Any other Aspies feel like this?

[Patrick Stark]

Hi, I've been struggling for the past 5/6 years with dealing with sensory overloading and just not being able to stop thinking about everything that pops into my head so it all stacks up. This means that I'm constantly thinking about a lot of things all the time. I find myself having headaches and unable to sleep. I'm really sensitive to sounds and smells. I don't have any friends and keep to myself in school so I have less to think about. It just feels like I'm trying to work out all the variables to everything at once.

I was just wondering if anyone else had the same sort of problem and if they had any ideas on how to help out?

Thanks, Patrick.

 

[Kari Suttle]

Is it more like anxiety or more like a lot of stress constantly? I've dealt with both. For me, the only thing that really helps is making sure to have time to myself, just myself, at the end of every day to just do whatever, relax, and know that no one will bother me. It helps a lot. I've noticed even simply drinking less soda, eating a little healthier, and getting enough sleep helps my ability to handle stress and sensory overload. Its like if i'm sleepy or eating mostly ramen/chips/etc that doubles my already bothersome stress and sensory issues. Its not much, i guess, but that's really all i have to say on it.

Another thing though - you mentioned thinking about a lot of things all the time. I get like that, and when I'm at work and something comes up in my head i'll tell myself "No we can think about that later, now its time to work." and i'll literally tell myself 'tonight after work we can think about this and figure it out, but not right now.' And it helps. It doesn't say no i cant think about it, it postpones it and schedules it for a later date so that what's right in front of me is prioritized as it should be. I can generally only do that if its something really bothersome though, something that would push me into a shutdown/meltdown position. And it has to be while i'm at work, if i'm home there's nothing external pressuring me to not think about it.

 

[RootingForUnderstanding]

Yes, I struggle with this very much too. One thing for falling asleep that sometimes works, is focusing on breathing. Relaaaaxing, loooong, sloooow breaths.

 

[Pondering]

Yes I have the exact as same problem. I start getting nervous breakdowns if noise is too loud or if there are too many sounds, lights, smells, and voices all at once. In a typical classroom environment, i find it difficult to focus and do my work properly. I can usually cope better by focusing on one thing; something familiar usually. I have found that looking at a fish tank helps, petting a dog/cat, listening to music/nature sounds on earphones, Or if I can, I will leave the room/area. For sleep, it helps to drink warm milk or chamomile tea and listening to soothing music softly. Sometimes actually playing an instrument for a few minutes before I go to sleep helps.

 

[Slothra]

I suffer from this quite a lot. It actually makes it difficult to fall asleep, no matter how tired I am. I'm on an anxiety medication at the moment (proud to say it's the only medication I need to take) and it's helped take the edge off. I end up staring into the darkness when I close my eyes, and leave a clock ticking so I can focus on that, which also help me get to sleep.

 

[Suzanne]

Yes!! I have been there, when my brain is on overload and the only solence, I got, was sleeping. I did not get headaches but felt a kind of, well, when someone is constantly rubbing one part of someone's skin, sort of thing and it was pretty unbearable. However, I have a very good friend, who is also an aspie, and we unravel our thoughts to each other and find that because we think much the same way, we really feel relief from just being able to talk. To get around tons of deviations, we say: hey, major change of subject here lol we often have random thoughts and now can laugh about them.

So yes, the key is to find someone you can ramble too

 

[Vinca]

dealing with sensory overloading

This means that I'm constantly thinking about a lot of things all the time. I find myself having headaches and unable to sleep.

I'm really sensitive to sounds and smells. I don't have any friends and keep to myself in school so I have less to think about. It just feels like I'm trying to work out all the variables to everything at once.

I was just wondering if anyone else had the same sort of problem and

if they had any ideas on how to help out?

Thanks, Patrick.

Hi Patrick. I experience not being able to stop thinking about everything that pops into my head so it all stacks up too. I have found the following helpful

Step 1
Tell myself "I'm busy right now, I can think about that later".

Step 2
If the thoughts persist, continue to tell myself "I'm busy right now, I can think about that later".

Step 3
Take the time to express the thoughts that have been repeatedly going through my mind.

Sometimes Step 1 is enough to stop a thought from repeatedly running through my mind and at other times it takes Step two aswel or Step 2 and 3 to deal with the thoughts.

I find that I need to see the thoughts in a form that allows me to better process them in order for them to stop repeating. Drawing a sticklady, to represent me, in the centre of an A4 sheet, then creating a spider diagram of all the thoughts that have been going through my mind, enables me to get the thoughts out of my head and into a form that allows me to see what I have been thinking about more clearly.

Some of the thoughts that clog up my mind only need to be expressed in order to prevent them from continuing to clog up my mind. There are other thoughts however, that require more attention or they will just continue to return. For example, if there is a situation that requires a descision, then writing out pros and cons can help.

Some thoughts are intertwined with emotions, which I can't process in my head. I find it possible to identify and process my emotions by expressing them through drawn pictures and written words. I've also tried speaking my thoughts into a voice recorder and listening back to them but I didn't find this as effective for me.

Taking time to allow my mind to relax can also aid in preventing my mind from constantly thinking and trying to work out all the variables.

- watching a slideshow of images that make me feel relaxed.
- watching nature programs that are primarily shots of the natural world, with no human drama, and a voice over that is essentially describing what is on the screen.
-performing a repatative task such as knitting, making friendship bracelets, oragami or counting out coins.
-activities that are completely absorbing but that aren't exciting or adrenaline inducing eg watching a movie, sudoku, crossword etc.

I use ear defenders and/or ear plugs to cut down auditory stimuli. There are noise cancelling head phones which I've heard can help but I've not tried them myself.

 

[Aspergirl4hire]

Yep. My counselor calls this "deathcake." We spent weeks working on it. It's getting better but I can still get ambushed by it.