[amiyesiam]

Originally Posted by Bit

{{{{{{{{{{{{belle}}}}}}}}}}}}

Both happen to me, love; I am slowly coming to understand when I am overloaded while it's still happening. The worst for me is when I am at a really big store with a LOT of noise, like a Home Depot with the forklifts backing up and beeping, those extra loud announcements they make, and the echoes of everything (including customer noise) off the hard surfaces; also in a Walmart, with lots of people making noise, kids crying or screaming... sometimes that happens to me in the regular grocery store, too, if kids are screaming and the muzak is playing and announcements are being made... *shudders*

I've noticed that fluorescent lights and concrete floors are also a bad combo for me.

BUT if I'm not in one of those places, I don't usually recognize that I'm overloaded until afterwards... and then I finds myself thinking, "well, duh! no wonder" and feeling kind of sheepish about not recognizing it while it was happening.

I stopped reading the hsp book, btw... she was talking a lot about social cues and responding appropriately and it's really valuable--I found myself wondering if it might be as valuable to someone who has Asperger's as to people who are highly sensitive because of the emphasis she puts on setting appropriate social boundaries and on responding appropriately; it's really gentle and full of information--but life itself suddenly got overwhelming to me and I put the book down. I have to finish it soon.

Oh how I relate. Walmart is painful. The lights are bad bad bad. We usually go late at night when it is empty. Walmart is 1 mile away so we are lucky there. The grocery store has lower lights and is much better. In walmart I usually know and can feel myself reaching my breaking point.

At work I just try to go find something to do (I work in a group home) in another room for a while. I usually need to veg when I get home. I want to focus and not deal with things for a while. Interestingly, 99.9% of the time the individuals I work with don't impact me negatively. Staff is a different story. LOL

And there are the times I reach my breaking point when I don't know it is coming. The tv can do that to me. Almost like a switch.

Sometimes I feel bad, like I can not handle things, yet I am most excellent at handling things, getting things done, doing the right thing, and being responsible.

I do not like to see to much of the news cause it will stress me out.

If I have to many projects I will want/need dedicate time to getting them caught up. Actually this goes for getting behind on anything.