I think that everyone has a personal limit as to how much sensory input he or she can manage without it becoming overload, and it's likely that people like us who have come to the attention of the mental-health system have lower thresholds than most. Under the best of circumstances, I don't like being in crowded, noisy environments, like concerts, the starting lines of big-*** marathons, and so forth. And I especially can't stand the wailing of infants, which creates problems when I am, say, 30,000 feet above the earth in the fuselage of an airplane and therefore rather limited in my choices of egress.

But then, who really does like clamor and disruptions among them? I acknowledge that I am a "special needs" type of person, but I try to avoid chalking up each and every reaction--especially inner ones--to clinical anxiety, depression, mania, OCD, or other brand of pathology. I have enough to confront without constantly filtering my experiences through the lens of carrying multiple diagnoses. At some point, we all just have to deal with life's offerings, and sometimes what's out there, especially on a moment to moment basis, is crap.