Sensory Overload Simulation - What is it like to be extremely sensitive in daily situations? 

They need to show how loud it sounds when other people are chewing and chewing and breathing hard and clanking their utinsils and clanking their utinsils on their bowls and plates and sloppily schrarffing down their food.

*When you're so high sensory, you can tell when somebody is coming because you can hear a sudden change in the way the air near you sounds. Like, you can just tell. And you can feel it in the ground, even if they're tiptoeing*

I usually wear headphones a ton. At school it's worse but my headphones are like putting on protective armor.

my sensory overload is like watching an asmr video with headphones on full volume that doesnt turn off when i close the app

Just curious if anyone else gets this. While you can get ringing in your ears while feeling overloaded by things, can you also get it from s bunch of silence? There's times I'm in my room and because it's so silent compared to everywhere else, my ears start ringing and I feel irritable. This is why I always have my fan going.

I kept flinching and grimacing during this. Ringing/pain after repetitive noises like the alarm, drowning in multiple conversations at once, and disoriented feeling when lights are bright. This is too accurate. I need to show my parents so they know what I'm going through.

Lmaoooo everyone in the comments misunderstanding the point. If you simply can hear or are sensitive to light it’s not what they mean. The point is to show people how highly intense, distracting, debilitating, and stressful this can be to someone who deals with it. The slow motion part might seem confusing but it’s probably not exactly direct for each person who experiences this, it’s to represent the mental distress of being hyper sensitive. The video is to help paint a picture not to accurately account for someone who has this disability. It’s not about hearing small noises or being disoriented by bright lights, it’s about the overwhelming continuous and anxiety inducing sensitivity to regular sounds/lights/sensory information. Everyone gets irritated by certain noises, or colours or intensities of light, don’t webmd atypical or autism descriptions and self diagnose after slightly relating to the perception of the video. When did mental health awareness become a platform for people slightly abnormal to claim complete uniqueness and atypical functionings?

As a kid I HATED birthday parties with balloons because the sound of them popping still startles me so badly. I remember in gym class they'd fire some kind of air gun at the track before a race and I held my ears. My Mom would put the dishes & pots & pans away so loudly I'd jump and she'd always say I was so sensitive and laugh at me. The sun in my eyes is literally painful, I wear sunglasses all the time outside. I love cloudy days. I can't stand extremes in temps. Loathe hot or freezing cold weather. If someone sneezes or coughs loudly all of a sudden I nearly jump out of my seat. It's only gotten worse with age. Ambulances drive me crazy. I have to have white noise (air cleaner/fan) in my bedroom. I can't stand rooms with no moving air. People have always made fun of me for being this way. I was told by a psychologist a few years ago that she thought I was slightly autistic. I was glad to find out that might be the cause. I'm 44 now and finally finding out why I'm so sensitive. I told my sister what the psychologist said and my sister said I'd believe anything anyone told me. I don't get any family support on this. My Dad laughs at me when I say how much the sun and heat bother me. They just do NOT understand. I also have OCD, panic disorder & depression. When I get startled I feel nervous for hours afterwards. It's like the settings in my brain are set too high. People don't understand that you can't control it. Klonopin has helped me TREMENDOUSLY since 2005 and all of a sudden with all this DEA opiate crap going on I'm not only being ripped off 8 years of pain meds for multiple, horrifically painful conditions. They are also taking my Klonopin away for no reason at all. It's allowed me to leave the house but my Dr. "Doesn't like benzos"...so I'm buckling in for a roller coaster ride into hell for cold turkey withdrawal and then NOTHING to help my pain & anxiety. Fucking nightmare.

This is what I experience daily, but I didn't know it wasn't normal. I didn't know this was sensory overload. I thought everyone experienced the world like this. I can't even imagine that they don't. I can't wrap my head around that. No wonder other people seem calmer than I always feel. Forgive me but this is an "ah ha" moment for me.

Wait, are you telling me I've lived my whole life this way and it's not normal??? I thought everyone heard stuff like this unless they had hearing problems ????

