Sensory overload

[Erinath]

I know this is really grasping at straws, but sometimes I wonder if I have been misdiagnosed & that what was thought of as being my problem is actually just a by-product.

My official diagnosis is depression with anxiety & agoraphobia, but I feel that one of the major causes of my panic attacks (and therefore everything else) is what I call sensory overload. You know those times when every sense feels like it's been heightened so much that it's unbearable and the whole world is closing in around you ... almost choking you, my mind rushes trying to process what feels lie several million pieces of data all at once. Now, most people reading this will most probably say all I've done is describe one element of a typical panic attack, but due to my son being special needs I have discovered that there are conditions (such as epilepsy & autism) that can cause sensory overload.

Am I totally barking up the wrong tree here & just in denial? Is it worth mentioning these concerns to my gp? It's just my son does seem to be on the autistic spectrum and therefore there is the possibility he's acquired this from me, and what with females not being affected as badly by autism (I suspect aspergers maybe :shrug:)

[pinkpiglet]

Any health worry is worth mentioning to your GP and it cannot do any harm but anxiety itself increases our senses dramatically.

[CJH86]

I think its a really interesting point.....my mum works with autistic/aspergers children and says she believes they aquire certain little 'traits' or 'quirks' from their parents and that a lot of people have autistic quirks without actually having autism.

I have the same problem with the whole 'sensory overload' thing and it causes 90% of my panic attacks and bouts of agrophobia.....certain situations, especially if there are a lot of things going on at once, sometimes things like too many colours, strange lighting and even certain foods have been known to set my panic attacks off. For example if im in a restaurant where there is more than a few people talking i feel like the noise is coming from a million different directions and the world is closing in, it makes me feel completely overwhelmed (yet i can go out on walk on my own at night and not be remotely anxious?!):scared15:.....i can deal with it at times but for as long as i remember situations like that have always felt uncomfortable at the least x

[sharona]

Hi
Come to think of it this could be true as i get anxious when my mind is on overload is that makes sense. We are trying to think of too many things at once.

Sharon

[Yvonne]

Erinath

Yes that is interesting. So, you're thinking that your son has picked up autism genetically from you. Well I'd mention it to the doctor, why not? Can you detect autism from a blood test - how is it detected? Is it only by behavioural stuff?

I think you could be in denial to be honest, and we do clutch at straws with this thing and we do try to find a reason for it. I know those symptoms you mentioned, I have had them before - not for long thank god. Oh they are awful and it is as if every sense is magnified. This is what Claire Weekes calls sensitisation - it can be to lesser and greater degrees.

Have a word with gp anyway and let us know what he says. Take care.

[billsters]

"Sensory overload" is exactly what I feel, and how I describe it to myself.

But then, if I put my cat (or any animal) in the middle of Oxford Circus, he'd freak out. We are animals, and yet we put ourselves in these stressful situations .. situations that I thrived in, before I started having panics. I'm trying to desensitise, not immediately moving away when someone is shouting or there are flashing lights.

A funfair is a good one to try out because it's definitely "everything going on", screams, music, lights, colours, the lot, and you can escape in seconds, usually, so any discomfort is only temporary.

re. epilepsy. My panics started after an episode I had in strobe lights - I'm not epileptic, but I lost my vision and had minor convulsions. Since then I'm terrified and confused by flashing lights, including sunlight flashing through trees when travelling, and feel like I will pass out unless I cover my head (not just close my eyes!). I don't know, and the doctors can't say absolutely, whether this is pure fear, or actual photosensitive epilepsy. A counsellor did suggest she hire a strobe and flash it at me to see if I had a fit, but I wasn't up for it, it's a terrifying prospect.

Perhaps that last para belongs in another thread.

But on your original post, yes, I feel "sensory overload".

[Sparrow]

Oh my word, thank heavens I'm not the only one who feels this horrid 'sensory overload'.

Take care everyone. X