Coping with sensory overload

[Jaime Lyon]

Like a lot of people struggling with severe anxiety, sensory overload is a very real and present problem for me. I have a few things I use to cope, like isolating myself putting on my headphones to listen to white noise or nature sounds as loud as I can stand it to drown out what's around me, but in situations where I can't easily extract myself from a high stress situation, I can rarely find ways to cope (like now, for example: we have some extremely bad weather moving in, and I don't handle thunderstorms well at all... but I'm at work and have no way of safely removing myself from a spot where I can see and hear a lot of sensory input, putting me at serious risk of dropping into an overload or hitting a straight up panic attack).

Does anyone have any ways that work for them in the case of dealing with SO at work or in another situation where you can't easily extract yourself? Other than medication; I'm not on meds (yet) so I was wondering if anyone has any advice beyond that.

[mrslizzyg]

Like a lot of people struggling with severe anxiety, sensory overload is a very real and present problem for me. I have a few things I use to cope, like isolating myself putting on my headphones to listen to white noise or nature sounds as loud as I can stand it to drown out what's around me, but in situations where I can't easily extract myself from a high stress situation, I can rarely find ways to cope (like now, for example: we have some extremely bad weather moving in, and I don't handle thunderstorms well at all... but I'm at work and have no way of safely removing myself from a spot where I can see and hear a lot of sensory input, putting me at serious risk of dropping into an overload or hitting a straight up panic attack).

Does anyone have any ways that work for them in the case of dealing with SO at work or in another situation where you can't easily extract yourself? Other than medication; I'm not on meds (yet) so I was wondering if anyone has any advice beyond that.


What do you do for work? Because it kind of depends on what you can/can't do.

a few days a week I sit at my desk by myself.. and what helps me not lose my sh*t is listening to music.

but see, idk if you can do that at your job? =/

[Jaime Lyon]

What do you do for work? Because it kind of depends on what you can/can't do.

a few days a week I sit at my desk by myself.. and what helps me not lose my sh*t is listening to music.

but see, idk if you can do that at your job? =/

I'm an administrative technical assistant. So like a secretary who also does order entry and maintenance. It's not really a high stress job usually, but some days I have less energy to deal than usual.

[NixonRulz]

Like a lot of people struggling with severe anxiety, sensory overload is a very real and present problem for me. I have a few things I use to cope, like isolating myself putting on my headphones to listen to white noise or nature sounds as loud as I can stand it to drown out what's around me, but in situations where I can't easily extract myself from a high stress situation, I can rarely find ways to cope (like now, for example: we have some extremely bad weather moving in, and I don't handle thunderstorms well at all... but I'm at work and have no way of safely removing myself from a spot where I can see and hear a lot of sensory input, putting me at serious risk of dropping into an overload or hitting a straight up panic attack).

Does anyone have any ways that work for them in the case of dealing with SO at work or in another situation where you can't easily extract yourself? Other than medication; I'm not on meds (yet) so I was wondering if anyone has any advice beyond that.

Im not much a fan of distraction. I'm more of a let the panic come and go kinda person

I have always thought that once you have had enough panic attacks and saw that they were never harmful, you would stop fearing them and when you do, they stop

I suppose it could be viewed as a distraction but sometimes I make mix tapes and send them to MrsLizzy. She never responds back with a mix tape of her own. In fact she just puts me on ignore and reports me to the moderators

[mrslizzyg]

Im not much a fan of distraction. I'm more of a let the panic come and go kinda person

I have always thought that once you have had enough panic attacks and saw that they were never harmful, you would stop fearing them and when you do, they stop

I suppose it could be viewed as a distraction but sometimes I make mix tapes and send them to MrsLizzy. She never responds back with a mix tape of her own. In fact she just puts me on ignore and reports me to the moderators

I would hardly classify a mixtape when it's just the same Kenny Chesney song over and over and over again. ;)

[gadguy]

Like a lot of people struggling with severe anxiety, sensory overload is a very real and present problem for me. I have a few things I use to cope, like isolating myself putting on my headphones to listen to white noise or nature sounds as loud as I can stand it to drown out what's around me, but in situations where I can't easily extract myself from a high stress situation, I can rarely find ways to cope (like now, for example: we have some extremely bad weather moving in, and I don't handle thunderstorms well at all... but I'm at work and have no way of safely removing myself from a spot where I can see and hear a lot of sensory input, putting me at serious risk of dropping into an overload or hitting a straight up panic attack).

Does anyone have any ways that work for them in the case of dealing with SO at work or in another situation where you can't easily extract yourself? Other than medication; I'm not on meds (yet) so I was wondering if anyone has any advice beyond that.

I zone out when that happens, somehow I can block it out and go somewhere else in my head and just get lost in thought, or plan out a project. When I do this I am totally zoned, I don't know there is another person in world until someone touches me. I don't really know how I do it but I have used it as coping tool for as long as I can remember. I do this if I am not physically able to escape.....sometimes just going outside or sitting in your car a few minutes can let the moment pass,

Best wishes and peace

[NixonRulz]

I would hardly classify a mixtape when it's just the same Kenny Chesney song over and over and over again. ;)

Hahahaha. That was actually pretty good.

[Jaime Lyon]

Distraction works sometimes... I have trouble zoning out unless I'm calm, ahaha. I wish I could just let the panic come and go... but when I'm at work and that happens, I become the topic of conversation for the next few days after a meltdown and the embarrassment is almost enough to drive me to a shutdown by itself.