*my friend showed me this a couple of days ago and he was like "look thats insane" and I'm like "is it like some sort of short movies with deep meaning in it? Seeing a daily routine done by someone else's eyes?" he said "so it looks normal to you, and sounds don't bother you at all?" I responded "they even didn't capture the majority of them". Then he took me to a specialist and that's how I knew I have autism(No one diagnoses me until now). Thanks to this video.Well I still can't believe. This explains a lot of things.*

AAAAAAAAAA WHY DID I WATCHED THIS MY ANXIETY JUST HIT ME LIKE A TRUCK

Like I'm so high sensory I can tell someone is coming from somewhere else in my house by a shift in the sound of the air

I’m 35, and all of my childhood memories feel like “a fishbowl” or “being in a cloud”. That’s how I’ve always described them until learning about sensory processing disorders yesterday. This is exactly what my entire childhood felt like. Does anyone else notice that when things around are too stimulating your anxiety gets too high & you sort of dissociate? Like it’s too much & your brain just stops noticing anything?

As an autistic person with high auditory sensitivity issues, I felt all of the noise bits in this video Finally, something to show people what it feels like

Does anyone else have sensory issues with smells? I always get really bad headaches when I'm near something with a strong scent, especially orange peels and essential oils. Even when the smell is gone the headaches stay with me until I've gotten some sleep.

To me this just feels like watching a video of my daily life.... I already very much suspected I had some sort of sensory issues though, I start crying or shaking sometimes when I hear too much, and too much light makes me sick

ive seen a few sensory overload videos. I find this one to be most accurate without exaggerating to greatly.

Me: trying to work Kids in my class: talking or making other noise(s) Me: can you guys be a little quieter? I’m trying to concentrate.. Kids in my class: ignores me Me: I said.. CAN YOU BE QUIETER, DAMMIT?! My teacher: stop yelling!

You did a good job of portraying what I go through when I have sensory overload (ADHD) so much so that I started crying of how much I felt it. It was horrible for me to sit through but now I have something to show my friends to explain to them how I feel sometimes. Thank you❤️

Wait, so this isn't normal?!!!!?

I've watched plenty of sensory overload stimulation videos, and this was by far the most accurate one to what I experience. All of the others were slightly louder or else maybe slightly brighter. I'm not that sensitive to light though, but the noise part was pretty accurate. The only thing is that I don't get bothered by noises like thumb twiddling or finger tapping unless they are the ONLY noises in the room

hearing voices,someone breathing, knocking on doors, sounds like that can make me panic. It happened several times that I just started panicking at home but even in public places. I started screaming and I could hardly breathe. I get headaches and I also got one while watching this. I hate being in crowds with people, I have social anxiety. I'm very sensetive to light, when I go outside my eyes just start tearing up of the sunlight. just trying to figure myself out..

This sounds totally normal to me, and is a very mild version of how it all sounds/feels for me, every day. But this is MILD. Good job but doesn't even begin to convey the constant undearable overload & depressing, debilitating distress. Maybe if it was played through a huge Peavey amp at high volume, for 3 hours, vibrating with barbed wire in your skin while you're coming down with a really bad flu, it might begin to convey the reality of the overload of this modern world for me.

I think i can relate to this a lot. Sounds like yelling or being yelled at by teachers in school always made me feel physical and mental pain. I have ASD.

Is it normal to be able to tell exactly who is walking towards you by just the sound of their steps?

Pretty inaccurate tbh. You don't "trip out" and it's not all in slow motion. Everything just feels super loud too the point where it annoys you. The talking feels like yelling and the yelling is basically a tipping point. Also the part whete your vision in the video goes weird like a tv. If you're hallucinating that's a whole different mental thing you should get checked.

I feel this some days... when I tried to explain this to my family members they got so agitated saying: You don't have autism! How can you even experience that 🙄 Now they think I'm calling out for attention. I hate the fact that I can't show any proof for my sensory overload. What am I supposed to do? Is not like I can record through my eyes 😭

Everyday life, although it dosin't include touch/ vibrations from other people. But I understand that is hard to capture on video

Man this is /mild/

5 seconds in and my anxiety flared up so bad I started crying

This happens to me everyday and the worst part is that most people I know make fun of it! There was one time in my class that we were having a test and everyone was being so noisy. Then I screamed "SILENCE! I'M TAKING A TEST!!!" and then one of boys mocked me. He said "You're getting emotional, huh?". I got so overwhelmed that when I got home I went straight to bed and didn't say a word to anyone for a whole hour.

