What is overstimulation like for you?

[Kalinychta]

When you become overstimulated, how does your behavior change?

If you’re able to withdraw a bit from day-to-day life and wait for the overstimulation to pass, how do you feel during that period? Sad, frustrated, low on energy, calm and withdrawn, quiet, angry, etc.? Do you sleep more?

How long does the feeling of overstimulation last before you feel normal again?

 

[Nervous Rex]

It drains my energy. If it keeps up, I get irritable.

 

[Suzette]

I have been known to have a melt down before I even realize I am over stimulated.

But when I do notice / recognize my deteriorating state I can only tell you that I feel like a bowl of tangled, sticky, fuzzy string. In that state I can only shut down if I catch it before meltdown. Sometimes I can walk but mostly I just turn off all thought. I might sleep or just be.

I can usually find some semblance of "normal" in about a day. But two days is often true. And once, a week!

 

[Luca]

If I’m getting overstimulated I generally just feel cranky.

 

[Aspychata]

Feel a bit over-charged like a live-wire. But l just relax, think that oops, time to move out of the situation. I refuse to go to an Italian restaurant that my mom loves because it's outdoors but you are right with the traffic and they have people sit together cafeteria style and the acoustics are just horrible and cute dogs are out in the patio and are also over-stimulated and complaining.

 

[Fino]

Upon reading the thread title, my first thought was the time I took more Adderall than humans are supposed to take.

But to actually answer, I feel calm and quiet with not a whole lot of emotion, and if it's overstimulation from a single event, then one night of being alone can be enough. But when I used to have to recover from an entire semester of near-constant activity and socializing, I would need a matter of weeks to recover, wherein I accomplish very little and maybe even watch TV or movies, which I normally don't do at all.

 

[Kalinychta]

Upon reading the thread title, my first thought was the time I took more Adderall than humans are supposed to take.

But to actually answer, I feel calm and quiet with not a whole lot of emotion, and if it's overstimulation from a single event, then one night of being alone can be enough. But when I used to have to recover from an entire semester of near-constant activity and socializing, I would need a matter of weeks to recover, wherein I accomplish very little and maybe even watch TV or movies, which I normally don't do at all.

Have you ever been diagnosed with bipolar disorder but it probably is just overstimulation?

 

[Fino]

Have you ever been diagnosed with bipolar disorder but it probably is just overstimulation?

I've been consistently diagnosed with bipolar all my life, meaning 5-10 doctors concluded the same thing and 1 doctor concluded otherwise. But it could still possibly be overstimulation, given the timing and the apparent direct reaction to stimulation, or it could be even a combination of the two!

 

[Kalinychta]

I've been consistently diagnosed with bipolar all my life, meaning 5-10 doctors concluded the same thing and 1 doctor concluded otherwise. But it could still possibly be overstimulation, given the timing and the apparent direct reaction to stimulation, or it could be even a combination of the two!

Have you found mood stabilizers helpful?

 

[Fino]

Have you found mood stabilizers helpful?

Extraordinarily. Lithium takes 90% of the painful drama out of my life.

 

[Kalinychta]

Extraordinarily. Lithium takes 90% of the painful drama out of my life.

Are you serious? Wow. Have you experienced any side effects? And does it change your personality?

 

[Fino]

Are you serious? Wow. Have you experienced any side effects? And does it change your personality?

I'm apparently extraordinary, and it must be a factor in why I recommend medications so frequently, but I was put on 5 meds, one at a time, months apart, and I had no noticeable side effects from any of them. I just became happier, less anxious, and way less reactive. The first time I've ever experienced side effects was just a few weeks ago when I tried trazodone, which caused disturbing hypnogogic hallucinations, then the same problem with propranolol. I'm constantly warned about terrifying side effects that never happen. Maybe that will change in the future.

Prior to medication, I would often shut down where I couldn't talk for hours or the rest of the day, maybe self-harm, and that hasn't happened a single time since starting lithium.

 

[Kalinychta]

I'm apparently extraordinary, and it must be a factor in why I recommend medications so frequently, but I was put on 5 meds, one at a time, months apart, and I had no noticeable side effects from any of them. I just became happier, less anxious, and way less reactive. The first time I've ever experienced side effects was just a few weeks ago when I tried trazodone, which caused disturbing hypnogogic hallucinations, then the same problem with propranolol. I'm constantly warned about terrifying side effects that never happen. Maybe that will change in the future.

