My sensory weirdness!

[heyitsalice]

Hi! Alice here and I want to talk about sensory fixations/issues etc.

I think the first thing my psychiatrist noticed about me that lead her to think I could be autistic were my sensory issues and fixations. I feel like I masked them very good for years so today I am here to finally talk about them.

I love white noises. They calm down a lot. I also love some specific noises. The hairdryier and the air cooler are some examples. I can literally fall asleep listening to them, they calm me down and they make me feel safe. I know some autistic people find them overly annoying but for me is the opposite!

I also have something with foods with plain and predictable textures. Mashed potatoes, marshmallows, baby food, veggie cream, purees, ice cream, frozen fruits puree (I literally eat this one every day) etc. Do you have any safe food/texture?

There is also noises that make me wanna become a little ball and hide. The sound of plates and utensils crashing, people eating, when Manu people talk at the same time etc. I just wanna cry and hide.

I felt weird all my life because of this.

What about you? Do you have any sensory fixations/issues? I would love to know! Also my dm's are always Open if anyone needs a friend ❤

Love y'all!
-Alice.

 

[Luca]

I’m exactly the same with white noise! I love hairdryers, showers, air conditioners, etc and I sleep with a white noise machine.

 

[Princess Viola]

I basically need some level of white noise to sleep. I don't have a white noise machine, so I just have my fan running at night to produce the white noise for me (it gives the added bonus of also moving the air around in my room), but if I'm travelling, I'll use the AC fan in the hotel room instead.

I also need to be holding onto something soft to sleep as well and I just like and get soothed by soft things in general. Think the softness of plushies and things like that, it's why I sleep with and hug stuffed animals. Hell even when I'm in a bad mood, I'll start holding onto one of my plushies because the texture genuinely does make me feel better. I just love the feeling as I rub my hands on them or hug them.

As far as sensory issues go, well I'll just say the big one for me: the noises of people and everything in a store. Literally all of it. The buzzing of the florescent lights, the sounds of everyone talking, the noises of the shopping carts, the PA system, it's all too much. I genuinely cannot understand how people can handle it. It's all so overwhelming and I have started to use my earbuds in stores to try and block the noise as best as I can because I will otherwise have to start covering my ears to prevent myself from becoming overstimulated by all of it. I can just barely handle stores when there's nearly no one there (like if I were to go to Publix first thing in the morning shortly after opening and there's barely anyone there? Yeah, I can deal with that just fine. But anything else? Aaaaaaaah). I went to a shopping mall a bit after Christmas and even though the mall wasn't even remotely packed, it was still so loud and noisy for me and I forgot my earbuds at home so I had to cover my ears with my hands and I must ask again: are other people seriously not bothered by this?

ALSO IDK if this counts as a sensory issue or not but being touched by other people. Like that is genuinely and 100% one of the worst things for me. I can just barely handle handshakes but literally any other physical contact is uncomfortable at best and 'I am literally screaming internally for you to stop touching me OMG I am going to scream if you do not stop touching me' at worst. Even something as minor as someone accidentally brushing their hand against my arm makes my flight or fight response basically kick in for a second and I will shake because of just how bothersome and uncomfortable I find it.

 

[Au Naturel]

Loud and chaotic situations drive me nuts. Like being in a busy Chuck-e-Cheese. Or a nightclub/bar with loud music and people shouting to be heard over it. Or a slot machine arcade. I'll say, "Sorry, can't handle the noise." and then leave.

OTOH, my tinnitus recently suddenly got a lot louder. So now I'm into white background noise. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't.

 

[Human Avatar]

Hi! Alice here and I want to talk about sensory fixations/issues etc.

I think the first thing my psychiatrist noticed about me that lead her to think I could be autistic were my sensory issues and fixations. I feel like I masked them very good for years so today I am here to finally talk about them.

I love white noises. They calm down a lot. I also love some specific noises. The hairdryier and the air cooler are some examples. I can literally fall asleep listening to them, they calm me down and they make me feel safe. I know some autistic people find them overly annoying but for me is the opposite!

I also have something with foods with plain and predictable textures. Mashed potatoes, marshmallows, baby food, veggie cream, purees, ice cream, frozen fruits puree (I literally eat this one every day) etc. Do you have any safe food/texture?

There is also noises that make me wanna become a little ball and hide. The sound of plates and utensils crashing, people eating, when Manu people talk at the same time etc. I just wanna cry and hide.

The sounds of high frequencies destroy me. Utensils , plates , chalkboards , I used to cry and scream @school when a teacher wrote on the chalk board.

Also people chewing makes me cringe and my dog licking herself drives me crazy. Neon lights and bright lights also . All those things really put me on edge . So I have very dim lighting in my house . And always wear noise canceling ear phones if i sense Sensory overload is happening.

