Sensory overload?

This is the first time I'm posting something in this particular forum. I have some questions about "sensory overload", which is why I'm posting here today. Before saying anything else I'd like to mention that I'm not diagnosed with autism/Asperger's. I'm getting assessed for both Asperger's and AD(H)D in March or April or something (I've waited for an assessment for more than a year now) but I'm really not sure I have it and I find that very confusing. Anyway, on to the questions.

I'm a student and I live in a different city than my family (I moved for university). This weekend my mother's visiting and yesterday she wanted to go see the city. I showed her where I study and then we went to the city centre to buy some things. As soon as we arrived in town I started to get overloaded. It was noisy, people were moving in different directions everywhere, there were a lot of different things in different colours all around me, people bumped into me etc and on top of that it was too warm in the stores. I started to get really anxious and agitated on the inside. I got all quiet, hyper-vigilant (more than usual that is) and irritated. I felt like closing my eyes, shut out all the noise and escape into "my own world" (which is what I call it when I just shut down and stare at something while listening to one song on repeat in my earphones that block out a lot of other sounds).

My mother told me she could see how anxious I got. She took me to a pretty quiet restaurant where we sat down at a table in the far back and had lunch. That plus the fact that I bought two new books to my collection made me calm down a little bit but I was still exhausted and on edge. When I got back home I was incredibly tired and I kept being that tired for the rest of the day.

To me that's a sensory overload. I get them from time to time. They make me anxious but they're different from anxiety attacks because the triggers are different and they don't cause me to panic. Instead I become really anxious and gradually shut down. I've been pretty sensitive to stimuli since I was a child but it has definitely gotten worse with time. Anyway, my questions about all of this are:

1. Do you experience sensory overloads similar to mine?
2. If "yes" on the previous question, how often does it happen for you?
3. Do people without autism/Asperger's experience sensory overloads as well?

Please let me know what you think.

Sensory overload is a common occurrence for those of us on the spectrum. In fact, it's a key trait of ASDs.

I get them several times a week normally. If I'm forced into more social situations or into busy environments such as cities or shopping centres that number can increase to several times a day pretty easily.

My mum has told me it's pretty obvious if we're out somewhere and I start to overload because I look like I'm there but I'm not actually there. She'll catch me just staring at something or standing with my eyes closed as I try to block out some of the stimuli, or if she speaks to me I just mumble a response but it's not actually anything to do with what she's asked me because I'm making a concious effort to hear less haha. If I'm at home when it happens I retreat to my room, close the curtains (I have blackout curtains) and sit on my bed with my knees pulled up to my chest and rock. As a child I used to close myself into the bottom of my wardrobe when I got overloaded, this was actually one of the reasons my parent's first sent me to a psychiatrist, though that guy was useless and just gave me anti depressants...

If I don't catch sensory overload in it's early stage, it has a good chance of pushing me into a complete meltdown, which is neither pleasant for me to experience or for those around me at the time to witness.

1. Yes! I find that if I am in a situation like that and can't get out of it until later that it is helpful to find a private bathroom (or some similarly individual space) in order to collect myself. Maybe you could try something like that?

2. I've learned a lot about how to avoid situations like this, but I also have a long way to go. For me, it still happens…I'd say about 75% of the time when I go out to crowded public places.

3. I'm guessing that people without this diagnosis can experience the same problem as well. It is probably less frequent and less severe, though, unless they have other issues…like agoraphobia, for example.