What gives you a 'sensory overload'?

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i guess i mean in the bad sense of sensory overload.

mine is when people snap their fingers over and over again, or when someone is saying a word or a name in the same tone/intonation over and over again. i cover my ears and i feel like, this immense fear and anger mixed and i'll start to cry or beg them to stop. i don't hate repetitive music or anything, so i always thought that was interesting. so far in my life it's been snaps and repeated words in a monotone.

I don't like finger snapping either, it makes me cringe, the longer it goes on I feel kind of sick

Being in a crowded, noisy environment like a restaurant or mall

Bad odors especially the smell of bad food cooking

A loud tv or sometimes just being around a tv at any volume level. Especially commercials and that goes for radio too.

Hearing someone talking non-stop

Wearing most types of polyester

Sometimes the "sss" or "ssh" sounds people make when they talk and strangely this makes my teeth hurt.

Touching anything that is dry or absorbent, like unfinished wood, sandpaper, chalk, also hearing the sounds of those things. Abrasive or scraping sounds.

Being out in bright sunlight especially if it is hot. Sunlight reflected on light colored pavement.

Walking through a doorway when there is a big change in light and/or temperature.

Being around lots of people moving around, kids running, I feel the movement I see other people doing like it's pushing waves against my body

Sometimes hearing a loud plane fly over, although I like the sound, it gives me a disoriented feeling.

The sound of someone writing with a pencil or tearing paper.

A cat's whiskers brushing against me lightly

1) light touch, whether it's from another person or loose clothing (I have to wear a tight undershirt under everything)

2) multiple people talking at once

3) sunlight (I wear sunglasses on rainy days. Bright sunlight is unbearable.

For me it's being out in public all day without time to myself to decompress, students talking all day/ shouting all day, bright light, high pitched noises, extreme heat, and the constant buzzing of florenance lights.

If I'm in a coffee shop (or fast food place), all the binging when things are ready. Hearing metal utensils when ppl eat, especially forks. Hearing ppl drink thru plastic coffee lids, especially when someone teeth scrape on the plastic. Back up sounds that trucks make. School bells. Combine any of these with bright sun, lack of sleep, annoying clothing, change in plans etc etc.

Anyplace that is busy both visually and aurally will quickly wear me down. My endurance level is about 30 minutes and beyond that I start draining my mental batteries pretty fast unless I have something to serve as a distraction.

I've been lucky that my sensory issues have never been really severe in the sense that I've never had any specific or odd triggers that would send me off into instant meltdown.

Social interaction wears me down the fastest. Being around people is a challenge but interacting with them is ten times more exhausting.
Having my hair down or in my face will drain me very quickly.
Talking on the phone is just as hard as in person if not more so.
I have very few television programs that I enjoy and leave the music off while driving for long periods.
Unomfortable clothes (can't handle tight clothes), make-up, and jewelry are draining. I am so impressed by people that handle this with ease.
Lack of sleep or exhaustion from overwork.
Being on a bus (closed space, constant voices, smelly exhaust).

All the time -
Sound - I have huge issues with sound /misophonia to the point that I wear earphones or earplugs most of the time. But my hearing is so acute that I can often hear through them (really must get noise cancelling headphones, but damn they're expensive). Any loud noises, shrill / high pitch noises, sudden noises, whispering, constant din such as fridges cooling / fish tank filters etc, mouth noises primarily slurping, sucking, chewing, anything involving spit noises, anything with the mouth that is not speaking I can't stand it.
I once read an article on misophonia somewhere that theorized that the sound information is rerouted via an auditory processing disorder through the fight / flight areas of the brain, and that is how I respond to most sound. Even if I know intellectually it is benign, it is still perceived as a threat, and reacted to via an involuntary instinct. Like snatching your hand off a burning hotplate. You can't control this.

Touch - being touched and the threat of being touched, especially by people who I have told not to touch me and that I don't like to be touched, and they continue to do so. I also can't stand anything restrictive on my body, such as tight clothing or smothering like blankets that exert pressure on my skin.

Heat - can get overwhelmed by uncontrolled heat, including that generated by my own body when exercising. Can only do so in very cool spaces / not wearing much so my body can be kept cool enough. Can't regulate heat properly.

Light - bright light, fluro light, halogen light, dramatic contrasts between light (re pricks in oncoming traffic who refuse to turn down their highbeams on dark nights).

At the moment - other people. I just can't deal with other people at the moment and their very presence is too much.

Sound - the volume and speed of announcers in news and advertisements on the radio and television.

Sight - trying to scan and find an object or information located in a visually cluttered background; contrast in lighting (i.e. a bright light in a dark room).

Smell - perfume; scented candles, oils, air fresheners; household cleaners.

Taste - slimy textures; mixed textures (e.g. Orbitz soft drink, jello with fruit).

Touch - not having my hair pulled back in a ponytail; using make-up, lotion, or chapstick on my face; clothing that is too small or too big.

Vestibular - elevators; navigating through a crowd.

Proprioceptive - loud engines or loud music (except when played through headphones).

_________________
31st of July, 2013
Diagnosed: Autism Spectrum Disorder, Auditory-Verbal Processing Speed Disorder, and Visual-Motor Processing Speed Disorder.

Weak Emerging Social Communicator (The Social Thinking-­Social Communication Profile by Michelle Garcia Winner, Pamela Crooke and Stephanie Madrigal)

"I am silently correcting your grammar."

Lots of people being noisy and/or doing lots of things at once. If I start to hand flap, I have to get out of there.

Any place that usues flourecent lights and has overally too much noise and too many different noises meshing together. Also going to many different enviroments in a short amount of time overloads me.

And when i get overloaded i dont get upset, i shut down. Which makes reflexes slower. Talking extremely difficult, figuring out how to do tasks WAY harder than usual, understanding language becomes a struggle.

Being in crowds like restaurants or parties where there are heaps of conversations going on at once I find pretty overwhelming. Especially if I have to talk to someone as I find it impossible to process conversation with all that background noise.

Loud, crowded places, usually.

Bright lights and loud noises, dishes clanking, women laughing (not sure why, but one this makes me want to scream) I have to get ear plugs or get out! Light touches, even after 42 years my mother cannot get this. I have to stand at least four feet away from her. Too many loud conversations indoors and being too cold. Some fabrics are out, like corduroy and velvet (ick!!) and music loud enough that I can feel in my chest is really bad, too.

The sound of loud chewing, any sudden loud sound nearby, being touched suddenly, small blinking or flashing lights, such as those that can be found on household appliances. I used to not like wearing denim at all, but now I'm fine with it.