Sora wrote:
Because first there is anxiety of course, which would probably underline the idea of a constant Fight&Flight state.
But then there's also the fact that someone without anxiety issues still has heightened senses because of sensory issues, like me. When I talk about all these details others miss, I was told more than once that I must be extremely anxious, because I'm forced to notice details they miss unless they'd watch out for them.
Well, I'm not anxious. I'm rather calm, because I'm freaking slow and never bother with things.
Overloads on the other hand, when above a certain level and by this extremely stressing, do indeed result in great anxiety for me.
You bring up interesting "chicken & egg" dilemma: which came first & does one cause the other ?
I've had people say that my anxiety makes me notice all these little details & that if I took anti-anxiety pills or did silly breathing exercises, that I'd stop being bothered by these things. Which is a bunch of hooey, as far as I'm concerned-if these "minor" things weren't so bothersome, then I wouldn't be so anxious. Just because these things are 'no big deal' to other people doesn't mean I experience these stimuli or situations as benign/nonthreatening (how it is for them isn't same as how it is for me).
For instance, I despise many foods (they smell, taste, feel inedibly bad to me)-the anxiety & avoidance I exhibit are direct result of the noxious revolting stimuli. However, I don't think these dynamics can always be reduced to A causes B or B causes A-perhaps Z causes both A & B. Anxiety & being overly sensitive/focused on something can occur together and influence each other-but aren't necessarily "solely responsible for" inducing the other.
It's confusing, because in some ways I'm a "Type B" calm & unambitious sort of person-yet I'm also hypervigilant, overreacting to multiple "minor" issues. In social situations I feel pressed to freeze/hide/withdraw/try to disappear. Little tasks like making a phone call make me so nervous that I get all sweaty & have to change my shirt after finishing the phone call. That's how scary, intimidating, and stressful "everyday" daily life can be for my system. So it's also question of how frequently the "I feel threatened" response is activated, along with the duration & intensity of that activation, compared with "so-called normal" people.
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*"I don't know what it is, but I know what it isn't."*