exaggerated startle reaction

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I have an exaggerated startle reaction. It might have to do with sound sensitivity, too many pain receptors, too many touch receptors, or Anxiety Disorder. (Asperger's officially diagnosed).

When I am in the bathroom and someone tries (and fails) to open the locked door, I usually involuntarily scream. They pull the door so hard, the whole litterbox shakes, and it is loud.

When someone surprises me by calling me (which they sometimes do when they want a cart from me), it often scares the s**t out of me. The front entrance usually has plenty of carts. Otherwise, the rest of the parking lot has carts. Customers (and coworkers) often: entitled, lazy, inconsiderate, loud, rude, impatient, disrespectful. But "customer always right". (rolls eyes).

Anyone else?

I'd scream if some moron tried to open my bathroom door too, because of personal safety.
I scream and cover my ears if loud bells or alarms happen (fire alarms, security doors, car alarms).
I don't know if I'd consider it a startle reflex or just serious intolerance due to hypersensitivity.
Most of the time when an alarm won't shut up I start screaming back "WTF???!"
I can't help it.

I don't startle very much if someone walks into the room with me and I don't hear them coming.

I have sensitivities but I don't have an exaggerated startle response.

It's one of the common things I cannot relate with other autistics; being easily and often startled, 'overreacting' when startled, and taking too much time to settle when and if startled.

At worst, I'd briefly yell and be startled and frustrated solely because "I did it" while losing control over what I could've and not someone else's.

Heck I'm more often get startled by my own "clumsiness" than any other factors of unpredictability because the clumsiness is simply unnatural, and mostly coming from inattention and dysregulation that translates into impulsivity.


The same goes with surprises. Surprises that I happened to like much so, which I can distinguish from unwanted external factor unpredictability.

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Have a bad startle response..personally think it goes all the way back to early childhood abuse. But it fluctuates sometimes. If my mind is absolutely focused and someone interrupts unexpectedly .. I have almost literally jumped out of skin, it felt like . When undesireables figure this out , you can end up targeted by them and friends ..
The ohysical jerk my body does is unmistakeable . Because have taught myself not to be verbal . Regardless .. because it always brought worse things when I was little .. Now I do warn people , that there very likely will be a physical response to them individually , And cannot promise that it will be moderated . Alot of this depends on circumstances of course.

that'd be me also. buzzing insects really get my goat.

I had that response as a kid, especially at the age of 11. One time my family was at a campsite in the States for the day. I jerked up when my mum talked to me and she said, "If you do that again, you're going to go in the car." I made bloody sure with every fiber of my being that I did not do that again. I had a secret plan that I was going to run away if I was sent to the car for doing that thing that I couldn't help and my mum would never be able to find me at all and I would be happy that I would never have my feelings hurt by my own mother ever again.

I have an exaggerated startle response and used to get bullied for it.

I'm usually the opposite - if something startling happens, I don't much respond to it conspicuously, but can appear surprisingly unmoved. Sometimes a startling event might make me "jump," but it's largely on the inside. It's rare that I'll make any involuntary noise. It's not entirely black and white. Sometimes I might start shaking a bit, or my heart might beat faster or begin to thump. The "jumping on the inside" is another matter. I often feel a physical reaction to a disturbing stimulus, often in my stomach or thereabouts, and sometimes that reaction may be stronger than what most people would feel, though it's hard to compare my reactions with others because they're internal. I've also noticed a time delay sometimes, i.e. I might have no reaction to a startling event at the time, but a little later on the reaction comes out.

yes, read up on trauma and hypervigilance. I am like this, have been so all my life. Better now because the people I am around these day's don't try to startle me for sport (they like my reaction). Its tough to keep yourself from these reactions. No answers.