Was this a sensory overload?

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Hello WP. Today me and my family/relatives went to see a local softball game. Did not know i was going to have an extremely stressful time. We sat down pretty close to the field. The first thing that started bothering me was when the batter swung at the ball. I was also worried I was going to get hit by it. It bothered me when the person hit the ball because I didn't know where it was going to land. Hopefully not on my face. This bothered me so much that I got up and hid behind a building where it was less noisy and I couldn't get hit by a ball. It surprised me that people were sitting in perfect range, even little kids, for foul balls. At this point I was on edge, anxious, and irritable. After I calmed down a little bit, everyone that walked by me starting staring at me, and giving me a funny look. I was in an odd location, behind a building, but it was pretty odd to say the least. This started to make me really upset. I got super anxious and all of a sudden I could start hearing very small noises, such as the buzzing from a lamp. The people walking around and walking past me started bothering me. Whenever people started to look at me, I felt like going crazy and attacking them. I didn't obviously, but I wanted too. It was also windy and cold. My family tried to get me back down to the seats, so I tried. When I went around the corner and I saw the hitter swing for the ball, and she hit the ball, I froze up and turned around and went back. I only moved between innings, when they switched sides. That's not all. A ball was hit over near me, and it rolled and I stopped it with my foot. I was going to bend down and pick it up but a little girl took it from under my foot. This enraged me and I was on the verge of having a tantrum and pushing her over. I was surprised I controlled my anger so well. At this point, I called another family member to come pick me up. I also meowed at people, and it upset me they didn't meow back. That may seem odd but meowing at strangers calms me down and I think it's funny. Was this classic sensory overload? If so this has been my worst one ever.

it seems so

It doesn't sound like a classic sensory overload in my opinion. Maybe the sensory difficulty was just part of a panic attack or something related to your fear that you would get hit by the ball?

Sounds more like anxiety to me. A sensory overload is like your brain is overloaded with sounds, lights, smells, pressure etc. You're sense are engaged and "overloaded".

Hearing a lamp buzzing could have been yes. But moving away in "fear" of being hit by a ball is anxiety. And anger towards people because you are in this state of fear are classic symtoms of anxiety. Oddly enough anxiety can also increase your senses. It has to, because in a real life or death situation your anxiety heightens your senses to allow you to avoid danger. Except in cases where there is no real danger, and one feels fear, this is anxiety.

I know this because I suffer from chronic anxiety.

To me a sensory overload is like a trip to a supermarket. The bright lights become very uncomfortable, my eyes are overwhelmed by light and I find it difficult to see. I start to hear everything, I can hear everyone talking, I can feel every cold air particle on my skin from the refrigerators ... all at the same time. And it becomes hard for my brain to understand it all. This often results in an anxiety attack.

So it's very much possible you could have had a sensory overload and then had anxiety, or it could have been the other way around. Or it could have been anxiety.

I'd speak to your psychiatrist about it if you have one.

It is well within the realm of possibility that someone could get hit by a batted ball---and other people didn't seem to take this possibility seriously.

I think you actually perceived the situation, including the social aspect, pretty accurately.

And this kind of thing bothers me, too. And makes for a ragged day.

And I also do not like people staring at me as if I'm weird if I'm doing something precautionary or just different. People sure seem to be made uncomfortable by different.

No this does not sound like anxiety. Getting hit by a ball was a realistic thing to fear in this situation. Especially since the OP was unable to tell which way the ball would go. And not being able to determine where the ball will land could be a sensory problem.

Yes, being hit by the ball is a reasonable fear. However, just because the original stressor is reasonable does not exclude the possibility of the situation being caused by a difficulty with anxiety. The difference between a fear being reasonable or unreasonable is not whether or not the stressor is a reasonable thing to fear, it is the proportion of the reaction in regards to the situation.

Not being able to tell will the ball will land could be a sensory problem, but a sensory problem, especially that type, does not automatically imply a sensory overload. In my own experience, the sensory trouble of judging direction could exist on its own, or could be caused by a sensory overload that has already started by another trigger or by anxiety.

Just to let you know, I have severe Generalized Anxiety Disorder and moderate to severe Sensory Processing Disorder. I know what you went through at the game. I'm really sorry that that happened, it happens to me too all the time. Situations like that, whether it be sensory overload, anxiety, or a combination of the two, really stink.

Meowing at people? That's a normal event for me.

I hate baseball and softball. You just sit there and sometimes you can't even see what's happening. If this keeps happening, don't do it.