Prior to medication, I would often shut down where I couldn't talk for hours or the rest of the day, maybe self-harm, and that hasn't happened a single time since starting lithium.

Oh my goodness, hypnagogic hallucinations are so disturbing. Did you get off the med?

I have an appointment with a psychiatrist on April 4, but I’m really, really feeling so nervous to go through with it. Like you, I’ve been diagnosed with bipolar a few times in the past, but I suspect that they were misdiagnoses and that overstimulation is actually the cause of my rise-and-falls. I’m worried that my personality and imagination may be suffocated if I take mood stabilizers. Have you found this to be the case? Have medications changed or stifled you in ways that you didn’t/don’t really like?

 

[Owliet]

Depends on the levels of overstimulation and the situation

phase 1: maybe a little anxious or over talkative
Phase 2: abrupt and grouchy.
Phase 3 : tired, emotionally, mentally and sometimes physically exhausted. This is the time I need to get away to reset if possible otherwise it leads to
Phase 4: meltdown

 

[Fino]

Oh my goodness, hypnagogic hallucinations are so disturbing. Did you get off the med?

I have an appointment with a psychiatrist on April 4, but I’m really, really feeling so nervous to go through with it. Like you, I’ve been diagnosed with bipolar a few times in the past, but I suspect that they were misdiagnoses and that overstimulation is actually the cause of my rise-and-falls. I’m worried that my personality and imagination may be suffocated if I take mood stabilizers. Have you found this to be the case? Have medications changed or stifled you in ways that you didn’t/don’t really like?

Yeah, I quickly got off the med.

I don't know if the cause of the rises and falls is necessarily relevant. Medications still act the same way in the brain, as far as I know.

If you consider me reacting histrionically to people on a regular basis as a part of my personality, then they did change my personality. But I, and no one I know, has noticed any change in the way you mean it. I'm sure a lot of people's side-effect complaints are invented by their mind and not the drug, just as about 40% of people in studies will be successfully treated by a placebo. And I haven't noticed a change in my imagination. I write more than ever and my daydreams are wild.

 

[Kalinychta]

Yeah, I quickly got off the med.

I don't know if the cause of the rises and falls is necessarily relevant. Medications still act the same way in the brain, as far as I know.

If you consider me reacting histrionically to people on a regular basis as a part of my personality, then they did change my personality. But I, and no one I know, has noticed any change in the way you mean it. I'm sure a lot of people's side-effect complaints are invented by their mind and not the drug, just as about 40% of people in studies will be successfully treated by a placebo. And I haven't noticed a change in my imagination. I write more than ever and my daydreams are wild.

Thank you!! That’s incredibly helpful. (And I’m really glad the meds mellowed you out!)

 

[LuxLuca]

I don't like the way it feels when I'm overstimulated. I never notice it straight away, I usually get asked if I'm overstimulated and get this lightbulb moment of 'oh, I might actually be yeah'.

I get rather cranky when I'm overstimulated because I feel this pressure to do something (anything, god knows what) but also just feel.. incapable. My brain is all fuzzy and my thoughts and plans just don't form, it's all just mush. I just know that I feel very negative and numb, but I wouldn't be able to explain exactly what I'm feeling.

When it clicks I just surrender to the feelings to a reasonable measure and treat myself. It just takes time.

 

[Aleya]

When you become overstimulated, how does your behavior change?

How long does the feeling of overstimulation last before you feel normal again?

I usually feel nauseous and tired, but other times I get very irritable.
It takes about a few minutes to half an hour away from the stimulus to feel normal again.
I used to confuse this feeling with anxiety and thought that the reason I didn't feel fear is because I was repressing it and it turned into a psychosomatic experience instead. However, I am coming to a realization that might not be the case. :'3

 

[Kisa the tea]

I shut down and i need to reset. If im at home that means taking a nap or putting on one of my favourite videos while i lay down. By the time i wake from a nap im usually better.

If im not at home then i try to get to a private spot and sit for a bit. Then hurry back home.