. Where are you puppy? R-o-c-k-y.
R-o-c-k-y. Come here puppy.

I yell so loud that I can hear my voice being echoed back to me from nearby hills and mountains. My voice carries about a mile. The call is so strong that it borders on a roar. It is a very good feeling. It gives me a sense of great strength, like I could split a mountain in two just with my voice alone. I feel strong to my core. It is a great stress reliever or normalizer. And it is socially acceptable in the countryside.

One might try howling like a wolf at the moon. There is an individual in New York City that howls at the subway cars as they pass by deep down in the subway stations. But there are other ways to scream in a socially acceptable manner. A singer can do this if it is a very powerful song. A barker in the county fair can do this. A fan at a rock concert can sing along at the top of their lungs. Some commuters sing along to the tune on the radio at the top of their lungs while they are driving down the road. A spectator at a sports event can do this in cheering on their team. Even a Girl Scout can practice barking in front of the local grocery store when she sells Girl Scout cookies. Or find yourself a soundproof room.

Oh my. Ok. I am still learning. Being autistic is so difficult. I can see why the puzzle piece, it's like piecing together parts of your own spectrum, with each of us having different pieces that we all have to figure out for ourselves.

I have probably been internalizing this year too much. I suffer from way too much empathy. Gets me every time. With my routines so out of whack, it's no wonder I am so bad off right now. The fact that I don't recognize how bad I am getting until I am a mess is frustrating. But that is how it has always been with me, ugh.

At least I know, so now I can start taking steps to hopefully alleviate my stress.

Thanks guys. With everyone's help, I just might survive this year.