Shopping is Torture

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Today I had to exchange something at a department store, then pick up a couple of things from WalMart. Sounds simple, but it never is. In order to exchange something, I had to find something else. This meant fitting room buzzer hell, a bunch of people asking me if they could help me when I clearly wanted to be left alone, and noise overstimulation. I had my children with me, four and two, both of whom are autistic. At the particular store I was in, there is a saleslady who I cannot stand who walks in and out of the fitting room tripping the buzzer over and over and over. She always does this. Today I snapped and went out there and told her that both of my children are autistic and she is torturing them, and if she didn't stop I was going to the manager and the corporate management to let them know how children with disabilities were being treated in their store. She stopped. I was already pretty rattled though, and my kids were bouncing nuts, covering their ears and stimming like mad.

Then WalMart. Screaming children, lights too loud, squeaky wheels. My daughter had lost all focus and kept walking into things and misbehaving. My son whined incessantly. I actually felt exhausted when I got home, everything hurt and everything was too loud and bright. The kids were nutty the entire evening, never calmed down after that.

Shopping sucks. I feel like I need a spa day, a massage and a four hour nap afterward. People ENJOY shopping!! !? Are they mad!?

Add to all that horror an inability to make decisions! I'll avoid shopping as much as I possibly can for as long as I can.

I frequent a smaller low-priced grocery store, thrift shops and do 75% of my shopping online anymore.

Since I have a major gas-hog of a vehicle the shipping fees are still normally less than me driving over 24 miles round trip and running to 3 different stores and still taking a chance of not finding what I want anyways. Gotta love those free shipping incentives for the holidays also. Haven't done the Christmas shopping crowded mess thing in years.

Wal-Mart is only pleasant if is open 24 hours and you can go in at about 11:30 pm or 1:00 am while wearing sunglasses for glare reduction.

Wal-Mart, and many other big-box stores are an autie's/aspie's worst nightmare. I cannot think of a worse place to be in then a big department store, and I can definitely sympathize with you. I try to avoid big-box stores at all costs, especially Wal-Marts. One of the biggest problems with modern big-box department stores is the open ceilings. In the past, stores were built with acoustical tile that would dampen the noise, nowadays, with the open ceilings, noise reverberates and transmits throughout the store. Also in these stores, fluroescent lighting, which was already bad enough is replaced with mecury-vapour lamps. Still, sometimes I frequently encounter poorly maintained lighting that flickers and strobes and drives me crazy. The checkout lines are probably the worst. Most store managers don't care how long the lines get at the registers, and with all the infernal beeping and buzzing, it's just too much! Add to the annoyance is the stores that always seem to be out of a product and the don't care attitude that management has.

I remember seeing an ad for a refrigerator I wanted at Best-Buy. I drove up there the day the sale started after Christmas last year, and walked in when the store opened. Would you believe they were out of the fridge already!! ! They must have purposely sold them all off and didn't restock prior to the sale starting! They said they wouldn't get another shipment till mid-January and the sale would be off by then. I went to a local appliance shop and they had 6 of the same fridge in stock, and their everyday price was similar to Best-Buy's "sale" price. The store was nice and well organized, and didn't have all the noise of 100 TVs all on different stations!

You might want to change where and when you shop for a more pleasant experience.

For one, I avoid the big-box department stores at all costs and will find a smaller specialty store that has the same product. It may involve a bit more running around, but at least you can maintain your sanity. For groceries, I found a locally owned supermarket to be a nice place in the evening. During the day it's busy, but at night, there's only the hum of the refrigerators, and some muzak playing on the PA system. Look for mini-strip malls where the stores are accessable from the outside too. These typically contain a variety of smaller, more specialized businesses that are considerably less chaotic inside. For example, I buy my vacuum cleaner bags and parts at a small Vac & sew shop nearby instead of buying them at the local home-depot or wal-mart. It also is nice getting a clerk you can carry on a conversation with and is truly happy you gave them your business!

Lastly, if all else fails, there always the old standby internet and mail-order shopping...my best friend!! ! I can browse pictures, specs , and prices in the comfort of my home and pick out the product I want without having to deal with pesky salespeople that really don't know the product anyways. A few days later, a truck arrives at my door and drops off my purchase. It's fun! Just like Santa Claus when the UPS truck shows up

What can I say? Shopping is my nemesis. I can't stand shopping. I go shopping for clothes once maybe every two years if that.

My father (who also has AS) once walked into a Wal-Mart. He brought a pencil and paper with him (this was back in the dinosaur age when there were no calculators) because he wanted to compare the prices of two different brands of the same product. As soon as an employee spotted him comparing the prices, he was immediately removed from the grounds.

It seems Wal-Mart's real motto is "Always low prices. Always...but you're gonna have to take our word for it."

^^I actually wanna try that and see if they kick me out too

shopping is torture, that caught my eye.

I hate shopping and know where things are and go for them like a pin ball in a pin ball machine bing , bing bing. . if I actually have to SHOP. . .I go nuts trying to avoid 'buyers' Remorse.

it has really changed now that I know I am probably AS. I prepare for it now. I rest up before I go, I have a time limit and I don't try to kill myself with finding 'bargains'. The moment I get a vibe that I am starting to stress, I knock it off.

It helps. Of course, I dont have kids and somthimes i make my own clothing.

Merle

I hate shopping too. Whenever I'm in a crowded store I feel really uncomfortable and start to get irked with people standing in my way. I hate being in stores so much that I always want to get everything I need and get out as quickly as possible. I always act polite, but I in the back of my mind I have this urge to start shoving people shopping carts out of my way. I even get annoyed about old ladies blocking my way through the isle. I think if I spent more than an hour in a WalMart I would eventually go postal. Does anyone else get this "store rage"?

Am I the only one who happens to love shopping? It's like an escape to me. I'm stuck in this house so much to the point where I'm going stir-crazy. The local mall is basically my heaven. All of the employees I know of are very nice to me and they absolutely love it when I come in (even if I don't buy something). If I could stay in a mall for twenty-four hours, I totally would! I don't have sensory issues, so that's probably a big plus for me though. As for Wal-Mart, my mom and I don't really go there too often because she finds it to be "cheap". Although we do get TV dinners there every now and again. But anyway, as I was saying, I absolutely love shopping!

If shopping is torture it might help the economy a bit if Guantanamo substituted shopping for water boarding. I'm sure it would more conform to humane practices.

has anyone every encountered the desperate sales clerk in a clothing store? u know when u walk into a clothing store just before closing time and they have not made a sale all day, and you are it. they pressure you into buying anything possible. a total pain that is.

If going to the mall is torture for u but u have to go u should try going when it is less busy if possible. like a weekday morning during the school year. if that is not possible u could find smaller shops u like or shop online.

Yes. It is. That's why I hardly ever go. And even then it's only for necessities. Food etc. Coming home and unwinding - getting sane again -that's a trip in itself. It prolly takes me about 7 hours to collect myself *after* and find my center. It's that bad.

to make it worse,it's the half term break in uk as well [is it the same anywhere else?] all the children are off schools and crowding into supermarkets,malls etc and parents are taking the younger screamier ones out.