How severe are your sensory issues?

Post Reply New Topic

I have a small sensitivity to light, which as a bonus gives me a better natural night vision, but as a con can cause an uncomfortable feeling for my eyes in 'well' lighted surroundings. Also certain sounds can cause irritation or even pain for my ears.

Same, which is weird I find. Then again, I'm more stressed than ever when I'm just playing games, spending time with my parents and my dog and not working to de-stress myself. That could be amplifying my senses.

Vision:
forget strobes (or even sunlight flickering through (eg) park railings as I walk past them), and florescent lights are bad too coz they make me see shadows where there shouldn't be shadows. The glare from the sun when it's sitting low in the sky, or reflecting off of (ie) a white sheet, hurts and blinds me. Flickering computer screens can mess me up really bad, and adverts flashing on the screen can be annoyingly distracting.
Having done elimination diets I know that eating carrots one day makes my eyes even more sensitive to daylight the next morning; a filtering screen at my bedroom window prevents the sun from hurting my eyes but allows enough light in to help me wake up ~ if I close the heavy curtains, especially in winter, I won't get up till late, even if the previous day didn't totally wipe me out.

Depth perception:
I can't always tell the difference between shadow and medium / dark colours, so sometimes have problems with (eg) stairs ?knowing where the edge of a step is, and how far down the next step is. I recently visited a gallery with a room where the lights kept going out (so you could see luminous writing on the wall) ...it was very disorientating; I couldn't figure out how far away the walls were or even how low the floor was (so yes I did complain about the non-existent warning). & I don't always recognize people when they're not in their usual place; sometimes they look familiar, but I can't figure out why. And if two people in the same (eg) office look similar I can get confused about which one is which.

Hearing:
sirens are always bad; light switches and high pitched 'clacking' toys (as sold with one particular lollipop brand) can get right in my ears and give me major earache / headache. And there's a new mobile ring-tone that I've been hearing alot lately which gets right on my nerves. The weirdest one is the hum from large fridges (as found in eg internet cafes!), which can get surprizingly annoying.
I sometimes wake up with hissing or ringing in my ears (tinnitis?) and if I'm being harassed so badly that my brain starts to seize up my ears can get 'bunged up', making it hard to hear myself properly ~ which makes me get louder ...which never goes down well with the person I'm talking with, even if (/esp if!) it was them who was harassing me!

Vertigo:
I do not have a head for heights; if I stand on an overhang (even inside a building) it feels like gravity is pulling me down ~ it adversely affects my balance. An even weirder one is how having a fan blowing on the back of my neck can make my brain seize up, making it hard to concentrate or access my memory.

Smells:
air 'fresheners', perfumes and hairspray (can't believe that stuff is still legal!) are terrible, and have been since I was a kid. Chlorine is bad too, but I?m rarely exposed to that. Red Bull has to be the worst 'food' smell; I can't tolerate it at all ~ where (ie) hairspray suffocates me and / or distracts me, red bull also makes my brain get stuck ...for some considerable time! The smell of alcohol, coffee and eg 'bubblegum flavoured soda' also make me feel ill and can adversely affect my ability to concentrate ~ this problem has only been evident since I gave up all drinks except water after having an anaphylactic related seizure. Since then I have also been unable to tolerate people chewing (eg) extra strong mints, with their mouths open, in my air space / on the bus (if it's too strong even for them why do they eat them?!) and with shampoo ~ even if the smell doesn?t get me, the ingredients will.
The less carbs I eat the less sensitive I am, but I can only reduce my carb intake so much without becoming malnourished, so I?m not sure what (if anything) I?m supposed to do about that.

Taste:
Can't tolerate minty toothpaste, and although I don't dis-like the taste of garlic i get a stiff neck after eating something with garlic in it so try to avoid it completely.
My bones and muscles have problems with proteins, and [since the seizure] sugars make me unable to function anywhere near normally, so I?m on a very restricted diet. However, I do remember that I hated the texture of candyfloss, the slimy-ness of okra and under cooked egg-whites (grimy) and the taste of chocolate and peanuts when they?re mixed together is pretty gross. I?ve since seen someone eating a Bueno bar and can?t imagine what they?re made of coz they look disgustingly slimy ~ I am definitely blennophobic.

