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ASD + PTSD - the sensory overload double whammy?

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PheonixDove
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30 Jul 2022, 7:03 am

I often wonder where my sensory overload issues come from. I'd say if I could alleviate any single "issue" that I have, it would be the sensory overload.

Sometimes I don't know what the problem is. Sometimes everything just feels so overwhelming, almost like all the sounds and sensations are seeping deep into my body and mind. Sometimes it just makes me feel ill or "strange". Perhaps they're pretty common descriptions of sensory overload.

I would be curious to find out how ASD and PTSD coexist and whether some symptoms can be "superimposed". I will do some research on it.



TwilightPrincess
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30 Jul 2022, 12:13 pm

I think that the two things can trigger each other. If I’m experiencing sensory overload, the anxiety could trigger my PTSD. Maybe having PTSD makes me more sensitive to triggers in the first place. It’s hard to say.



Diverse4Me
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23 Aug 2022, 11:26 am

I definitely think they can coexist, and ASD often in fact leads to PTSD.

I tend to take people at face value too much and trust people and get taken advantage of too often as well.

This includes people I have lived with, and manipulations etc... realising them over time, and each one builds layers on layers and eventually everything is that much more triggering.

IMHO :s


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BreathlessJade
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29 Aug 2022, 2:37 pm

i never thought of sensory being affected by ptsd but it makes perfect sense. because i get overwhelmed on good and bad days.



Phoenix87x
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10 May 2023, 7:17 pm

I have both. The ASD I can work with, but wow is the PTSD awful.

Put together it can be a nasty mix


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IsabellaLinton
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10 May 2023, 7:32 pm

The triple whammy is to add ADHD so your brain hyperfixates on it.

The quad whammy is to have ASD, ADHD, PTSD, and CPTSD.

Then you're totally f'd.

Welcome to my brain! :mrgreen:

Oh, try adding Synaesthesia too, so all the senses and triggers are cross-wired and interwined.

:(


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kitesandtrainsandcats
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10 May 2023, 7:36 pm

This is of personal interest since I am autistic with cPTSD, and, have several family members who are military veterans with PTSD.

Sensory overload with PTSD is a known thing and has been known for some time.

I like to have references for things like this, so here is a reference,
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8085307/

Quote:
Critically, individuals with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) may experience emotion dysregulation, where heightened bodily sensations due to extreme fluctuations in arousal may promote dysregulated affect and impulsivity (Frewen and Lanius, 2006; Hopper et al., 2007; Lanius et al., 2010; American Psychiatric Association, 2013; Armour et al., 2014; Kimble et al., 2014; Powers et al., 2015; Williamson et al., 2015; Miles et al., 2016). Here, altered processing of affective bodily sensations during extreme stress may have negative cascading effects on an individual’s ability to interpret external signals in the environment (Figure 2), thereby limiting one’s capacity to process multiple sources of sensory information simultaneously.


:arrow: Note:
Quote:
In this review, we propose that traumatized individuals may have a limited capacity to perform multisensory integration,



And from what I'm going to term an experiential instead of science lab source,
https://www.healingfromcomplextraumaand ... nformation

Quote:
POST TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER - PTSD & SENSORY PROCESSING

The PTSD brain is highly sensitive to all sensory processing and stimuli.

This includes noise, visual, lighting, smell etc.

This is because the PTSD brain is stuck on full alert.

So, places like shopping centres/malls can be a nightmare for the PTSD sufferer, especially for someone with severe PTSD (there is a PTSD continuum).

Shopping centres is a good example, as the visual stimuli of the shops and all the people, the competing noises, the lighting, the music, all overloads the PTSD brain.

On bad days, I cannot tolerate shopping centres, and have often left after 10 minutes with a headache and feeling very irritable and anxiety rising.

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, is all about managing these symptoms.


:arrow: That thing about shopping centers, stores, checkout lines at Walmart, would include my brother, now a retired Army W4

And from what I'm going to term a medical reporting and promotional source,
https://www.verywellhealth.com/autism-a ... oad-259892

Quote:
Sensory overload is a term commonly associated with autism but can also be applied to other disorders like post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).


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kitesandtrainsandcats
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10 May 2023, 7:37 pm

IsabellaLinton wrote:
Welcome to my brain! Oh, try adding Synaesthesia too, so all the senses and triggers are cross-wired and interwined.


You aren't one to do things by half measures, are ya!


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Persephone29
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19 May 2023, 8:50 pm

Ear plugs are the best! They don't take everything away, but they take away enough to allow a person to have some time to narrow down what else may be too much.


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BreathlessJade
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30 May 2023, 1:36 am

IsabellaLinton wrote:
The triple whammy is to add ADHD so your brain hyperfixates on it.

The quad whammy is to have ASD, ADHD, PTSD, and CPTSD.

Then you're totally f'd.

Welcome to my brain! :mrgreen:

Oh, try adding Synaesthesia too, so all the senses and triggers are cross-wired and interwined.

:(

i think i'm experiencing the triple whammy along with a disturbance in my high blood pressure medicine (which i'm now back on track). I'm just a wreck these days. what actually feels good is allowing the dysfunction to run it's course and i guess let my body be sloppy, stimming, and just distant. i feel a huge urge to act out in front of my family (that for the most part, lacks the capacity to be genuinely supportive without being toxic.) I want to just be as ugly and nonresponsive as possible. one can dream.