It's the sensory issues thread!

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I can relate to pretty much everything DirtDawg said regarding smells. For me fragrances are the worst, whether it be perfume, air freshener, hairspray, detergents.....YUK. I also can't stand the smell of cigarette smoke (or canteens or new cars......)

Sometimes I wonder how other people experience these things, whether they experience them at a reduced intensity or whether I'm just way too intolerant, which is entirely possible.

I remember years ago, my hubby paid for me to have a 'relaxing' aromatherapy facial at a beauty salon, following the birth of our first son. Suffice it to say that whilst the 24 hour labour has become just a fuzzy memory, that half hour facial is still etched in my memory. Ylang Ylang oil. Shudder.

Fluorescent lights are a problem too – the flicker frequency makes me dizzy, sick and gives me a headache if I have to put up with it long enough.

Loud noises make me freeze. My brain cannot function at all. Sudden loud noises make me jump out of my skin and it takes me ages to recover. I do enjoy loud rock music, however, but I can't do anything else while I'm listening to it. Can't have conversations if there's too much background noise. Strong smells/fragrances and cigarette smoke make me ill. I can't tolerate very hot weather. Can't wear any natural fibres other than cotton, can't stand sweaty synthetic fabrics. Or scratchy labels, or anything tight. Can't wear anything in bed, and bedding must be perfectly soft and smooth. Always take off my bra when I get home! And my shoes. Ideally would like to be naked all the time but this would be unfair on others!

If other people smelled fragrance at the same intensity we do, they would never wear that much! Haven't you ever remarked about a fragrance, only to have a friend say "I don't smell anything"? She's not lying, but really can't.

It's very frustrating, because no one understands how severe the problem is, and how many problems it causes; they just think "This is such a lovely fragrance; you;re lucky to be able to smell it better than I can."

^Good thing I'm not a visual thinker. I must be really odd, because I can stare at the sun very easily without a a problem, flashlights in the eyes are more fun than painful, and laserlights are similar in that respect. Sometimes I get a bit annoyed at those purple lights that kill flies because you can never focous on them properly. And for some reason I have a liking for the smell of petrol... very strong scent. Must be unbearable to the point of insanity for DirtDawg and appassionata, though. Oh, and the solution for the new car small problem: Buy slightly used cars.

I also hate clothing labels especially sock labels. I cut them off.
And eyelashes rubbbing on my glasses they really annoy me no end and I have to wear my glasses further down my nose than I should.
The eyelash curler does not seem to remidy it.

Sock labels? I'm glad none of my socks have labels!

I do enjoy the feeling of silk, and wearing PJ's with a 'T-shirt' top will expose my skin to the cool blanket, which actually prevents me from sleeping because it fells nice to rub across my arm. I'm thinking my liking of the smell of petrol could be bad for me...

I don't like everyone laughing all at once. I hate these high voices men do with their mouths when they're excited like cheering for the game. I don't like people cheering.
I don't like wool against my bare skin (not really an issue since its typical for everyone)
make up because it makes my face itch itch (is that normal for everyone or an sensory issue)
I hate the sun in front of me when I'm driving because it hurts my eyes or is that tyipical too for everyone (thats why cars habe visors)
I hate steam kettles, people talking at once near me, some fire alarms, sweaty skin against me, some type of clothing that has beeds on them and it feels like sandpaper, people patting me rough, tags in clothes sometimes, my sweaty skin touching each other, sudden loud noises, room getting loud all of a sudden when it was quiet (people talking, etc. )

Not sure if it's a sensory issue but I always hated it in Primary if someone did something naughty like break the teacher's mug or spill a small bucket of paint how they'd go "OOOOOOOooooo!! !" Annoyed the hell outta me. Also when girls at my school scream; bloody hell they may as well cut my ears off!

Some noises make my teeth hurt.

Loud noises make me jump.

Sounds in the morning makes me nauseous.

I hate it when I can hear people breathing. Many voices annoy me.

My nose is very sensitive to smells. Artificial odors are the worst. However, I love the smell of herbs, spices, and cut grass.

I can recognize people by scent.

I like dim lighting. I wear sunglasses because it's usually too bright outdoors.

I had to have mouth surgery and the taste of the surgical dressing was maddening to the point it was worse than the quite substantial pain.

I don't like to wear clothes so at home I usually don't. I really, really hate wearing shoes.

I hate this too!

I actually got a new T-shirt today from my Mum. I didn't notice the purchase label (the one you have to rip off) until I took it off! I love the feel of jelleton-like substances on my fingers, it's just a coolio senstation when that happens. I remember when I was younger how I'd not sleep in my PJ's (don't worry, I had singlets and underpants) because the feeling of the cool blanket moving over my warm skin felt very nice. I should try that again sometime, actually...

I have days where my tactile sense does not function. It's very depressing and frightening. I call them Dead Days and I'm not sure how I survived it when I was a child, other than hitting things to get a sensation of pressure.

I have found a heavy, hand woven Indian horse blanket, made of wool and horse hair, that feels like a 'ScotchBrite' pad on my skin normally. This thing will stick to the back of a horse or the carpet like velcro, and rip your flesh off if you aren't careful. I use it against my bare skin at those times when I need extra stimulation. Sometimes a good rub down with a stiff hair brush can help, too, but that's really working on too small of an area. The sensation goes away before I get the next spot started feeling.

The blanket helps to bring back some feeling in my skin across a large area at once, especially once my skin turns red all over. I'm going to try harder to leave this up this time. I've posted this several times, but I have to remove it for some reason. It's really painful and embarrassing, but if it helps someone in the future, maybe that will help me.

Please do not be embarrassed, many of us are in the same boat.

Think about it, there are even NTs who practice activities such as cutting themselves just to feel something. Laying on a wool blanket is a pretty intelligent thing to do, really. It doesn't actually hurt you or give you scars but provides a lot of stimulus.

Anyone rubbing or scratching anything. Seeing, hearing, or feeling that is the worst torture I can think of.

^May want to re-phrase that, otherwise people will beleive everyday's a nightmare for you!

I really hate it in class how there's always that dude in the back of the room continually clicking his pen just to piss the rest of the class off...