What Is Hypersensitivity?

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When I was little I was dx'd Hypersensitive. All the info I could found was on allergies sensitivity, but what does it mean in the psychological field?

With regards to Autism, there is hypersensitivity and hyposensitivity.

Hypersensitive, for instance with sound, means that there is a greater negative/unpleasant reaction to certain sounds which most people do not experience.

Hyposensitive to sound would mean one is more fond of certain sounds than others and consistantly seeks them out.

It goes the same for the other senses. Hyper = negative reaction to a sensation and thus avoidance; Hypo = positive sensation and thus sensation-seeking.

And just saying one person is either hyper- or hyposensitive is likely inaccurate. It's just "sensitivities" and depending on the sensation, a mix of hyper- and hyposensitivities within a single person (i.e., constantly smelling things, so that they are hyposensitive to certain smells, and avoiding touch so that they are hypersensitive to certain tactile sensations).

Well, this is what I have come to understand.

Well, in that case the dx was probably referring to my noise or physical contact sensitivity. I guess I'll never know what it means to have a dx of it. Wonder what it's referring to?

Yeah, not sure if it's a diagnosis. "Hypersensitivity" was probably a descriptive forerunner to Sensory Processing Disorder, which still isn't yet in the DSM. I hope one day it will be. But I think the reason that it isn't is that it doesn't usually occur, to my knowledge, without accompanying some other disorder like Autism or ADHD, Tourettes, etc.

I have all threee of those things, what does this Sensory Processing Disorder entail?

I've always found this site particularly helpful on Sensory Processing Disorder. Of course, they refer to it by it's slightly older name: Sensory Integration Disorder.

http://www.tourettesyndrome.net/sensory_overview.htm

I could easily see how I can get dx'd with something like that if the doctor doesn't understand the real issues I have. I only related to one or two things in that article, and I can explain one with AS and the other with an inner ear imbalance that I haven't asked a doctor about yet. But when I was little I went to a very old and experienced therapist, so Hypersensitivity might have been an even older phrase for SPD. I don't think I have this because most problems my doctor might've attributed to it are actually different kinds of reactions due to my AS, that, and my problems aren't nearly that severe. But as a kid, I was a much different person than I am now. Even so, it was most likely AS and/or ADHD and/or OCD causing the problems I had.

Thanks for the help Sophist!

What is hypersensitivity? Me! Emotional, that is.

It is also the reason why many of us stim, too. We are hyposensitive, at times, to stimulation. It is the movement: tactile, vestibular, proprioceptive.

Our sensitivities are not always something so static. They can change given mood or situation. Like when we are under stress, we may become more hyposensitive to certain movements, and thus we stim.

Or we may become hypersensitive in times of stress to sound. So that certain sounds don't bother us when we are calm and comfortable, but are unbearable when we are anxious.

Stimming and sensory sensitivities are all interconnected and due to the same underlying cause.

Hm.. I went to an allergist because I am constantly having trouble with my noise/sinuses/throat. He tested every possible allergen on me, and there was no reaction. According to him I am simply "hypersensitive" (which I agree I am, as I notice and am bothered by many smells that most people don't care about). Is this the same thing?

I've always been sensitive to certain sounds and textures. Especially textures, I had major therapy getting over my sensitivity to mud and sand. And I just simply don't like many high pitched noises.

With me, I also have that T.V/electrical buzzing thing, and things like strobe lighting, or that fluro-light blinking, hard to explain, affect me. Also, sounds, as I put it, 'cut sharp' with me. Sounds affect me big time, paticulary music. When I've 'hit the wall', normal classroom chatter becomes intensified and it goes straight to the brain. It, almost, hurts, do you understand?