Does the world and life seem intense to you?

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I'm wondering if people who have Asperger's or some other form of Autism Spectrum Disorder share the same hypersensitivity I have and have always had the experience of confronting a life and a world that appeared and felt intense.

Yep. My family thinks that I just need to grow up and deal with it. How am I supposed to "deal" with it when it is overwhelming on a fundamental level? It's not like I enjoy hiding and staying in my comfort zone. I would love to go out and be NT. That is not possible when one is driven to near insanity on a daily basis by bright lights, loud noises, and crowds.

How the hell am I supposed to know if my world is intense or not? All I see if my world and it is as it always was. I don't seem the world as intense, I just see the world as being the world as I know it. I can't see through someone else's eyes.

I used to have those thoughts as well, "how should I know?"

But then I realized just how picky I can be about food textures or how bright lights and loud sounds seem to affect me more than those around me, especially when I was younger, I'd always look at my feet. Also there's a very narrow type of clothing texture I can stand, graphic tees tend to irritate the hell out of me. Not to mention large lectures at uni, I can't stand them.

Search your feelings...

Yeah, and for as long as I can remember, I can recall my dad (who I now no longer talk to) telling me something along the lines of "It's NOT that difficult!" whenever I'd let out a small sigh, or if I was noticeably uncomfortable with what was going on around me. My brother picked it up too, and it makes me feel just as sh***y.

I told some psychologists this year that I wish I could be locked away in dark, silent room forever. I told them it would probably be easier. Away from irritatingly loud noises, people and having to interact with them, and feeling like I'm consistently failing at being like and doing things just as well as "everyone else".

Even the small things that my sister says to brush off seem monumental.

I don't like lights/noises/smells, but I go out frequently, since I have to.
I sometimes enjoy going out, if it's not something tedious like grocery shopping that I have to do.
I wouldn't say that the world is intense, eggsacly.
Even though there is lots of stimuli, I generally don't feel overwhelmed by it.
I just can't sit in a place with bright lights or lots of noise, but I can move around in a busy world.

If anything it's not intense enough. My brain won't let me experience things at the intensity level I want to. Even when other people say I'm clearly overwhelmed I'm still not "overwhelmed enough".

I'd say a little to all those, but also some things seem to be less. It's never something which has thrown me into meltdown or otherwise I couldn't manage, all meltdowns I've had were emotional in nature.

Hell yes - yes, it's hell.

The world doesn't 'seem' intense, it IS intense. The lights, the noise, crowds, everyone talking at the same time, etc. I don't understand why people don't just go insane. They must have some serious filters to be able to function. Personally, just thinking about it can send me into panic attack mode.

intense in terms of everything requiring a supreme effort to accomplish. like I cannot seem to just fluently make things happen in life, it takes 100% of my focus/will-power to get even the smallest things done, and this exhausts me. also intense in terms of the effect that other people's vibes have on me. in the emergency room I am overwhelmed with other people's pain, I can "feel" it. I wouldn't say I'm an empathy but I can't help but notice when people are hurting. all the earth vibes are palpable to me. hence, it is an intense life in an intense world, from my point of view.

No. The world seems at a standstill.

you said it best

The human social world is definitely too intense for my cognitive lens.

Perhaps this short video clip is a good tool for explaining the variability in individual cognitive lenses http://youtu.be/lJtHNEDnrnY.

Towards the end you'll find a brief glimpse of the kind of social context I'm comfortable in. The cup of tea is mandatory.