Ok I think we need an adult sensory thread - Page 3

[snuggly mama]

You know those nice, fancy stoneware pans? Just thinking about them practically gives me hives. I cannot stand the sound or touch of them at all.

Jello. ICK!!! The smell of it is noxious, and I literally have to leave the room if someone tries to eat it in front of me.

When dd1 was a nursling, she used to LOVE to rub my earlobe. Drove me completely batty. I can't stand the light touch she uses, even to this day. When she was still nursing, I'd let her nurse while dh leaned over me so she could rub HIS earlobe.

More than one person talking to me at a time. I find it impossible to concentrate and am easily overwhelmed.

And, my family will be thrilled to know that I am NOT the only one who loves to pick!!!

Anyone else do the ticker-tape thing in their head? You know, where you sort of spell out all the words people are saying, kind of like those big screens in Times Square? I find this incredibly soothing and relaxing, and do it all the time (especially in meetings that are pointless and irritating!)

[bdavis337]

NO, but I can "see" the words sometimes. I dont' spell anything, but I see the words like on closed captioning as I'm listening to a conversation. Makes it hard to concentrate.

[heidirk]

Oh boy is this me! WhenDS was tiny and nursing lots, DH would walk by and lightly touch me, just to say hello, or be comforting, and I would immediatley plan his execution!

I hate bright lights, and I hear high pitched noises noone else hears, I can 'hear' the TV on mute. It makes my skin crawl, and I have to leave the room. I get the lowest watt bulbs I can get, and I never use the overhead lights in the room, I have to have a lamp.

I love that they've invented tagless tings now, I haven't had to cut any tags out! I seriously projected this onto DS and I'll only buy him tagless shirts, and never any embroidery next to his skin.

I can hardly stand to wear clothing, I'm alwats in pajamas.
Ilike to wear my jeans tight it feelslike a firm hug and then they don't moveon my skin. I could go on and on...

When I was little most veggies made me deep-gag. Itwas a combo of the texture and the fact thhat they smell to me like the bottom of the garbage can. And if we choked them down, but threw them up, we had to eat it. We(my sibs) found out later that all three of us are supertasters.

Wearing DS in the meitai is very soothing, and pulling my sheets uparound my shoulders. If I can feel myself breathing on my own shoulder I can't sleep. I like deep bass beats and 'heavy work' like lifting weights, or pushing the rotary lawnmower.

I can't stand any sound I can'tidentify, I MUST go find what it is! And I can't stand clothes that make noise when I move. I switched to cloth momma pads now, because they don't crinkle.

[heidirk]

Oh my goodness, I havethe TICKER TAPE! I thought it was just me!

[wonderwahine]

Originally Posted by snuggly mama

You know those nice, fancy stoneware pans? Just thinking about them practically gives me hives. I cannot stand the sound or touch of them at all.

Jello. ICK!!! The smell of it is noxious, and I literally have to leave the room if someone tries to eat it in front of me.)

i hate stoneware because it feels funny

and jello freaks me out because it wiggles, i cant eat food that wiggles

[wonderwahine]

Originally Posted by heidirk

And I can't stand clothes that make noise when I move. I switched to cloth momma pads now, because they don't crinkle.

ARGH!! waterproof clothing is like that.... i hate the swish swish sound as you walk. probably part of my aversion to coats......

and i oly used tampons because of the pad crinkle, and i tryed cloth mama pads, but they annoy the crap out of me because they move, and the seams rub against me, so i use a sponge

[heidirk]

I have sponges too! Thefirst time I put one inI was like "where'd it go?"

[wonderwahine]

Originally Posted by heidirk

I have sponges too! Thefirst time I put one inI was like "where'd it go?"

i love that i cant feel it!! makes me feel so much better, i hated that feeling from tampons. It was always poking me, or i felt dry, or the string would rub agaisnt me or worse, get caught in your underwear and tug!

[Brigianna]

I hate loud noises. All loud noises. Can't concentrate on a thing when they're around, except "make the noise stop." Especially people shouting, explosions, and the rip of packaging tape from those packaging tape thingies (I can't go into the UPS store at all). Electronic noises and the hum of fluorescent lights also bother me.

Can't wear socks. Not so much the seams as just the general sockiness of them. Those loosely-knit "rag socks" are really the only bearable ones. Oddly, I don't mind tights. I do mind knee-high or thigh-high stockings, unless I can get them the exact same height on each leg, with the exact same amount of tension in each foot.

