[Shadow wings]

Hello all,

I'm at home for the festive period and I will be visiting my sister and her kids and I'm a bit worried about dealing with noise level as I find myself overloaded easily, not if I'm using music in headphones to drown out voices, but the general chaotic cacophony of life can make me feel really bad. I just wondered if anyone gets this/has any suggestions

Thanks

[Sometimes psychotic]

Originally Posted by Shadow wings

Hello all,

I'm at home for the festive period and I will be visiting my sister and her kids and I'm a bit worried about dealing with noise level as I find myself overloaded easily, not if I'm using music in headphones to drown out voices, but the general chaotic cacophony of life can make me feel really bad. I just wondered if anyone gets this/has any suggestions

Thanks

Find a nice quiet place to be alone if you get overwhelmed...

I have this same exact problem My pdoc calls it aberrant salience because our brains can't filter out stimuli like it should. APs are supposed to help with this, but they don't help me at all.

Anyway, my brother and his family are coming over tomorrow and I know it will be super noisy, so my coping strategies will include:

- reminding myself to breathe, and that I'm ok
- excusing myself to the bathroom or to get a drink or whatever for 5 minutes to calm myself
- moving between rooms to wherever is calmer (i.e. after presents have been opened, the kids usually go in the family room to play, so I will stay in the other living room where it will be quieter)
- offering to make drinks or help my Dad prepare food in the kitchen where it will just be the 2 of us
- volunteering to clear the table and load the dishwasher after the meal
- taking the dog for a walk for half an hour to de-stress in the middle of their visit
- shutting myself in my room after they leave to relax

I know that some of those may be hard as you will be in somebody else's house. Depending on your relationship with your sister, you could explain your difficulties with sensory overload and they may be fine with you excusing yourself as and when needed. Personally, I don't talk about stuff because it's just easier but that's JME.

If I'm out and about, putting my music on through my headphones can help calm me and also shut out some of the other noise, same with sunglasses and overwhelming lights, but I can't get away with that at family events, so I make do with the rest.

The most important thing to remember is that the uncomfortable sensations won't last forever. You just have to endure the visit, you may even have moments of enjoying yourself interspersed in there, and then you can shut yourself in a dark and quiet room afterwards to recover, if need be.

All the best

*Willow*

[Shadow wings]

Thank you both.

I probably won't be able to talk to my sister about it but could probably manage to sneak away for a quick break