Durning my hearing test , the doctors told me I hear 2 to 3 times more higher frequencies compared to the average person .

Also tags and certain fabrics with clothing make my skin crawl . I usually can only wear t-shirts

I felt weird all my life because of this.

What about you? Do you have any sensory fixations/issues? I would love to know! Also my dm's are always Open if anyone needs a friend ❤

Love y'all!
-Alice.

 

[Au Naturel]

Also tags and certain fabrics with clothing make my skin crawl . I usually can only wear t-shirts

Clothing in general does that to me. Unfortunately, nudity is usually impractical.

 

[Raggamuffin]

Running water, air con, microwaves, rain on windows and roofs, when the fridge door is open, fan on the bedside table in summer.

One noise that gets me though - we've had a few internet routers which make a constant, very high pitched noise which isn't too pleasant. But the biggest one for me is when too many people are talking. Happened yesterday in a small room at work, with 3 conversations going at once and I noticed a sudden increase in volume in the room. I felt rather claustrophobic and tense.

Ed

 

[Georgia Galaxy]

Hi! Alice here and I want to talk about sensory fixations/issues etc.

I think the first thing my psychiatrist noticed about me that lead her to think I could be autistic were my sensory issues and fixations. I feel like I masked them very good for years so today I am here to finally talk about them.

I love white noises. They calm down a lot. I also love some specific noises. The hairdryier and the air cooler are some examples. I can literally fall asleep listening to them, they calm me down and they make me feel safe. I know some autistic people find them overly annoying but for me is the opposite!

I also have something with foods with plain and predictable textures. Mashed potatoes, marshmallows, baby food, veggie cream, purees, ice cream, frozen fruits puree (I literally eat this one every day) etc. Do you have any safe food/texture?

There is also noises that make me wanna become a little ball and hide. The sound of plates and utensils crashing, people eating, when Manu people talk at the same time etc. I just wanna cry and hide.

I felt weird all my life because of this.

What about you? Do you have any sensory fixations/issues? I would love to know! Also my dm's are always Open if anyone needs a friend ❤

Love y'all!
-Alice.

I do find certain types of white noises annoying in video form, yet I can tolerate loud noises irl ,. I love ocean sounds in white noise videos <3 I LOVE predictable textures. Chocolate chip cookies, chips, tea every morning, even coffee. I've wanted to drink coffee for years. It's all yummy except for the few foods that I don't like, I can eat most foods <3. I can totally understand the crying and hiding bit, been there before. If you can't desensitize, that's okay. But I have so I'm used to loud noises and prepared for disruptions Also you're certainly not weird with your sensories, you just have different preferences and thresholds ^^

 

[Progster]

My sensitivities are mostly about noise, in particular high frequencies. I can't bear things like kids screaming, motorbikes, dogs barking at a high pitch. I find it hard to tune out unwanted noise, so noise can really drive me crazy.

As for food, I'm the opposite: I crave new flavours and I'm ok with foods touching each other, as long as the flavours don't clash. Actually, I find a lot of popular foods boring. I like spicy and strong flavours. I'm sensitive to texture though, and do have some food I have a strong aversion to - lemon, eggs, tomatoes, gistle and fat in meat. I really like crunchy foods.

I don't like white LED or white florescent lights, I find them harsh and too bright.

When I was a child, my mum bought me some frilly dresses with elasticated cuffs and waist, but I refused to wear them. I always cut the labels out clothes. Nasty, scratchy things.

 

[DaisyRose]

Hi! Alice here and I want to talk about sensory fixations/issues etc.

I think the first thing my psychiatrist noticed about me that lead her to think I could be autistic were my sensory issues and fixations. I feel like I masked them very good for years so today I am here to finally talk about them.

I love white noises. They calm down a lot. I also love some specific noises. The hairdryier and the air cooler are some examples. I can literally fall asleep listening to them, they calm me down and they make me feel safe. I know some autistic people find them overly annoying but for me is the opposite!

I also have something with foods with plain and predictable textures. Mashed potatoes, marshmallows, baby food, veggie cream, purees, ice cream, frozen fruits puree (I literally eat this one every day) etc. Do you have any safe food/texture?

There is also noises that make me wanna become a little ball and hide. The sound of plates and utensils crashing, people eating, when Manu people talk at the same time etc. I just wanna cry and hide.

I felt weird all my life because of this.

What about you? Do you have any sensory fixations/issues? I would love to know! Also my dm's are always Open if anyone needs a friend ❤

Love y'all!
-Alice.

I really like plain foods with soft textures. I like to eat fruit that is mashed up without the hard peel. For example, I really love apple sauce it’s delicious along with the gogo squeez pouches. I don’t like eating the peel of the apple though it tastes horrible.

