[My Paper Heart]

This may be posted in the wrong place but I don't know where else to put it. I do not have Asperger's but Sensory Processing Disorder, which I do struggle with, is most often tied to the autism spectrum.

I have problems with every single one of my sensory systems, including interoception and proprioception. While most of my issues deal with under-sensitivity, sometimes they're over-sensitive. My biggest concerns are issues regarding food, my under-sensitivity to smell, and my over-sensitivity to bone conduction sounds (Ex: the bass in music).

Foods generally taste bland (or really bitter) so what little I do end up eating usually involves adding a lot of salt or something vinegar-y. Unsurprisingly, my diet is horrific and I'm constantly mocked for what little I eat and how I eat it. (After 30 years of being mocked, it has definitely taken a toll on my self-esteem.) I also have an interoception issue of not being able to tell when I'm hungry. Mealtimes are obviously a struggle but my real concern is that this has led to me freaking out about social interactions surrounding or involving meals (including dating).

My poor sense of smell has caused my only fears about living alone. Generally, my fears revolve around not being able to recognize danger warning signs. Usually if I can smell something, I get one whiff and then I become nose-blind to it so when I do get a whiff of something unusual, I either can't or have a really hard time figuring out where it's coming from and unless it's burnt toast, I can't figure out what the smell actually is. (My discolored stove burner cover is a testament to my concern... Once I accidently turned the stove on instead of the oven and didn't know it until the cover started glowing red and had small whisps of smoke coming from it.)

My speech discrimination hearing isn't so great but my ability to hear things that vibrate is over-the-top. When I hear the bass in music, I can feel it inside me and it physically hurts. I called the cops a couple of times over noisy neighbors whose bass kept me up until 3am every night for 2 months... The cops couldn't hear it or feel it but I spent every night crying in misery. (Eventually it was found to be coming from 3 apartments down.) Luckily if I'm driving and I hear someone's bass I can just turn up the volume of my car's music (which I have set the bass to as little as possible) so I get distracted from the bass but that's not always an option.

For the most part, I've learned tricks to deal with most of my sensory issues, including a lot of creative ones (Ex: the usual grounding techniques don't work for me but taking "shots" of balsamic vinegar works as a replacement) but these 3 issues are still major problems. I was wondering if anyone has suggestions for dealing with this stuff?

[PsychoPhil]

An anxiety reducing lifestyle - less coffee, more sleep, working out at the gym, yoga, meditation, breaks in nature, etc.