I cannot stand to be touched "lightly" or "gently." This feels as though a stream of tiny parasites are eating away at my skin. Massages, too, are quite painful, although this may be more of an anxiety thing of feeling powerless than strictly a sensory thing.

Lots of food and smell and flashy-light stuff I'm too tired to type about right now...


There are many things I love, such as the aforementioned hot wax. Gooey, melty, hot candle wax. Abrasive things--those little sandpaper sticks people use to file off dead skin. I could file myself all day on those things.

Wood. I love wood. And rubber. Wood and rubber *together*--excellent.

Popping bubble wrap. The feel of the plastic. The sound of the pop. The rustle of the sheet. Bubble wrap is bliss.

Office supplies. I like to stroke paper. This is odd. But I do it anyway. I also fidget with and chew pens and pencils. I try to avoid having the pen explode in my mouth, though it's been known to happen. All of the writing implements in our house have teeth marks on them. : Chewing anything, really, but pens and pencils are my standbys.

Color coding. Everything has to be color coded. I'm not sure how strictly sensory this is, but it's important to me. And all the color coded stuff has to be put in the same color alignment. Sometimes I forget that the purpose is organization and I focus more on perfecting my rainbow.

Hair. My favorite toy. Chewing it, brushing it, twisting it, pulling it. I love hair. I don't know that there's any truth to the old cartoon stereotype of cavemen dragging cavewomen around by the hair, but if there were, I would have made an excellent cavewoman.

I tap my fingers and feet constantly. I also pace. Even when I am miserable-awful-tired, and my feet hurt horribly, I still have to get up and tap and pace. And, I click pens. Those pens with the teeth marks I mentioned above. I know this is horribly annoying to anyone who is bothered by that sort of thing. I usually stop when asked. Or leave the room.

I like getting squeezed and smooshed. I used to lie in my bed between the mattress and box spring with lots of heavy books piled on top of the mattress. Sometimes I bribed my brother into sitting on the mattress and smooshing me. And as I mentioned on the other thread, I also bribed my brother to beat me up, because I also like getting hit with things--most people find this *very* odd. I am whacking my foot with a plastic thing right now.

I pull threads out of the seams of fabric. Slowly, stitch by stitch, until the seam comes open. Fortunately I have trained myself only to do this with clothes that are beyond repair...

[bjorker]

Brigianna I can relate to a lot of that. Although one major difference is massages. I love massages. I can never get enough, ever. Poor DP tends to give me them in excess because he's a touchy-feely person and I am not (typically), so that's really the only way he can still touch me for any length of time. I do feel guilty for this a lot. I very much have to be in the right frame of mind for anything cuddly, and even then I can't usually do it for very long. But massages are wonderful, as long as it's done pretty hard. Doing it too light or too quickly doesn't work for me at all.

It's weird, though, because a lot of the stuff that is difficult for me, I can and do like. I like being able to hug people, but too often it's moderately to incredibly uncomfortable. I'm very pleased when someone wants to hug me, and it can be a really great thing, but it could also easily go very wrong.

Because click pens were mentioned... I have a very clear memory of getting in trouble for clicking a pen in class in 7th grade. We had these things called "Think Times" which was like "one step before detention" where the student would have to leave the classroom and write up some sheet about what was done wrong, etc. I got one of these think times for clicking a pen. I remember feeling so hurt because I was generally a pretty good kid and student, and I couldn't imagine why that was so wrong. I don't think I even realised I was doing it, but apparently I was asked a few times not to. So I guess it was just another one of those times where I was being perceived as "defiant" . . .

So anyway. I've been having all these realisations lately about all of this stuff. I never really put much thought into it. I just knew I was "sensitive" and "weird" and didn't really think about all the things I was doing. So this is all very new to me. I think that there are a lot of things I do that I don't even realise I do. It's been a slow and strange process starting to realise all of it.

[maryjane]

I am loving this post.

My son has some sensory issues, and as a result of learning about that to help advocate for him, I suddenly realized... DUH! So do I! It's funny b/c they are such a fabric of myself that I didn't even realize they were an issue.

Sounds -- this is my biggest aversion and the area that I really notice that it goes beyond just being uncomfortable. I can't tolerate certain music -- stuff with a lot of bass, especially when played in the car. I can handle it better if it's at home and there is more "room" for the sound to go. But can NOT handle it in the car. My H is always getting annoyed with me for asking him to turn it down/off.

