Inconsisent Sensory Overload anybody?

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I was diagnosed with Aspergers recently.
The diagnosis summary said that I do have sensitivity to noise, smells, clothes and textures... and the thing is that I have also been diagnosed with ADHD and with ADHD a chaotic environment doesn't always bother me, but sometimes it does.

Is it possible for someone with mild Aspergers to have inconsistant responses to sensory overload? Like for some days have high tolerance and control over it some days and complete frustration over it on other days? Or even to get over some of the annoyances?

Because I do have sensory overload....but I can rarely pinpoint consistant specifics of noise that can CAUSE me to panic. I can when I'm in the middle of it though, like OH this is bothering me right now!

For example... I do not mind loud music and I sometimes even don't mind the fire alarm going off... but other days it drives me freaking nuts! I guess it depends on where you are and how loud the music is and if the sound is annyoing to you. But is it possible to be overloaded by sensory of a specific noise in one area but not in another?

yes, it is possible.
i'm similar. some days i can handle noise, chaos, stress.... then suddenly my tolerance ceases. i've been trying to teach myself my triggers and coping techniques. some days i can recognize them and cope. some days it's just not going to work.

i think that there's a cumulative effect of the overload....and hormones...and preoccupation with serious matters...which all combine to dictate the level in which one can tolerate stimuli on a given day at a given moment.

i was trying to describe it to my nt housemate the other day. what illustrated it to him well enough for him to somewhat understand is how i likened my tolerance to that of a young baby. newborns can maintain the gaze of another human for about 8 seconds, then they turn away for a moment of unwinding. as they get older they can take more and more time before becoming overwhelmed with stimulus (good or stressing)... and they can integrate more types of concurrent stimuli. i told him to think of my ability to maintain stimulation to be like that of a baby's in a similar respect. i can handle only limited amounts of noise, gaze, interaction, random activity, thought process, sensory input at a time, then need a time to rest. even he seemed to comprehend that.

so, yes. it's possible. i even sometimes don't realize how much something is bothering me until i've about no more tolerance for it.

Neat, thank you.

I'm just trying to pinpoint what does set me off because sometimes I do feel like I have no sensory problems whatsoever...but then at random I notice...wow..I'm overloaded by this noise haha....at this time.

I also live in a very rural state where even the shopping malls are not that bad at all and the environment in general is quite peaceful and not so crowded.

My biggest sensory problems is cognitive overload... like if I loose my celphone or wallet, I start panicking... I know that a normal person does that too...but I panic whenever I feel like I've forgotten something or if I'm not understanding something or if something doesn't work right when it's supposed to. Those are my biggest overloads... but I just can't pinpoint the noise.

When someone asked me "What do you do when things get stressful at work? How do you handle the stress?" I just said.... "Uh...I just keep doing my work..." which is true... I tend to not react to even stressful things... but that's not ALWAYS true haha. I can go anywhere from being highly controled and just look really serious and stiff when reacting to stress and just try to work out the solution so I don't blow up and freak out other people. But other days I do blow up...usually when no one is around or if I'm around people who I know for sure won't react badly. If I lost my temper about anything I used to get smacked or lectured...so to avoid that I guess I worked really hard on my tolerance levels. That's probably what happened.

Have you tried a checklist? I was thinking of trying that, to see how many times certain things bother me or do not bother me. Because some days I can go to the mall and I'm fine... but other days it gets a little overwhelming.

i keep a mental inventory of things that set me off. i've never bothered to keep a diary of triggers.

here's some sounds that bother me:

loud television
repetitive noises
those motion sensor things with screens for advertizing in grocery stores startle me
my ex's voice
mariah carey music

then there's other sensory things:

bright lights
a certain dimness of light
blinking lights
cold temperatures
tight clothing
a single hair inside my clothes can ruin my day until i find it and remove it
mental preoccupation



but it's hard sometimes to notice the overload creeping up. i might feel as if i'm okay and going about my day, when i start to feel agitated, seemingly for no current reason. it's those times where i've been trying to be more creative with "decompressing" before i shut down. i'm not a meltdown sort of person....most times.

My sensory issues do fluctuate, and I do not have mild Asperger's.

What causes them to become more severe is dealing with a lot of overload to begin with. If it goes on long enough, it can become burnout.