I like to have plain food that does not have a lot of toppings. People look at me like I’m a freak because I eat so plain. I have to say over the last year I have gotten better with adding different topping to different types of foods. I’m a very picky eater and I have been my whole life.

 

[SusanLR]

I need white noise or soft music to sleep.
It calms my thoughts and helps with tinnitus.

Too many sounds at once can make me feel spaced out.
Such as a lot of different conversations around me, city and traffic noises and certain stores have a different sound quality. The big box stores specifically.

I have texture issues with food and clothes.
The feel must be soft or I can't wear it. I also prefer no clothing at all when possible.
I don't like most crunchy foods. Prefer softer textured foods.

I also must have soft plush bedding and I like the feel of plush toys also.
So, those are my comfort items.

 

[autism-and-autotune]

Hi! Alice here and I want to talk about sensory fixations/issues etc.

I think the first thing my psychiatrist noticed about me that lead her to think I could be autistic were my sensory issues and fixations. I feel like I masked them very good for years so today I am here to finally talk about them.

I love white noises. They calm down a lot. I also love some specific noises. The hairdryier and the air cooler are some examples. I can literally fall asleep listening to them, they calm me down and they make me feel safe. I know some autistic people find them overly annoying but for me is the opposite!

I also have something with foods with plain and predictable textures. Mashed potatoes, marshmallows, baby food, veggie cream, purees, ice cream, frozen fruits puree (I literally eat this one every day) etc. Do you have any safe food/texture?

There is also noises that make me wanna become a little ball and hide. The sound of plates and utensils crashing, people eating, when Manu people talk at the same time etc. I just wanna cry and hide.

I felt weird all my life because of this.

What about you? Do you have any sensory fixations/issues? I would love to know! Also my dm's are always Open if anyone needs a friend ❤

Love y'all!
-Alice.

I have a lot of sensory issues; some of them worsen as the day goes on, or as I get hungry and run out of spoons. I can't stand wearing two layers of long sleeves with the under-layer being not over my skin while the over-layer is on my skin. I can't stand having dry hands. At night I dislike bright lights (like cars with those super bright LED headlights) and I also dislike loud noises. When falling asleep I must have earplugs in and something covering my eyes.

There's more than that...but it's the tip of the sensory iceberg for me. :/

 

[Angular Chap]

There is also noises that make me wanna become a little ball and hide. The sound of plates and utensils crashing, people eating

Also people chewing makes me cringe

Oh yes, Misophonia. Probably one of my strongest traits. Do people really need to make that much noise when they eat and drink? It's not an annoyance, it's a near meltdown starting issue, usually just brushed of as "oh, I'm just enjoying it."

Then I start to fell guilty about being angry at them.

 

[Judge]

Sure. For years now I've always used ambient white noises generated through my clock radio to help me to get to sleep, along with 10mg of melatonin. Whatever it takes to get by each night...

 

[heyitsalice]

I’m exactly the same with white noise! I love hairdryers, showers, air conditioners, etc and I sleep with a white noise machine.

OMG TWINS! I been thinking about getting a white noise machine. Are they a good option? I don't think I can sleep every night with the hairdryer

 

[heyitsalice]

I basically need some level of white noise to sleep. I don't have a white noise machine, so I just have my fan running at night to produce the white noise for me (it gives the added bonus of also moving the air around in my room), but if I'm travelling, I'll use the AC fan in the hotel room instead.

I also need to be holding onto something soft to sleep as well and I just like and get soothed by soft things in general. Think the softness of plushies and things like that, it's why I sleep with and hug stuffed animals. Hell even when I'm in a bad mood, I'll start holding onto one of my plushies because the texture genuinely does make me feel better. I just love the feeling as I rub my hands on them or hug them.

As far as sensory issues go, well I'll just say the big one for me: the noises of people and everything in a store. Literally all of it. The buzzing of the florescent lights, the sounds of everyone talking, the noises of the shopping carts, the PA system, it's all too much. I genuinely cannot understand how people can handle it. It's all so overwhelming and I have started to use my earbuds in stores to try and block the noise as best as I can because I will otherwise have to start covering my ears to prevent myself from becoming overstimulated by all of it. I can just barely handle stores when there's nearly no one there (like if I were to go to Publix first thing in the morning shortly after opening and there's barely anyone there? Yeah, I can deal with that just fine. But anything else? Aaaaaaaah). I went to a shopping mall a bit after Christmas and even though the mall wasn't even remotely packed, it was still so loud and noisy for me and I forgot my earbuds at home so I had to cover my ears with my hands and I must ask again: are other people seriously not bothered by this?