Also, can't tolerate input from multiple sound sources -- like if the TV is on for the kids ... or set to ESPN sportscenter, which has the worst sound quality and makes me totally batty... and then DH is on the phone, and then the water starts boiling on the kettle. All of a sudden, I find myself snapping at everyone to turn off the TV, get off the phone and JUST BE QUIET.

I also can't stand the sound of wool in b/w teeth. My older DS is very oral, and puts everything in his mouth. He has this wooly stuffed animal that he was biting on the other day and I literally started gagging. Oy, just thinking about it now gives me the willies!

Can't brush my teeth without gagging. Used to be just my tongue I couldn't brush, but now I gag everytime. This makes for wonderful oral hygiene. Flossing is fine through.

Can only drink certain beverages out of certain glasses. Can't drink juice, for example, out of anything other than a small GLASS cup (no plastic or metal). Only drink water room temperature. Only drink soda with loads of crushed ice.

Foods that I don't like are all about the texture -- mushrooms, peas, corn. The way they squish in my mouth make me gag.

Don't like light touches, prefer hard or at least steady pressure. DS1 in particular needs to be touching my stomach to fall asleep and sometimes he kind of tickles it and I can't stand that feeling.

Wow... there are a lot more, but I'm gonna stop now.

[savithny]

Originally Posted by bjorker

I got one of these think times for clicking a pen. I remember feeling so hurt because I was generally a pretty good kid and student, and I couldn't imagine why that was so wrong. I don't think I even realised I was doing it, but apparently I was asked a few times not to. So I guess it was just another one of those times where I was being perceived as "defiant" . . .

I'm allowed to knit during long meetings at work if I'm not taking minutes.... because it keeps me from clicking my pen, fiddling with my notebook, and generally phasing out and spendign the time using my fingernails to make dents in my hands in interesting patterns. I was able to demonstrate that I actually pay more attention and can contribute more in a 3-hr meeting if I'm knitting during it

[loraxc]

Oh, yeah, me too on needing dark to sleep. Those orange streetlights are especially bad. Ugh.

And I can NOT fully cosleep. I just really, really can't. No one can touch me while I am trying to sleep. Period. (My husband gave up on me a long time ago. I like to have him there for before-bed talking and snuggling, but secretly I want him to dematerialize as soon as I start trying to fall asleep. A night in a bed by myself is a special treat. Shhh, don't tell him.) I always feel like a pariah on MDC because of this. We use bedside cosleepers.

[wonderwahine]

Originally Posted by loraxc

Oh, yeah, me too on needing dark to sleep. Those orange streetlights are especially bad. Ugh.

And I can NOT fully cosleep. I just really, really can't. No one can touch me while I am trying to sleep. Period. (My husband gave up on me a long time ago. I like to have him there for before-bed talking and snuggling, but secretly I want him to dematerialize as soon as I start trying to fall asleep. A night in a bed by myself is a special treat. Shhh, don't tell him.) I always feel like a pariah on MDC because of this. We use bedside cosleepers.

ds and me are the same way thankfully, we both like out space to sleep. so we kicked dh out of the bed, ds has dh's side, i have mine, as soon as hes done nursing he rolls over to his side. Dh sleeps on the futon with a matress in the living room

[Brigianna]

Originally Posted by loraxc

Oh, yeah, me too on needing dark to sleep. Those orange streetlights are especially bad. Ugh.

And I can NOT fully cosleep. I just really, really can't. No one can touch me while I am trying to sleep. Period. (My husband gave up on me a long time ago. I like to have him there for before-bed talking and snuggling, but secretly I want him to dematerialize as soon as I start trying to fall asleep. A night in a bed by myself is a special treat. Shhh, don't tell him.) I always feel like a pariah on MDC because of this. We use bedside cosleepers.

I can't cosleep because I become very defensive in my sleep and attack things. : My poor husband gets whacked at, and his ear screeched in, quite frequently. A small person wouldn't be safe. So, the youngest one sleeps in a baby bed in the same room, but out of reach so I can't accidentally hurt her.

This too is actually more of an anxiety thing (I wasn't born with it), but because of the SPD I was born with, the anxiety that I developed manifests in SPD ways... if that makes any sense.

[gabysmom617]

Yay! I found home!!

