I (M, 46, ASD1) have been feeling very overstimulated today. Everything has me on edge and everything is too much (this isn’t the first time I have felt this). I want to say I have a headache and call it a day, but that isn’t it this is that different thing. I mean if I am honest it’s going to cause me to have a headache but that isn’t how it started. This is that supernova inside that feels like the edge of something. That feeling of “if you know what’s good for you” but you just can’t say it out loud.
I am late diagnosis and I really never got support or words for this. I was hoping someone here could help me. Is there something I can do? Is there a name for this? Is it appropriate to warn people about this? I am really irritable, is it healthy for me to be masking this as hard as I am and just screaming about it later when I can? I know how I have dealt with all of this all of these years and frankly it has lead to a lot of other mental health problems. So really any words of wisdom would be welcome.
You must log in or # to comment.
Excuse yourself from whatever situation is overstimming you and take a beather my friend.
Look in to noise cancelling headphones or noise reducing ear plugs (brand name “loops”) as noise is a very common stim for ASD. My wife got a pair of bose noise cancelling headphones for christmas and its the best thing shes ever bought for her being able to just block out the world, relax and step away from the metaphorical edge.
Dont force yourself to stay in the situation without any sort of tools to help.
A possible alternative, or addition, to noise cancelling, is playing some pink noise. It also helps to mask some tinnitus.
So I have always had tinnitus so this sounds awesome, but what is pink noise, like white noise and where would I find something like that?
Also Thanks so much for offering help. I really do appreciate it. It means a lot to me. I will look it up on the internet but I was wondering if you had any interesting resources.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pink_noise
In the “See also” section, you can find a list of different noise types.
White noise is a random signal evenly distributed over all frequencies, but since human hearing is more logarithmic, it tends to have too many high frequency notes.
Pink noise has a logarithmic distribution with the same amount of noise per octave, which aligns better with human perception of sound.
Ideally, you’d want a noise distribution adapted to your particular hearing curve, but it isn’t easy to get one of those (even if you go for a test, like for hearing aids, they like to keep the data “secret” to lock you in).
where would I find something like that
YouTube has some “videos” with stuff like “10 hours of Pink noise”. Yes, those people get paid for publishing noise… they’re also among the most popular “songs” on Spotify.
Alternatively, you can pick up Audacity and generate the noise yourself (it has plenty of types to choose from).
For sleep, I have a Google Nest Mini and just tell it “Hey Google, play some pink noise”, then set the volume to barely above ambient.
This sounds odd to me, but from what I have gathered it doesn’t seem so strange in this community. It feels odd to get actual useful advice. If anything gets past there isn’t anything wrong with you, I usually get a deal with it or suck it up. So the post felt like a long shot. It is not so recent anymore but I think I am still adjusting to the news of the diagnosis and I know for a fact that no one around me thinks it means anything. Anyway, all that means Thank You! Very Much! for taking time to help.
DISCLAIMER: this is not medical advice, I can only speak from similarity to personal experiences.
Is there something I can do?
Try going into a quiet place of your choice… but generally avoid self-medicating.
Is there a name for this?
Being royally fed up.
Is it appropriate to warn people about this?
Neurotypicals without any understanding? No.
Medical personnel or trained professionals? Maybe. Depends on how close to “exploding” you feel yourself, and whether you do find a way to get calmer over time on your own.
If you feel like it’s growing out of your control, don’t be afraid to seek help. I’d suggest making a list right now of several ways in which you can do that, and keep it at hand.
I am really irritable, is it healthy for me to be masking this as hard as I am and just screaming about it later when I can?
No, neither is healthy. Try to reduce both the overstimulation, and the screaming afterwards (it can feel cathartic, but over time it becomes addictive, and just primes you for more overstimulation).
If you don’t mind the feeling of having ear plugs or earbuds in your ears, I have found that the Flare Audio “Quiet” earplugs really take the edge off the world. They don’t prevent you from hearing in general, but rather they dramatically reduce frequencies above some pitch (I forget), which my brain often interprets as pain or like I’m being attacked.
Not spending my day under constant “assault” by the sound of fans or my young child’s high-pitch excited voice REALLY helps me to not get overwhelmed so easily.
I had several days in a row recently where I’ve gotten really panicked and close to snapping because of feeling overwhelmed, and I started wearing these again and it made it much, much easier to come down from that feeling.