Wait, this isn't normal? Hu. It doesn't bother me anymore. Maybe because I've been around for almost twenty years now? It's kinda insulting though when I see people talk about how they feel bad for me. Like, yeah it comes back when I'm stressed, but really. When I saw one sim showing what neurotypical people saw day to day, I honestly thought it seemed a bit boring. At least now I know why I'm so good at writing descriptions. I notice more. XD

i thought it was normal.

I have ADHD and I often feel what this video shows if I don't cancel out other noises it gets to be very frustrating

Thunder never really affected me, but that was because where I live it rarely thunders and when it does it's usually very quiet, one time I experienced a REAL thunder storm, and it was so loud I felt like my whole world went white and I went into an anxiety attack. No one else was affected by it

Thanks for the video. My son does not verbalize much yet but some of the things i have seen on this video helped me to make sense of how my son usually responds to some things. Poor lil fella, now I can get to help by eg preparing him before a sudden change etc...

This is the best simulation I've seen its not over done and it not underdone its pretty much perfect 😊

To people saying that they get ringing in their ears all the time and they thought it was normal, it’s not just the ringing. Hearing so many noises overlapping causes a panic response, as well as increased heart rate, breathing, and in some cases an anxiety attack.

I’m a teacher and I try to explain to my students often that all of the noises make me lose it. Wow I’ve never seen something remotely accurate.

You are right on with the noises. I have Autism with Severe Sensory Processing issues and have to deal with these inside noises everyday. Even the keys on my keyboard makes my ears vibrate which I keep it short most of the time. And than I have to deal with rude noisy neighbors who deliberately make noise for the sole purpose of causing me to go into sensory overload. I can tell you it is hell having a Sensory Processing Disorder which is part of the Autism Spectrum. But I've seen perfectly normal people who is overwhelmed by noise. It is not as common in normal folks as it is with Autistic people. I just can't believe how disrespectful people are and how ignorant they are about those on the Autism Spectrum. And that goes for adults as well as children with Sensory Issues.

Does this mean I have sensory problems because this seems normal to me

This is all normal except for when things speed up and slow down... I don't understand..?

4:26 and on reminds me of how lights hit my eyes when i have a migraine. also, yeah.. i’d say this is pretty accurate for normal days. though it’s more intense for me - it would be more accurate if every single conversation in the room was amplified all at once.

this is everything I go through everyday on top of PTSD

Who else here; •When they're in a silent room but they hear talking, try to listen so they don't hear that ringing in their ears. •has random moments where your ears pop and you can hear everyone speaking say louder for a few. •Even with this problem can probably hear better than most people in your house and are the first to notice the door or something. Or is it just me ☹

At 3:23 he did the irl equivalent of leaving someone on read. That poor librarian.