ALSO IDK if this counts as a sensory issue or not but being touched by other people. Like that is genuinely and 100% one of the worst things for me. I can just barely handle handshakes but literally any other physical contact is uncomfortable at best and 'I am literally screaming internally for you to stop touching me OMG I am going to scream if you do not stop touching me' at worst. Even something as minor as someone accidentally brushing their hand against my arm makes my flight or fight response basically kick in for a second and I will shake because of just how bothersome and uncomfortable I find it.

First oral thanks you so much

I basically need some level of white noise to sleep. I don't have a white noise machine, so I just have my fan running at night to produce the white noise for me (it gives the added bonus of also moving the air around in my room), but if I'm travelling, I'll use the AC fan in the hotel room instead.

I also need to be holding onto something soft to sleep as well and I just like and get soothed by soft things in general. Think the softness of plushies and things like that, it's why I sleep with and hug stuffed animals. Hell even when I'm in a bad mood, I'll start holding onto one of my plushies because the texture genuinely does make me feel better. I just love the feeling as I rub my hands on them or hug them.

As far as sensory issues go, well I'll just say the big one for me: the noises of people and everything in a store. Literally all of it. The buzzing of the florescent lights, the sounds of everyone talking, the noises of the shopping carts, the PA system, it's all too much. I genuinely cannot understand how people can handle it. It's all so overwhelming and I have started to use my earbuds in stores to try and block the noise as best as I can because I will otherwise have to start covering my ears to prevent myself from becoming overstimulated by all of it. I can just barely handle stores when there's nearly no one there (like if I were to go to Publix first thing in the morning shortly after opening and there's barely anyone there? Yeah, I can deal with that just fine. But anything else? Aaaaaaaah). I went to a shopping mall a bit after Christmas and even though the mall wasn't even remotely packed, it was still so loud and noisy for me and I forgot my earbuds at home so I had to cover my ears with my hands and I must ask again: are other people seriously not bothered by this?

ALSO IDK if this counts as a sensory issue or not but being touched by other people. Like that is genuinely and 100% one of the worst things for me. I can just barely handle handshakes but literally any other physical contact is uncomfortable at best and 'I am literally screaming internally for you to stop touching me OMG I am going to scream if you do not stop touching me' at worst. Even something as minor as someone accidentally brushing their hand against my arm makes my flight or fight response basically kick in for a second and I will shake because of just how bothersome and uncomfortable I find it.

Hi! first of all thank you so much for taking the time to write about your experiences. It means a lot to me! ❤
the white noise thing apparently is more common than I thought! That makes me feel good lol.
Wow, the stores thing sounds very difficult mostly because well we all need to go to the store sometimes. Here in my country some stores have "quiet time" is like an hour without music and darker lights! I have heard that some other countries have them too but I know they are the less. I think you are very brave for keep going to stores. I tend to hide to avoid overstimulation and for me is easier cause I don't have that many sensitivities. Anyways. I am so proud of you! ❤

 

[heyitsalice]

Oh yes, Misophonia. Probably one of my strongest traits. Do people really need to make that much noise when they eat and drink? It's not an annoyance, it's a near meltdown starting issue, usually just brushed of as "oh, I'm just enjoying it."

Then I start to fell guilty about being angry at them.

I feel so much what you said last. I also tend to feel guilty about being angry at people when they do things that overstimulate me. It's the worst feeling

 

[heyitsalice]

Sure. For years now I've always used ambient white noises generated through my clock radio to help me to get to sleep, along with 10mg of melatonin. Whatever it takes to get by each night...

OMG I LOVE THAT SONG! melatonin team here too! ❤

 

[heyitsalice]

I have a lot of sensory issues; some of them worsen as the day goes on, or as I get hungry and run out of spoons. I can't stand wearing two layers of long sleeves with the under-layer being not over my skin while the over-layer is on my skin. I can't stand having dry hands. At night I dislike bright lights (like cars with those super bright LED headlights) and I also dislike loud noises. When falling asleep I must have earplugs in and something covering my eyes.

There's more than that...but it's the tip of the sensory iceberg for me. :/

I can't imagine how hard could be the clothing issue! What do you do in cold temperatures?

When I feel too overwhelmed I tend to sleep with a little wet towel in my eyes but then I hate the pillow getting wet HAHHAHA

 

[heyitsalice]

I really like plain foods with soft textures. I like to eat fruit that is mashed up without the hard peel. For example, I really love apple sauce it’s delicious along with the gogo squeez pouches. I don’t like eating the peel of the apple though it tastes horrible.

I like to have plain food that does not have a lot of toppings. People look at me like I’m a freak because I eat so plain. I have to say over the last year I have gotten better with adding different topping to different types of foods. I’m a very picky eater and I have been my whole life.

I get you so much! I can eat hard peels when I am in a good day but when I feel overwhelmed or I want comfort I have to eat plain and predictable foods! I don't think you are a freak! We just have better taste HAHAHAHA ❤