Overload in city centre.

Post Reply New Topic

I was in town today. Waited for my mum and her friend at the train station. At the train station I felt really anxious. Pounding heart, fear of people coming too close. It was too noisy and too much happening around me at the same time. I'm very sensitive to these things which resulted in a headache. I closed my eyes while putting my earphones in my ears. I listened to waves, rain and thunder and tried to calm down.

Later, when my mum and her friend had arrived, we took a stroll in the city centre. Then we went to a cafe and sat down for a while. I spaced out. My brain felt like it was going to shut down completely. I was so tired. I stared at something and all of a sudden (don't know how long I'd been "gone") I heard my mum say "hello?! Are you asleep?" I payed attention for a little while, then I spaced out again.

Now I'm home and I feel like I've got a hangover or something. This is how it usually is for me. How does being in town (or someplace else) make you feel?

If I'm not used to being in busy places for a long time then I feel exactly the way you feel. Even if I am used to them, I can't deal with big crowds and noise for very long until I get a meltdown and I zone out and get frustrated. I find that I stay inside a lot so I get this complex when I go outside, almost like an agoraphobic thing or if I'm really depressed I don't like to be around people either.

I also understand about the hangover thing. It's because the stimulation and stress of being in that crowd tires you out.

I get this sometimes. Mostly in situations where there's heavy traffic and I'm on foot.

Mostly, crowds or heavy pedestrian activity don't bother me too much, although it can, depending on some factors. Facing seems to be important. If there is a huge crowd densely packed but all facing something, no problem at all. If I have to stand and wait somewhere like a mall with people buzzing around in every direction, and I have no activity to focus on, that's difficult. If I can move about (ie I don't have to wait in spot) it's considerably easier.

I try to avoid weekends and go late nights as its much quieter. People all walking in scattered directions gets me into a panic, I can't predict where they are going to go very well and end up getting in the way or just standing still. It can feel like the whole scene smudges together with the noises of crowds, loud music and bright advertisements/logos and people everywhere.

Everyone agrees that cities are the worst places on earth, then? http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/c ... G_7632.jpg is where I want to live. Heaven exists, fellow overloaded lives!

Last night I went to the movie theatre (saw MIB3 - I like it more than MIB2.). First time I've gone to the movies in a long time - 4 or 5 months at the least.

Going to the theatre can be very... taxing... on me. The worst though, was when walking through the concessions area - it's an elongated line where you get whatever you're getting as you go down it, and then pay when you reach the end with all your stuff. It was just a big clusterf*** of people, surrounding me on all sides - being in the midst of a crowd is extremely agitating to me. People bumping into me, very very bright lights, powerful smells (not bad, just strong popcorn smell), sticky floor (my shoe soles sticking bothers me), and lots and lots of noise. I rushed out of there, not getting anything (it's overpriced anyway - I just followed my sister into the concessions area automatically, because I tend to follow familiar people in crowds and such) and waited for my sister to emerge with what she was getting, and went to find our seats. After the bright, loud, but good movie, I did feel pretty worn out - spacing out easily and such. I enjoyed the movie, just was worn out from all the exposure to overpowering sense stuff. I spaced out once we got to our seats in the theatre, as well - I had to keep turning my head away from the screen when it would get too bright, though.

It's a little bit ironic though because I hate crowds but I'm a city person. I like the diversity, convenience and the excitement. I can just handle so much stimulation at a time though.

I live in a very big, busy city. I hate other people and noise, and I take alleyways/side street routes everywhere I go. Yet still I love the city. I'm weird...

Anyways, I feel the same way. Too much time in a busy place makes me shut down. It exhausts me. I have to go home and lie down and just stare into space for several hours afterwards.

Yeah, this describes how I get sometimes when I'm around too many people for too long, or if I'm in a loud, crowded bar or restaurant. Yesterday, I spent much of the day around family, and by about 6pm, I was starting to feel really anxious. I don't always feel anxious, though; more often I just sit quietly and stare into space and/or stim, or feel the intense urge to withdraw from humanity and rest for a bit.

This! Exactly this. And then my brain for some reason feels like it's better to shut down. Sometimes I get so tired I feel like I'm going to fall asleep right there and then. Do you think NTs experience this as well? I mean, most people probably get a bit tired of going to town but do you think they experience it the same way?



Yeah and now, the day after, I have no energy to do anything. I just want to sit here and read a book or watch tv-series and not speak at all. Not to anyone.

Oh yes. I get a sensation like "the person inside me" is attempting to jump up & out of my disbelieving body when people mass seems too close, too visceral. A lot of it & migraine ala cart. Just a generation ago there wasn't dependable headphones outdoors so there's progress for you.

I avoid crowds and crowded places when possible, and when I have to deal with it, I am lucky enough to seem to be OK. Honestly, even if I go someplace I really like to go, and there's a really good reason for me to go there on a particular time, I might change my mind and not go after all, if I find a big crowd.

There are exceptions: Once a year, I drive up to Reno, NV to attend the world's largest vintage car show (Hot August Nights). I think I read that about 250,000 people go there from all over the world for that week. I stay two nights, and deal with crowds that are unbelievable. I think what keeps me happy and comfortable, is that I know I chose to go there, and I can leave any event whenever I please, and despite the crowds, the flat desert landscape somehow feels less confining than a downtown city. I try to stay alone; I seldom get into any conversations with anyone. I can if I need to, of course, but I prefer to just do my own thing. Additionally, so many foreigners and members of all cultures from all parts of the USA, come together there. So nobody would appear as "weird", if they're acting differently, whereas in a daily bustle of a busy downtown, the odd one stands out. And another aspect of that event, which makes it easier for me as an Aspie, is that there are many other people who go alone, so being alone is not at all peculiar. Unlike the beach, for instance, where people nearly always go in groups, and thus the beach population is groups of groups, and a loner is kind of weird to see.

Charles

If I'm in an unfamiliar setting that's crowded, it makes me feel nervous and uncomfortable.
However, I grew up in NYC so I cope better than my other aspie friends that live in the suburbs.