Thank you for making this video❤️

I find that my overstimulation and meltdowns are different from the type you have shown. Rather than have strange vision, I just become extremely hostile and sensitive to sounds. Of course, I'm always extremely sensitive to sounds and light, and am very particular about the way things are done. If it isn't right, I will do it over and over again until it feels right. It isn't "just being perfectionist", it bothers me and makes me feel really angry or upset. As for light, I hate the dark and extreme lighting (although, "extreme lighting" to me seems to be normal for my neurotypical friends). Noises are a big big issue. That ringing that is constantly heard throughout the video? I hear it often in quiet or stressful environments. In fact, I hear it even now as I am writing this [1:04 am, my family is all asleep and my cats are sleeping next to me to keep me safe]. It's there, it's inside of my head, it makes me feel frightened because it's *in* there. I know my friends can't hear it usually but it upsets me that I hear it every day. Textures, too. I hate different textures. Leather is awful, especially when one leather item touches another leather item. It isn't the sound, it's the way they both catch on each other and don't move easily. They become stuck together and its difficult to move. It makes me feel very uncomfortable. I only ever wear things I've been able to feel properly before buying because of the way it feels, much like a lot of people do. But it makes me angry when things feel bad against my skin, it's just gross and I feel like throwing it and burning it. Almost as if all of my internalised rage comes out towards it. I count things. I count stairs when walking up or down, I count how many times liquid passes my lips when I drink. I even make silly hand gestures and touch each fingertip against my thumb up to 20 times each, counting up to four every time. I do a similar thing with my mouth - I clench my jaw on each side up to 20 times, counting up to 4 or 5 every time I do each action. I like things to be counted, it's a safe feeling. I hate leaving my laces in my shoes the way they were tied when I bought them. I have to take the laces out and put them back in, going under then over, rather than over then under. Whenever I take my shoes off, I need to tie them again and I don't even know why I do it. Why bother tying them if I'm going to just put them back on again? The sound is getting worse, louder [It is now 1:14 am]. It sounds like an aeroplane flying but its inside my head. I feel like I should also mention that I *hate* when people assume that autistic people are excellent at maths. I hate maths and struggle with it immensely, yet my other autistic friends are very good with maths. Whereas, I'm brilliant with English (top of my class, not to brag or anything) but my friends? Not so much. Another stereotype is photographic memory. Not all autistic people have a photographic (or just generally brilliant) memory, or anywhere near as good as that. I can barely remember where I left my glasses yesterday but I can remember useless facts about shows I used to watch as a kid. I forget the conversation I'm having when talking to my friends and break down and cry when I can't remember things I'm supposed to. I also hate, "it's a mental illness/disability" because it isn't. It's a *neurological condition* it's just the way something is. You contract/develop diseases. A condition is purely the state of something. It doesn't need a cure, only a little bit of patience and support from people. It's nice - for me at least, I don't know about anyone else - to see this video because it's like seeing another person's experiences with autism and sensory overload/overstimulation. Sorry if this was long or boring, I just thought I'd share my experiences and, in return, get to read some of yours (everyone, if you want to share, that is)

thank you... this made me cry... but in a good way, more people need to understand how hard it is to do daily tasks when everything is kioken times four. Haha, I hard a hard time watching it, but I'm glad I made it to the end, showed me I'm normal (ish).

As someone who experiences sensory overload as a side effect of ADHD, something I wish this video included more is the inability to draw your mind away from all those layered little noises. I can hear the tap dripping and the person chewing and the heater buzzing and the kettle still rumbling from when it finished boiling five minutes ago, but more importantly than that I can't STOP hearing them, and they're all fighting for real estate in my attention. It feels like I have twenty little bugs knocking on the windows and doors in my brain and they just. won't. stop. Anyone who has kids (especially toddlers) knows what it's like when more than one of them need your attention and they won't stop trying to get it - that's exactly what it feels like with every little noise and sensation.

This is so so good! Thank you so so so much❤️❤️❤️

I get overloaded really easily with sound, but I'm also a musician who plays by ear.

This is fairly dramatized. However, I do always hear my heartbeat when I sit down or I am not moving (and sometimes when I am) and it does affect vision too every time it pumps. Light sensitivity is absolutely horrible as well. Every noise or feeling distracts your attention. Absolutely the worst thing, but you get used to it and it becomes normal... you just need experience (so the older you get the better tbh).

I used to get this all the time at school. I was diagnosed with Asperger's at the age of 5 but didn't realize this was sensory overload. I had it really bad in PE because there were people running around yelling, I was constantly being knocked over and the lights in the gym hall buzzed and were so bright. I was bullied really badly because of this and sensory overload makes me really clumsy and I can't focus. My mum would ask the teacher if I could be put in a smaller class or do another sport outside of school or at the very least be allowed sunglasses to deal with the light. But no I can't wear sunglasses indoors because that would be sooooo rude, instead I should just be forced into a useless, anxiety inducing class where I can't even focus

I deal with this everyday and i break down at night because my parents always ask questions and get angry if i can’t explain it to them so they’ll keep pushing me with more questions. I Got testes for autism and it came back negative, i still believe i was misdiagnosed in some way

I have adhd and I always have sensory overloads on a regular basis, it’s exactly like this, good job on making it so accurate, they had to put me in special education because I always failed my classes due to constant censory overloads that made me fail classes

this is incredibly accurate.