Touch:
cobwebs touching my face can irritate for ages, and I can't stand being poked or having things brush / knock against me ~ just like Raleigh, I can still feel such things afterwards, until I rub / wipe the affected area ...which makes some people take offence, BUT, as I am very careful of my (and other people's!) personal space I've given up caring what those space invaders think.
I don't mind a hug from someone I know and like well enough to expect it from, but hesitant hugs irritate my nervous system, and unexpected (or otherwize unwelcome) hugs, especially from behind, will make me freeze ~ which is really annoying coz that does nothing to get the person off me!
I can?t stand how my phone juks me in the hand when it's ready for my pass word (altho I can stop it doing that for other alerts, i can't stop it doing that one) ~ it gets right inside me and i'd go so far as to say that it hurts except that it doesn't do any kind of damage ...very weird.
Also can't stand how cotton-wool feels when you squish it (unlike bubble wrap, which feels great), or the way some fabrics catch or tickle my skin and / or (like carpets) give me static.
I can sometimes feel electro-magnetic 'forces' too ...from below some man-hole covers (= pressure against my feet, sometimes affecting my balance) and under some bridges (pressure in my head ...yuk) ~ if i don't eat grains or 'too many' carbs i hardly notice it tho.

As my kids dad used to say, when I'm walking down the street I sometimes look like a mad woman :-(

I learned to handle them alot better than I used to & can tune things out some so I would say my sensory issues are mild.

Not severe at all, apart from noise. I can blot out some noises, but others will bring about a red mist of rage unless they stop... this... instant. I'm much better with natural sounds; birds chirping, bees buzzing, etc. don't bother me. If it's human-made, it'll probably wind me right up: literally anything my dad says or does; neighbours' kids shouting; clamorous chatter in a restaurant; the sound of traffic roaring past; other people's music; fireworks (this used to be a massive issue every autumn in our old house); etc.

Also cannot stand people sitting next to me on public transport. I absolutely hate it and pray that nobody sits next to me: I rely on looking miserable enough to hopefully put people off. If they ignore my expression of mute dread and misery and plonk themselves down next to me,, I then go to great lengths to ensure no part of their body is touching any part of mine. But I'm all right with being touched if it's part of a medical procedure. I've had a million blood tests done, several cameras stuck up my arse; there is no dignity inside a hospital.

Light is another issue, though not as bad as sound. Some days are more 'glarey' than others; the glare bothers me when it's bad. For my laptop, I use f.lux, which has been a godsend.

Aside from that, don't have any other issues out of the ordinary really.

sight--I am very sensitive to bright light. I look back at lots of old outdoor pictures and I'm squinting. I don't think this has improved that much with age, if at all.

hearing--loud noises do bother me, but I think this has improved a lot with age

smell--I used to gag on smells that were too strong for me, but this also improved with age. Mint smells still other me

taste--I don't like spicy food or strong mints

touch--I don't like tags or clothing that itches a lot

Mine are variable in severity. All my senses are affected. Most of the time it's more the cumulative effect of a lot of different things rather than any one thing that sets me off.

If I'm relatively calm and well rested I can tolerate a lot. It just makes me really tired and irritable. And can make me kind of disoriented to the point where I might be more accident prone.

Sometimes when I'm going into sensory overload, I don't notice it until I'm almost on the verge of a meltdown. I've gotten better at recognizing it though.

Too much noise in a restaurant is probably the number one thing that will push me over the edge. Even if I can stay calm, it actually upsets my digestion. My mother has that problem too.

My food choices are very limited by my sensory issues. I can't stand certain textures, things that burst in my mouth, or strong seasonings. Things that come from plastic containers taste like plastic. I could write a book about the things that I won't eat.

I have to be very picky about my clothing. I can't stand to wear anything tight, especially around my waist. Sometimes wearing socks or just having anything tight on my feet makes me feel absolutely insane. Certain polyester blends give me a claustrophobic feeling.

Bright light can give me headaches, especially sunlight. The worst thing of all is the glare on a light colored parking lot. That can come close to making me black out.

I hate feeling the residue of things that I've touched on my hands. I wash my hands a lot. I have to use very mild soap, most hand soaps give me a burning sensation.

A lot of things really bother me but I can tolerate them up to a point. I just don't always know where/when I'm going to reach my limit.

Lights don't usually bother me. I dislike ugly lighting and prefer low, orange coloured lighting- I am always paying attention to atmosphere light creates. But it's not like bright lights annoy me to the point of meltdown. I dislike sunny days in the Winter... snow + sunny= way too bright. If I have a headache I may have to wear sunglasses to watch a movie haha.

I've never noticed any depth perception issues.

Sounds don't really annoy me. Sirens or loud sounds annoy me of course, but that can be said for anyone. The sound of my phone ringing or beeping when I get a text message bothers me and makes me impatient so I keep it on silent all the time.

I do get vertigo/dizziness from moving around too much in a car, going on circular rides at a fair (beyond dizzy- horrible!! can't even stand up). If this counts as a sensory issue.

The smell of canned tuna really bothers me. Then again I think that's understandable. No other smells/tastes bother me unless it's just because i don't like it. I like perfume & incense.

