Sensory overload or anxiety?

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This happens to me every time I go out to large places for somewhat long periods of time. Every single person around me labels it as anxiety, but I feel as through it is actually sensory overload. Even when I try to explain to them why I feel it's not anxiety they say it still sounds like anxiety, so maybe they're right? I'm going to give my most recent experience as an example...

1. Go to mall with friend. No anticipatory anxiety while going and no initial anxiety while in the first store whatsoever.

2. Go out into the main part of the mall and feel a bit physically overwhelmed, but it's all physical and there is no accompanied worry.

3. Do OK going through the next few stores albeit I'm a bit aloof.

4. By the 5th store and after walking almost through the whole mall, I start to feel physically ill and irritated.
-All somewhat loud and abrupt noises make me jump inside
-My head starts to hurt
-I start to feel weak and nauseous
-I become irritable
--There still is nothing that I feel I relate to anxiety itself, though. I don't get a sped up heart rate and I do not have any mental thoughts related to
anxiety. It's not a feeling of "run" so much as a feeling of "I would really like to find a quiet place and sit down now". Are feeling overwhelmed and feeling anxious the exact same thing, because I separate the two while I feel like everybody else around me does not see a difference.

Does anybody have any insight?

EDIT- Is it sensory overload, which is causing the supposed anxiety? Sorry if I'm sounding stupid, but I'm just a bit frustrated when I try to explain my struggles to people IRL. Like my family members know I hate crowds and crowded places, but they never budge from their assumption that I dislike it because of the people themselves when I really hate them because of the noise they create. So even if it is anxiety, they refuse to believe it's anything other than *just* anxiety.

My sensory sensitivities (noise, crowds and even conversation) have a cumulative effect with me. As it builds, I get quieter and quieter. Finally, after a couple hours (assuming nothing significant has tipped the balance of my sensitivity to TILT), I am exhausted and mute. My family and friends always, and I mean every time, say that they think I am angry with them. If I have an iota of good manners by then, I remind them that it is an "Aspie thing." Otherwise, I let them think what they want, and ignore them.

Because of this, I usually plot out the conditions of my public adventures (duration, number of people, places that could echo and amplify noise, rush hour, etc.) and act accordingly by agreeing to attend only if the conditions are changed.

Overload. My sensory stuff is cumulative as well. Often, I have ended up crying for no real reason and sometimes a distinct feeling of fear.

I do have some anxiety, but I have come to realize after learning about all this Asperger and sensory stuff that the crying is not from sadness or isolation in those times, it simply is overload. And the fear is a natural response to that, even though I know logically, there is nothing to be afraid of.

I too was told it was anxiety and had it brushed under the rug. Well, now I am able to understand it and do some things about it so there are fewer meltdowns and I am less irritable. Awareness has helped a lot.

I go to things still, but I allow myself to take breaks and instead of holding it all in and "barreling" through it in order to not be rude to those I am with, I might explain it some and go off alone. With my husband, we can stop and I can hide behind him or close myself off in his chest. That's really nice. I wish everyone had someone they could do that with who understood it. I remember what it's like to have no where to run and no one to help. It makes me sad.

I agree with the others. It is sensory overload. I get the same thing when I go to a shopping centre (as they're called here).
It's a different feeling to panic. It's located more in the head than the heart for me. My head fills up so much with the noise, lights, movement, vibration and sheer overload of input that I start to shut down to protect myself from going stark-staring crazy. I want to clutch my head to prevent it from exploding. People having an anxiety attack normally clutch their chest.
If shutting down is not enough I go into meltdown. I start to tremble and cry uncontrollably. Escaping to a quiet place, hand-flapping and pacing (and mumbling like a loony) helps bring me back down.
I have also been trying to apply guided visualisation during the shutdown phase and it has helped a little.

I do hate all kinds of noices very much, but I don't really experience anything like this.
Question: Does listening to music have a positive effect on this?

Sensory overload and sensory exhaustion.

Actually I can relate to the opening post really well. The whole process of shopping tends to exhaust me quite quickly; the noise, the narrow/cramped aisles, the queues, etc. Once I start to fatigue, then that's it; all I want to do from that point is stop trailing around shops and go and sit down. There's no anxiety or panic involved; just sheer exhaustion. I very rarely go shopping on my own, btw; usually go with my mum and perhaps one other person.

I did a similar experiment at a mall several years ago to determine if it was sensory overwhelm or anxiety (docs were not sure). I used ear plugs on my own, and stopped at the food court and tried to read and see if I could focus on music via headphones. It was clearly sensory overload.

I have ptsd related panic/anxiety attacks too. The two conditions are dramatically different for me. Anti-anxiety meds work great on the real anxiety but do nothing for the sensory overwhelm except help me be less reactive but that's helpful too.
Food additives called "excitotoxins" make my sensory overwhelm worse, so I avoid them.