Perfect example thank you

I cant even make it through the video without taking breaks. As a person with sensory processing disorder and asperger syndrome I can confirm that this is accurate.

I had massive problems with loud sounds when I was little, I wanna say in kindergarten. I was terrified of loud sounds and constantly had to wear headphones or else, I would have an emotional breakdown because the sound would upset me. Nowadays, sound doesn’t bother me, but I do have this constant ringing in my ears, especially in my right ear. It’s normally not too noticeable, but it is really bad when it’s quiet. Am I normal? Well no, obviously, but I hope it’s not anything severe.

I deal with this daily, and everyone ask, "Why do I get so hateful?" I literally have to go some where quiet and try to reset myself.

This is literally what happens to me Every day. I kind of get heightened if there is an animal that makes a loud noise like a dog and I hate them because they are triggering to me. If they are just there and they are quiet, it feels like something is about to happen and I just hate it. I had one outside my door and I had to go into the other room and play music really loud just to get the horrible suspense away because there has to be something that can break the silence so I don't get so heightened. Then if it does make a noise, I just jump and my lips shake. Then I just feel so on edge and feel as though something is about to jump out at me. Also my hands sweat and my ears ring sometimes. I just want to cry and move away but I feel as though I am paralysed and in shock. I say things that don't make sense and want to just be left alone. I am very embarrassed about this but perhaps if I just shake myself out of it if it is not so bad or if I feel like I want to cry, I should just cry. Perhaps it would help hopefully. I am in a heightened state at the minute and my stomach feels weird. I just kind of need some help as I don't know what to do. Surely, someone else must have this too.

thank you, I am trying to learn what it is like to be in my son's head.

I have a disease that has sensory overload as a symptom, but what is shown in this video is not even close to what I experience every day. I really appreciate the work and thought the creators of this video have put in though.

Imagine you're in a classroom full of loud, enthusiastic, hormonal teenagers that are filled with energy. And you're already exhausted as you enter the classroom. Imagine a child screaming in a crowded store. Now that is a living nightmare.

I like to freak people out with my overloaded sensory issues. My manager was being a D bag on how he was training me. I’m asking him question and he just doesn’t want to help me. This man throws a paper ball to the back of my head I felt it coming bend over and completely dodge it caught the paper before it touched the ground and gave it back to him. The look on his face when I did that was priceless. Then I just walk off and told him I quit. You are not going to throw stuff at me and think it’s cool. Also the one time this dude was causing problems at my house party. I told him, him and his girl need to leave if they are going to be arguing. I turn around and I just felt it coming so I ducked threw my glasses across the floor turned around throw the best upper cut of my life and proceeded to beat this dude up and his girlfriend. Then I threw them down the steps of my house. Good times

If you suffer from any of this, I recommend headphones or earplugs for the noise. I often use them to cancel out noises that put my nerves on end (such as crowds in malls, keyboard tappings, or any sort of confined noise). For lightening, such as overhead lightening in an office, etc., offset by a local light. If I have to work in the office that's what I do.

This, but make every sound make you angry. That's life

As someone with autism and ADHD this hit home

I work in a bike shop right next to the main road where loud semi trucks and motorcycles are constantly going by, people talking and yelling, crazy emotions you cant keep up with, loud music, swamp coolers, mechanics using tools that can be piercing at times, phones ringing and loads of customers.

Well this is pretty much accurate way of portraying my reasoning for why I've been wanting to run, arms flailing, into the woods and live in a teepee by myself [with the woodland creatures, of course]. A symphonic overload of chaos, attention and sanity shattering disruption in the vibration of the field around me..

What the hell is that beeping noise? I head it EVERY DAY!!! Where is it COMING FROM!???!

As someone who has very sensitive senses, this was just like a regular day

This is how I've been hearing and seeing the world, I didn't realize that it wasn't normal. Sometimes I get so much stimuli it seems like the room is spinning

shit I usually freeze when stuff like this happens, I just realized I was hardly breathing through the video (my ears are still ringing)

so you’re telling me it’s *not* normal to hear electricity everywhere??