Yes it happens to me. I am fine in malls where there is lot of noise and I am fine in stores but when it comes to me being in a room and then bam everyone is talking loud at once, I feel an overload and I have to get out. I had to do that at work few days ago. I didn't want to tell everyone to be quiet or to talk quieter so I left the break room instead.

Sometimes people talking at the table overwhelms me but yet if I have something like my computer or my game, I am fine.

etc etc etc

I don't have very many sensory issues but they fluctuate.

Mine are inconsistent too. I have minor "shut downs" a lot of times during the day to cope. Particularly if I have already been upset by several small things since morning on that day.It is not easily noticeable since I dont have to talk to people for doing my work.

I have a lot more control over cognitive overload (ooh I learned this phrase now and I really like it) nowadays. Maybe because I live alone, I cant afford to melt down. I try to distance myself from the issue and try to think of a rational solution for it and also tell myself the worse that could happen because of it and be prepared for that as well. But people can see the panic written all over my face and in the way I move. In that moment if someone asks me a question, they are definitely getting snapped at.

Sometimes some people's voices irritate me. BIG TIME! I just wish they would shut up. It is not fair for me to blame them since they are not responsible for it.

Yeah I'll be able to do a task one day which is fine, but the next day is too much. I can usually tell if I'm having a bad day - usually when my anxiety's up. But sometimes it'll take me by surprise.

it is quite normal that your overload tolerance fluctuates, depending on how much sleep you had, what you ate, what else you have been doing, pressing deadlines...

i myself fluctuate to the extreme, i have days where i can be at a live metal concert without too much trouble (well, still wearing earplugs against the volume, but nothing beyond that), and other days even the sound of the one unused power socket is enough to annoy me...
at least i have become good enough in recognizing this that i know what kind of day it is as soon as i'm well awake, but i still dont know what the real factors are, nor can i control them

The sensory overload was explained to me like this, and it kind of makes sense that different things will flick that overload meltdown switch.

Aspie/Auties have a jar that slowly fills with stressful/anxious things until the last thing that makes it overflow and the switch is flicked. So different things make us meltdown.
It could have been filled right to the top by a shopping trip to a mall with light, noise and people and all the associated input from such a situation. But the jar didn't overflow, so no meltdown.
Then you go home so all that sensory overload is no longer there and you think you're fine, but your jar is full right to the edge.

Then, something adds one more drop of anxiety to your jar. Your mum turns on the vaccuum, a dog barks, your sibling flashes a torch in your face, somebody rearranges your collection of fishing reels( ) Pick your poison, some stupid tiny thing adds that last drop to your jar and KABOOM the switch is flicked/meltdown.

Ohhhhhh my goodness, that's a very good point and I never thought of it that way being a jar. It makes sense to me. But would someone with Autism instead of Aspergers be more prone to consistent and frequent noises? Cause maybe Aspies are less sensitive, but still I hate it that mine can be unpredictable. My biggest things are textures and food, noise is minor....but how often to Aspies have meltdowns similar to the more severely Autistic individuals?

One of the most consistent things about neurological issues is their inconsistency. One day my son can ride any ride at a carnival, and the next he will vomit in the car because the movement is too much. One day my daughter can eat spaghetti, the next time it makes her gag. She used to love peanutbutter and can no longer tolerate the texture, even though she still loves the taste. My son cannot stand any tags in his clothes, yet somehow he can fail to notice that his pants are on backward.

IOW, inconsistency is completely normal.

Is sensory overload only when it leads to a meltdown of sorts?
I have SPD, and I can say that usually my sensory issues are to the same degree.
But there are rare, random days where I'll be much better than usual or worse than usual.
For example, I have trouble with food. So there might be a day where I notice I have a strangely easy time eating foods that are normally hard for me to eat. Or a day where I find it impossible to eat foods that I am usually okay with eating.

MY GOODNESS, YES!

My sensory issues are so. damned. inconsistent. And yes, it's probably the neurological nature of them.

I don't mind a lot of noise. In fact, I desire a lot of noise. Unless it (1.flucuates (2. is metallic or (3. comes from people. Then the noise effing annoys the living @#!* out of me.

Also, I love being touched, but not by strangers or from behind.