why is this happening?

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I still don't know if I'm autistic but I'm struggling with a sensory issue so I came here. I usually don't have too many issues with sensory stuff (I stim a fair amount, often to combat unpleasant sensory input, but if I didn't stim I'd still be fine; I'd just be a bit less calm), but very suddenly last night everything got really bad. I'm still fine with sounds, too much light can be a bit overwhelming but I'm okay, but I cannot tolerate being touched, especially on the stomach. I was cuddling my girlfriend last night and I started hyperventilating and had to get away from her because being touched felt like I was being smothered. I couldn't sleep last night until I pulled my shirt up so my stomach wasn't being touched, even though my room was cold. So far this morning I've been tense and on guard constantly because my shirt is touching my stomach and I feel like I'm being smothered and I feel like screaming and I'm rocking back and forth to calm down but it's not enough.

I don't understand why this is happening and I don't understand why it came on so suddenly and I don't know how to make it go away or how to at least cope with the feelings.

EDIT: I forgot to mention I've been having taste/texture issues all weekend (I'll try to take a bite of certain foods and I'll shudder and want to gag; I've only been able to handle simple foods or small bites for most of the weekend) so this isn't completely out of the blue, but it's still really sudden and really severe and that's unusual for me.

I wanted to reply to express my sympathy with you. I don't really have serious sensory issues--so I can't offer suitable advice.

Others who do have sensory issues will be around soon.

That sounds more like a panic/anxiety kind of response than a touch sensitivity thing to me.

I have some sensory issues, and they don't include things like hyperventilating, screaming, etc. Though I will react strongly to the unpleasant sensation until I can get away from it.

I recently had to cut a label out of a T-shirt, for example, because the corners felt like they were scraping flaps of skin off my back. Even though what was really happening was slightly stiff corners on the label shifting about on my skin, my first thought was that I had gotten a terrible sunburn somehow and was flaking badly and had a sort of open wound there.

That's the kind of way that I have experienced hypersensitivity to touch. It's really sensory and doesn't inherently have some big emotional component. It's like normal sensation but massively amplified.

I might get angry and agitated if I could not stop it from happening, but this would be frustration, irritation and possibly anger, not difficulty breathing.

Maybe there is some traumatic experience that this touch reminded you of? You might want to see a therapist to get some understanding and relief. It sounds like a pretty horrible experience.