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Do your sensory issues fluctuate in intensity?

LilyJo

LilyJo

Active Member
Hello!

I seem to be going through a rough patch at the moment. My light and sound sensitivities are so intense that I'm ending up shaking and in tears most days. What is confusing to me is that they never used to be this bad?! This hasn't been helped by the loud christmas music and general high spirits of my work colleagues. I don't want to be a misery and shout at them to be quiet but I don't know how much more of it I can take. Does anyone else get fluctuations in the levels of any sort of sensitivity? Please tell me it settles down!

Thankyou LJ
 
My sensory issues are much worse when I have migraines, or when I was exposed to triggers for prolonged period of time without a break. Stress increase can also make you more sensitive. You might want to think about possible causes of the increase and, for me, sensory breaks help tremendously. You need to pinpoint the moment when you're not too overwhelmed and try to withdraw yourself or... do whatever works for you. For me it's alone time, nap, fidgeting with domething. I've heard weight blankets can help. As for settling down... it's hard to say because I don't know what the cause is. If it's a part of Asperger's, then you just need to find a way to adjust, unless you want yo start taking some medication.
 
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Hello Lily Jo

I find some days worse than others; I guess depending on my overall mood at the time! But for me, since I do not go out to work, I do not have to deal with what you are going through, but do find it almost intolerable when out shopping! As it happens, lol I would be called a proper scrooge because I do not celebrate this festival at all; used to before I became a christian, and so glad, to have an excuse to shut it all out!

Does your boss (ess) know of your issue? If not, might it be worth you mentioning and you could say that your work productivity is suffering and so, it would be worth THEIR while to move you to somewhere peaceful, until the rush is over?

Well, the xmas season of course will settle down, once 25th is over, so really, you ought to try and sort this out, before you, well might lose your job, but if that is not too much of a concern, then.....!
 
Hey LilyJo, I've observed over time that my issues fluctuate; like dropping stones in a pond and having to ride the ripples.. more sensitive & emotional, then less, then more.. then along comes another stone.
As epath13 says, try to identify the causes.. the stones and withdraw, if possible, when you feel the overload coming.
I like to think positively; the next 'up' time will be along presently :)
 
Hey LilyJo, I've observed over time that my issues fluctuate; like dropping stones in a pond and having to ride the ripples.. more sensitive & emotional, then less, then more.. then along comes another stone.
As epath13 says, try to identify the causes.. the stones and withdraw, if possible, when you feel the overload coming.
I like to think positively; the next 'up' time will be along presently :)
 
Yes they do fluctuate for me.

If I'm not spending enough time doing activities which specifically help me to relax or if I am experiencing ongoing high-stress circumstances I do become much more noise and light sensitive. Also, I quite like adrenaline inducing films and activites but I end up in an over alert state where I seem to overly aware of noises and very jumpy. Once the circustances which contribute to increased sensitivity have stopped/changed, I usually find that things eventually go back to normal.
 
They aren't as bad as they have been about 2 years ago, but then again, I pretty much eliminated every single thing that only has a slight hint of "I don't like it" out of my life. Cleary makes my life more zen in that regard.

I only attend events when I want to, not when I need to, and obviously, being out of a job and being able to sit home 24/7 doing whatever I want in an environment that suits me helps a lot.

But I don't know how bad they will spike up again when I reach that point where I need to actively be involved with employment and life as such.

Best example for me perhaps is light sensitivity; it's winter now, days are really short. Add in that I often sleep during the day, I might miss all the sunlight and I go to bed at sunrise and wake up at sundown. I don't really need to haul my shades around living like this. Winter does take a bit of a part in sensitivity issues I reckon.
 
Yes. I've noticed that the more stressed out i am, the less sleep i get, the worse sensory issues get for me. Even on a good day, a long, particularly trying day of work can wear me down enough for sound to become an issue (sound's my only big issue.) I find that as things wear down, and i make a concerted effort to get enough sleep and make sure i eat enough (cause when i'm really stressed i tend to lose my appetite)...it'll get better on its own.
 
Thankyou all for your very helpful replies.

Epath, already have a weighted blanket - don't know what I'd do without it! Really not keen on medications as have tried various ones in the past and the side effects were awful. There have been a lot of changes at work, may be that's stressing me out more than I'd realised?

Suzanne: yay a fellow Scrooge! I don't have a problem with christmas in general but just don't get why it has to be so loud and bright! My boss only knows that I have anxiety problems. I'm not officially diagnosed so not really sure what to tell them. I don't want to commit professional suicide because they don't understand what AS is... I don't want to be viewed as a liability as I love my job.

Spiller: thankyou I like that attitude: Hang on in there until the next up! I should write that down to look at always!

Vinca: its looking more and more like I need to try identify what has triggered this and see if can remove some of it.

King oni: That sounds lovely. Unfortunately need to work so I've got to find a way around this...

Kari: I think you're right about the sleep issue. I'm exhausted. Have a few days off so think will try to get as much sleep as possible and go from there.
 