Ok, first off, I have a problem with self observation. I do a LOT of stuff that I just don't pay attention. When I was trying to list my symptoms for my psychologist, I always need some one to help me. Therefore, I won't mention all of them, because I know I won't remember them.

Ok: Aversions. Sounds.
Mouth noises are enough to drive me away screaming in tears. I won't allow my husband to chew gum. It's absolute insanity. I can't stand to be around my mom while she's eating. She has the worse habit of talking with a full mouth of food (). And she has the loudest chews even though she chews with her mouth closed, she is the only one I know that has a way of chewing with a closed mouth so that it's still clearly heard. My husband *thinks* he can sing. I won't allow it. It's just a tad off, but it's enough to have me prefer to listen to nails on a chalk board. (Which by the way is inhumane to do to me, scratch a chalk board.) One day I had a loud argument with a monotonous monotone bird that woke me up every morning. It was just the same "peep" on the same tone over and over and over and over. I'm insane.

This is the reason why I have to have some strong background noises going on at all time. TV or the radio. Loud. A fan won't do it for me.

Seeking:
Touching.
I looooooooooooooooooooooooove soft things, especially soft skin. I like soft things to touch my lips. My baby has soft breastfed buttery skin. How I have not kissed him away yet, I dunno. The most relaxing thing that I can do is to greet my husband (who has surprisingly soft skin) from a day at work, sit down with him on the couch and lay my face on his bare shirtless skin. Pure heaven. He has wonderful cheeks. I like to kiss him and my baby together. I absolutely can't get enough of "my boys", I call them. I'd eat them up if I could. :

I used to (ok. still do.) have this habit of picking at my hair. I have to twirl it a certain way so that the little curl sits under my fingernail. It's relaxing. My husband says I still do it when I'm stressed.

Ok, and this is the weirdest thing. Gummy erasers. Sigh. It's embarrassing. There is this way that I can grind it up, and the pulp of it is sooooooo soft. It can distract me for hours. When I was in high school, and we had to use gummy earasers in school, I'd grind it up and play with the pulp secretly so I wouldn't get laughed at. I'd save it in a little envelope for later. I'm just that obsessive. To this day, I just stay away from gummy erasers altogether.

All of this got better for me when I was on meds for ADD. I thought it was related to that. But now I'm thinking it may just be a seperate sensory issue.

Oh. My touch is keen. Often, I can't remember a number, I have to type it out on the computer or telephone to remember it.

OH! I need lots of visual stimulation as well. I can't remember all of that right now. It's so many issues that I have. But this is all I remember right now.

[Jenifer76]

I need my bath water to be super hot. And I prefer baths so I can immerse myself in the hot water. The shower doesn't provide the same comfort. I am also need white noise when I am bathing.

[2bluefish]

I think dh and I must be the same about sleeping. We like to cuddle a little bit, but when we want to sleep, we're totally - ok, get over on your side now! I will not fall asleep cuddling. DH has to have a fan - not just the noise, the air flow. I think that was his folks doing cause they put a fan on him from birth. That's fine in TX, but when we were living in WI it was rather annoying in the winter!! I can sleep with a newborn touching me, but not an older baby. Both my other kids could not sleep once they got to around 6 months unless they were in their own rooms. It required no training to move them, so I suspect they were just supersensitive to our presence at night.

DD used to scratch at me with one finger while she was nursing. It drove me batty! At one point I even started putting mittens on her, so she couldn't do it anymore. She took to scratching at her own neck and kept that up until she was about 2 1/2. DS1 really loves to rub on soft fabrics, especially satin. MIL has ordered me headphones for DS2 cause he is so sensitive to noise and has a hard time eating with any commotion, and with 2 other small kids I can't totally prevent commotion! I've been guilty of wearing earplugs sometimes cause I am really sensitive to babies crying - it makes me physically hurt. And with sensitive babies, there's been a good amount of crying.

[Kitsune6]

I can't go to sleep with DH touching me either but DS has totally desensitized me to him. I actually sleep better with his feet in my back.

[patronia]

I cannot stand tags on the back of my shirt touching my neck. It annoys the absolute crap out of me. I usually have to cut my hair short or keep it up so it doesn't touch my neck also.

I can't stand the sound of knives/forks on a plate, if someone continues to do it I will literally throw up and go all shivery like I have a fever. Unfortunately nobody in my family gets it and if asked to stop will make a conscious effort to do it more :.

The fingernails on blackboard thing is HORRIBLE.