Have you ever felt like your body is overwhelmed by the amount of sensory information coming over the senses?
In these moments, does the slightest sound, taste, touch, or smell cause you to lose your ability to function?
You may experience periods of disorientation and an amplification of your emotions that are difficult to control.
If this is you, you may have experienced sensory overload.
If you are dealing with sensory overload, you can see a mental health counsellor or neurodivergent coach.
What sensory overload is, the causes and signs, and some strategies to support you with recognizing when you are becoming overwhelmed and taking back control of your emotions will be discussed in this blog.
What Is Neurodivergence?
The term neurodivergence was coined by Kassiane Asasumasu in 2000.
During the autistic rights movement in the 1990s, she recognized that there were individuals whose brains function differently from societal norms in much the same way autistic individuals brains do.
Due to this, neurodivergence was born as a non-medical term. It refers to individuals whose neurocognitive functioning diverges from the norm.
As such, it is an umbrella term where new identities can be added or removed.
Some examples under the neurodivergent umbrella include:
Tourette’s
Anxiety
Learning disabilities like dyslexia
Medical conditions like multiple sclerosis (MS) and epilepsy
Other mental health conditions
Giftedness
Some identities, such as AuDHD, also involve combined neurodivergence. In this case, it is autism and ADHD.
Kassiane Asasumasu created this term as a form of inclusion to recognize the importance of neurodiversity or the different brain functions we all have.
Neurodivergent individuals make the world a strong place.
There are some situations neurodivergent individuals will thrive in and others where you may face challenges.
Challenges for neurodivergent individuals can range from waiting mode, difficulty with focusing, increased emotional response to rejection, difficulty with initiating tasks, and more.
What Is Sensory Overload?
Sensory overload is a phenomenon where the brain and sensory world collide.
Your brain is taking in more sensory input from the outside world than your nervous system can handle.
All sensory input is intensified. Your nervous system becomes overwhelmed with the excess sensory information that it can’t handle. With this, your emotions and behaviors become difficult to regulate.
This can occur to anyone but is commonly experienced by neurodivergent individuals.
If you experience sensory overload, you may become physically, emotionally, or mentally overwhelmed with tasks and information within their environment.
Your stress response takes over to try to bring your body back to a safe space.
During these times, it can be difficult to start a task, communicate, or regulate your behaviors.
These experiences can make it difficult to take care of school or work responsibilities.
This is made worse by the fact the world is not neurodiversity-affirming. When you experience sensory overload, you may try to regulate your emotions based on neuronormative views.
This may lead to exhaustion and burnout.
Thankfully, a coach could support you in recognizing your strengths and how to accommodate yourself when you experience sensory overload.
Taking the first step in seeking therapy or coaching can be challenging, but your coach should be well trained to support you.
What are the Signs of Sensory Overload?
Sensory overload is experienced differently by each individual. Some individuals will feel mildly overwhelmed but may still be able to function.
For others, you may experience a nervous system shutdown and not be able to function during your experiences of sensory overload.
Regardless of the severity of these signs, here are some common signs of an overwhelmed nervous system:
Heightened anxiety
Irritability
Difficulty regulating your emotions
Restlessness
Physical symptoms of discomfort
Difficulty concentrating
Meltdowns
Insomnia
Nervous system shutdown
Disconnection from the body during periods of shutdown
An urge to cover your eyes, ears, and other sensory organs
Fear and panic
Wanting to escape the situation
These signs are a way for the body to cope with the overwhelming sensory stimulation. For children, they may experience meltdowns in order to attempt to regulate their emotions.
What Causes Sensory Overload?
You may have the tendency to become overwhelmed when you have too much sensory information coming over your senses.
But what triggers this may vary from person to person based on what sensory information a person is sensitive to.
Some common causes include:
Loud noises. For some this is music, while for others it may be construction or something else.
Bright lights
Spaces that are too crowded
Strong smells
Cold or hot temperatures
Certain textures, such as weird clothes
Certain high-frequency sounds
Unexpected physical contact, such as a hug
Strong environmental changes
Intense emotions
Too much information at once
These triggers can produce sensory overload on their own or in combination with one another.
Marginalized communities, such as BIPOC, LGBTQ+, disabled, and women, may be more likely to also experience sensory overload due to hatred that may be expressed toward a specific community.
Sensory Overload and Neurodivergence
While any one of us can experience sensory overload, sensory overload is frequently associated with several neurodivergent identities.
These include:
Autism
ADHD
Generalized anxiety
Post-traumatic stress disorder
Chronic fatigue syndrome
Multiple sclerosis
Tourette syndrome’
Down syndrome
Sensory processing disorder
The Toll of Sensory Overload
Experiencing sensory overload on occasion may be common. You may be able to carry on with your career or school in these situations.
But if you frequently experience overwhelming sensory experiences and are unable to regulate your emotions or behaviours, this may be different.
During these situations, this may impact your work, academic, or home life, or the quality of your relationships with others.
Some common signs sensory overload may be taking a toll on you include:
Inattentiveness
Embarrassment
Less patience
Shutdowns
Burnout or feeling fatigue all the time
Reduced academic performance
And more
Ways to Cope With Sensory Overload
Work, school, and community settings can often contain overstimulating environments that are difficult to manage. This can make managing your sensory needs difficult.
What tips work for you will differ from mine, but here are some tips for managing overwhelming emotions:
Use sensory items: depending on the type of sensory input that is overwhelming you, there may be a sensory item that can help you manage the input. For instance, if there is too much noise, you can use noise-cancelling headphones. If there is too much tactile input, consider a comfort item, such as a plushie.