Yes, I find that they do fluctuate quite a bit. If I have a migraine or I'm stressed or tired they become a lot worse - or my tolerance level is a lot lower. At certain times of the month is can get really bad: PMT + AS, bad combination.

I've started to always take earplugs with me when I go out, as well as an mp3 player and headphones. These help with noise issues. I'm not particularly light sensitive, for me sound and touch are the main issues, but I find that wearing sunglasses can help to calm me down as well as preventing headaches from strong light exposure.
 
When I do not get any time by myself for long periods of time I find I have a really really bad time and sensory issues as well as other issues get much worse and more obvious. Everything seems harder, I can't go into any shop for more than about 2 mins before I feel I need to run out. I also can't deal with listening to people talking to me or fluorescent lighting. When all of these things add up and happen at the same time they make each other worse. And by the end of the day I'm so wound up, I can't settle, my hands are flapping and I'm often rocking. Usually I never rock or hand-flap. And things tend to break in my presence. Not great.
 
Aye, mine fluctuate too. The main one I have to deal with is when I get ready to get out of bed. My back and stomach are highly moody about the temperature and when they're in a bad mood they make me pay if I don't keep them warm. I've also noticed some mornings it may take me a few hours for my eyes to wake up enough I can turn on any kind of light, whether opening a curtain or turning on a computer.

I have no idea what to do about hyper coworkers. I've mostly worked solitary jobs where I could just go back to work to get away from them.
 
LilyJo said:
Hello!

I seem to be going through a rough patch at the moment. My light and sound sensitivities are so intense that I'm ending up shaking and in tears most days. What is confusing to me is that they never used to be this bad?! This hasn't been helped by the loud christmas music and general high spirits of my work colleagues. I don't want to be a misery and shout at them to be quiet but I don't know how much more of it I can take. Does anyone else get fluctuations in the levels of any sort of sensitivity? Please tell me it settles down!

Thankyou LJ
Click to expand...

Sorry to hear about how bad things are for you at the moment! I'm the same, although perhaps not quite at the shaking and intears stage. I just wanted to comment on what you said about it being worse than it used to be. I found the same thing, and what I discovered is that stress dictates the severity of my sensitivity, particularly with sound. The older I got living with Asperger's, my tolerance for stress lessened, and consequently my sensory issues became worse. I know precisely what you mean about wanting to yell at people, I've been biting my tongue on this matter for years! Today I even punched some inanimate objects at the supermarket, pretending they were people.

So I do get fluctuating levels of sensitivity, at autumn I'm at my calmest, during Summer I'm at my worst. I've developed strategies to try and lessen the effects of sensitivity, these include home-made ear plugs, blue-tooth head phones when I go out an about, and trying to find ways to relax whenever the opportunity presents itself. The worse my sensory issues are, the more time I try and set aside for relaxing, and this often means going to bed at 3.00am, so I get some quiet time to myself.

You could try lorazepam......... in your co-workers' drinks! ;) (Just joking!)
 
Hello, LillyJo. Welcome aboard. :)

Some of my sensory issues (such as sensitivity to light, sound, and being touched) fluctuate with my moods, or level of fatigue. Others (such as sensitivity to smell/taste, and my response to textures I feel) stay fairly constant.

In my case, serious overwhelm will only settle down when I remove myself from offending stimuli. I can sometimes do meditative breathing exercises to help take the edge off before I reach crisis level, but I can't always catch it in time.

When I was young, I was very sensitive and reached overload easily. Things got much better in my 30s and 40s, but now that I'm approaching 60, I find my tolerance ebbing again.
 
Progster: its interesting that migraine triggers your sensitivity. I find its the other way around! Oh and definitely in agreement about pmt + as =disaster! I'm finding carrying mp3 player and avoiding busy times to be helpful!

Inabox: sorry to hear about your struggles but is nice to know I'm not the only one! I also flap and rock when everything gets too much

Asheskyler: solitary job sounds lovely but not an option for me without lots more training...

Autumn red: hahaha I'll get some lorazepam...!!!

Nadador: I definitely think tiredness is key to coping.

As way of an update I have had a few days off work and slept a lot and now feel a bit more in control. I've been trying some of the suggestions and they have helped so thankyou all so much for sharing your experiences. They have been so helpful! LJ
 
Yes, under stress/fatigue or if whatever is causing the issue persists longer than usual. Or if I haven't slept enough, my fuse is a lot shorter and I am prone to tears for all sorts of things, sensory issues included.
 
Yes my sense of smell is amazing but turns on & off.

I also have weird time distortion. Sometimes things go by sooooooo slowly it drives me crazy! But it's not all the time, thank goodness.
 
Migraines definitely effect my sensitivities as well.

Also, never underestimate the change in other people's energy. Even if you can't tell from the outside, you might be picking up their high-strung Christmas stress energy and blaming the overwhelming feeling on yourself.

It's important to recognize when you should step out of the room and take a break. Sometimes even minutes away from high energy people and recharge you like a drink of water.

Good luck to you!
 
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