For touch- I am extremely bothered by clothing. This is the main one. I can't stand wearing jeans or many types of pants. I usually wear leggings or nylons and skirts. I have one pair of jeans now that don't bother me. My legs get so itchy and bothered. I wear boots and they bother me where they cover my ankles. Sometimes even my arms feel itchy from shirts, no matter what kind.
I am also really bothered by the feeling of my hands after I wash them. They feel so dry and soft and over sensitive. I have to hold them into little fists until they get clammy/sweaty again and then feel less sensitive. When they are really soft I can't touch anything because it's way too sensitive.
However, I am not someone bothered by other people touching me. I like touch and hugs and affection from people and am not bothered by it, but enjoy it.

Moderate-Severe

The phenomena, you describe is "after-picture". All artists know it.
The eye or brain reverts what you´re looking at. If you look at a red spot, you will see a green spot afterwards or sometimes at the same time. If you look at something bright, you may see a shadow round it or near it, or everywhere, you look. It´s normal.

My sensory things look like everybody else´s in here.Only a few of them is really aggravating:

Sounds! Earlier I was hysterically sound sensitive. Everything from breathing, a fork over a plate to sirens made me want to scream. I went into shock by strong, sudden sounds as a toddler.
It is not that bad anymore, but strong noise (traffic/machines/rock) still makes my heart pound and turns on my flight impulse, so I contemplate buying a hunters ear protection, as they let the weak sounds pass through, but block out loud sounds, especially impulse noise in a split sec.
I simply stop in the middle of the traffic to cover my ears, when cars with sirens pass by. Not wise.

Somewhat aggravating:
Balance: I can get dizzy by turning my head. Often, I have to get off my bike to look behind me, and I usually touch the wall for support when I go down the stairs.

The sense, that I am sometimes unsure,where the steps are exactly, I figure, may come from the narrow broadband: the senses are not working at the same speed?
Like, when I´m on my bike, happily pedaling along, I may suddenly think:"Oops. I can´t control this!". The sense of speed and the sight of the road streaming under me is out of synk, - so I go slower for a while, till things match again, - and I can speed up.

Depth: A minor problem causing me to wait excessively long, before I cross the street, because I am not certain, where the cars really are - and I tend to bump into furniture.

Clumsiness: I tend to smash things, put things down on table with a bang, or close doors too hard. To avoid it, I am sometimes so careful, that people say "relax, dear".

Skin: This is getting worse. Even cotton feels itchy. I am going for the very smooth "dry-fit" t-shirts now.

Very aggravating:
Mouth: Peppermint toothpaste hurts like hell. It allways did. I´ve tried kids tooth paste and it helped, but it didn´t clean and polish well enough. I haven´t found a solution.

Hmm. It all sounds very typical.

I don't have visual or auditory sensitivities. I do have touch and taste sensitivities, which were quite bad when I was a child.

I couldn't wear jeans, cotton T-shirts, socks, tennis shoes, etc. I had to wear satiny shirts with satiny sweat or jogging pants (no elastic though, usually meaning that my mother would have to modify them) with sandals or "water shoes" (which were still rather uncomfortable, so I went barefoot whenever possible, even when walking on rocks and such). Eventually I discovered that I could wear oversized and extra wide tennis shoes with dress socks if I put bunion pads between my toes. Clothes shopping was a nightmare. I'd have to spend all day trying on countless items, going to every store in town, and coming home with two things. I went into shoe stores and tried on literally every pair in my size and came back with nothing.

My diet was very restricted and I almost always had to be served a separate meal from what the rest of my family was eating. My parents tried the "you can't leave the table until you clean your plate" approach for a few years, but after hours of sobbing every night they eventually gave up.

It's not nearly as severe now, but it's still an issue.

I just found out last night I have a sensitivity to the stuff they put into buffet foods, that MSG stuff. My neighbor owns one and the family is always nice, but this time when I went there I had a panic attack despite feeling good yesterday. I read online that the MSG they add into the food can sometimes cause anxiety and panic in certain people.

theyre not bad but the affect me everyday, affects my time in school and reading

I guess the florescent / shadow thing could be "after picture" ~ i didn't consider that becoz the shadows are quite large, and have blurry edges ...nothing like the well-defined 'blind spots' you get from looking at (eg) a camera flash. ^^^^^ As for the railings thing, it's like a strobe thing, or the flickering of a computer screen ~ the rapid change from dark to light, as the sun shines through the gaps / doesn't shine through the bars (especially if passing by on e.g. a bus coz that makes the changes happen even quicker) totally disorientates me, gives me headache, and irritates the hell out of my nervous system. If i look at it 'too long' it can cause parts of my brain it to seize up. Most unpleasant.

On a scale of 1/10 about 7/10