Ask for accommodations: in work, school, and the community, you are covered under the disability act within your local area. This creates laws around the need for disabled individuals to be accommodated. If you consider your neurodivergence to be a disability, you can ask for various supports to manage your sensory overload. This could include a quiet place to work, fewer meetings, written communication versus verbal communication, and more.
Identify your triggers: as a neurodivergent individual, the world is not built for you. It is built based on neuronormativity. For this reason, there may be a lot of situations that can cause overwhelming emotions. It is important to identify these situations that trigger sensory overload so you can reduce sensory stimulation in these situations or work on avoiding them (if possible).
Self-compassion: this involves the process of doing a U-turn and treating yourself the way you would treat a friend. Living in a world not built for neurodivergence can be difficult. To cope with this, you can practice being kind to yourself when you are experiencing overwhelming emotions. Affirmations are a great way to calm your nervous system during these times. You can let yourself know, “I’m going to be okay. Right now, I’m navigating an overwhelming world. I deserve to accommodate myself so I can move to a place of sensory safety.” Repeat these statements as many times as you need. You can also come up with your own.
Try to create a routine; if you can plan for predictability, this could help you anticipate what is coming. Your body and senses can then prepare based on this. For instance, if you know you have to take the train to work every day and the train noise is too loud for you, you can plan to listen to music during this ride. When you can prepare for some situations, this reduces the stress associated with trying to navigate a world where senses are unpredictable.
Distractions: carry items in a bag that can distract you from harmful sensory inputs. This could include music or a small book or journal.
Pomodoro technique to schedule in breaks: spending too much time in an environment that is overstimulating can cause you to shut down. To reduce the risk of shutdowns and sensory overload, you can use the pomodoro technique in overwhelming situations. Try spending 20 minutes in the environment, and then leave the environment and take a break for 5 minutes in a less stimulating environment. These breaks will allow you to recuperate some of your energy and regulate your nervous system.
Daily self-calming activities: these activities can help to keep your nervous system in a calm state. Some strategies include tai chi, yoga, coloring, or meditation.
Use the STOP method; there are some relaxation techniques that could help you regulate your nervous system. STOP is one of them. In STOP, you stop what you are doing, take a step back, observe and reflect on what is going on, then decide how you want to proceed with the situation from a place of mindfulness. In other words, don’t react to a situation when you are experiencing sensory overload before trying this method.
Have boundaries: sensory overload can sometimes be the result of taking on too much at once. When you take on too many tasks, you may become overwhelmed with all the information coming over your senses. In this situation, you can learn how to say no and reduce the number of tasks on your to-do list. In turn, you reduce the amount of sensory input and the odds of experiencing sensory overload.
Grounding techniques: in addition to the STOP technique, there is the 5-4-3-2-1 technique. This involves finding 5 things you can see, 4 things you can hear, 3 things you can smell, 2 things you can feel, and 1 thing you can taste when you are feeling overwhelmed to bring you to the present moment.
Create a sensory safety space: when you feel overwhelmed, you are going to want to create a space that is less overwhelming for you so you can retreat to it and calm your nervous system. If it is not possible to move to this environment, this is where a sensory safety kit comes into play. This kit is explained further in the next section.
Reduce sensory stimulating situations: if it is possible, try to reduce the number of stimulating activities that you participate in and the risk of sensory overload. For instance, cut the tags from t-shirts, use sunglasses, and avoid tight clothing.
Support groups: these groups can help to provide you with a community and discover new strategies for navigating these experiences with those who get it.
Neurodiversity-affirming therapy: if you are in need of additional support to cope with your overwhelming emotions, a therapist or coach may be helpful. It may be a good idea to find one that affirms your identity and provides coping strategies based on your strengths.
How to Create a Sensory Overload Safety Kit
Sensory overload occurs when we have too much sensory input coming over our senses.
With sensory overload, we are not able to effectively manage this information. Your nervous system shuts down and doesn’t manage emotions and arousal properly.
A sensory kit allows you to use items that stimulate the five senses.
These items bring you comfort to regulate your emotions and manage your arousal levels, so you can complete the task at hand.
It also helps with managing impulses, so you can react to something with cognitive thought and not emotions.
Step 1: Item Holder
You need to find something that can hold your items. It is best if it is easy to carry around, such as:
A fanny pack
A backpack
A zip-lock bag
A travel case
A drawstring bag
A purse
Step 2: Visual Items
You’ll want to gather items so you can either see or avoid visual input. These include:
Affirmation cards
A lava lamp
A kite
Sunglasses to block out sunlight
Bubbles
Kaleidoscopes
Photos of happy memories
Step 3: Auditory Items
You’ll want to gather items so you can either hear or avoid auditory sensory input.
These include:
Music playlist
Ear muffs
Noise-canceling headphones
ASMR noises
Audiobook
Mini fan or white noise machine
Step 4: Smell Items
Smells can be associated with a sense of calm. The smells differ from person to person. Here are some scented items:
Lotion
Essential oils
Candles
Scented necklace or bracelet
Lipstick or lip gloss
Flowers
Step 5: Tactile Items
These items help to stimulate a sense of safety and comfort:
A mini-weighted blanket or vest
Fidget spinners
Plush toys
Hairbands
A cozy sweater or socks
Textured stickers
A heating pad
Step 6: Taste Items
Taste items can help with distraction and grounding. These items include:
Your favorite food
Mint or gum
Sour candy
Lollipops
Chocolate
A toothbrush
Chewable necklaces
Book a Free Consultation With Blue Sky Learning
Are you reading this and thinking you are needing support with managing sensory overload?
Blue Sky Learning is well positioned to support you with their team of neurodivergent coaches and therapists.
Book a free 20-minute consultation with one of their expert coaches or therapists to come up with a personalized plan that suits your individual needs.
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