For neurotypicals to experience, this is best turned all the way up and in earphones w your face close to the screen.... And it needs a scene in a cafeteria or restaurant where all conversations and silverware clinking are at the same overwhelming volume and I can hear the people 3 tables over better than those next to me and my vision tunnels or blurs into the plate or rafters.

As someone who knew this was a problem, here's my tips: -Noise canceling headphones. Especially during school. If you're scencitive enough, you can hear through them, and it makes the sounds so much more manageable -turn off unnessicary stimulus. For me, that's turning off thr texting sound on my phone, face away from the doors at all times, put my hair up when the tickling is too much, ect. -tell the ppl around you. This especially helps when i dissassotiate due to overstimulation. Best thing is to have a note card always in hand that explains what it is. That's how i handle it at least. Not a cure all, but maybe it makes life easier

I started panicking halfway through, but this is pretty accurate. I was diagnosed with SPD as a really little kid (18 months) and still struggle with it.

My experience is so much more extreme than this, but the lighting was realistic for my experience. Those bright lights in the library 🤢 I did start dissociating at a certain part where it felt like too much and I noticed the camera went out of focus as well. Maybe it was showing how we dissociate? Interesting

Having a Sensory Overload is like watching a video on your phone except the video is your life and the brightness and volume are turned all the way up.

I was diagnosed with high sensory disorder that’s when I knew it wasn’t normal. I just told my mom and she was like “this isn’t normal. We are going to the doctors”

Did anyone just think til they were like 12 this was normal until one day it got so bad you started crying and your parents asked what was wrong and you were like it is this house it is so loud, then you went on a 30 minute rant on how bad everything in every room is. So they made you talk to your doctor about it. Or is that just me 😂

sometimes i get so mad and frustrated at little things and it is so like i don’t even know how to explain it honestly

that was very cool to watch

As someone diagnosed with severe Autism at a young age, this happens all the time to me, I wish neurotypical people understood our lives and the challenges.

I have autism I find the world noisier than this vid. It's a lot worse.

i don't deal with sensory overload daily, thank god, but i do get it whenever i have anxiety attacks because of how bad my anxiety is. i mostly get super touch sensitive. any slight touch with anything makes me flinch and tense up. any sudden or loud noises also make me flinch, and if there are too many noises happening at once or it gets too loud, it just makes my anxiety attack way worse. i can't even stand the sound of my own voice sometimes. i'm thankful i don't have to deal with this continuously.

THANK YOU so much for this and for educating those of us who are completely clueless to this condition. When a loved one has this and cannot explain what they are going through, information like this is priceless. A million thank you again.

Me literally having a sensory overload attack at Walmart earlier and I'm watching this to make sure that I'm not just faking it even though I am diagnosed with autism and anxiety

Wait, so nobody said Good Morning? And he just ignored the cheerful librarian

Super sensitivity is a super power! Yes, it has it's flaws, but all good superheroes must have a kryptonite :D Learn to manage your power, you must.

This is exactly what I've been hearing for years. I knew it wasn't normal. It's so painful. I just want to cover my ears.

It’s like watching a video on your phone with the brightness and volume turned all the way up

Question...when you see something move (like a light flickering on and off) and it makes a noise that only you can hear in your brain is that not normal?

Is it just me but does anyone else have a problem with the lights at school or when they flicker my face starts going numb under them and I can barely see with all the glare

This is Strangely relaxing

I don't have sensory overload disorder... But it SURE FUCKING FELT LIKE It one time in a super colorful, loud Mexican restaurant. The walls, tables, and chairs, all had brightly colored elaborate art of people and animals on them, and the art was textured, too. There were a gazillion conversations going on and it felt like they were much louder. There were also TVs on and music playing. I couldn't eat, although I hadn't had breakfast and only had a tiny lunch, because it was just so overwhelming. Covering my ears and closing my eyes barely helped. I couldn't even go outside to take a breather because it was my grandma's birthday and it would have been disrespectful to even ask. The time there itself felt like ten hours, but it was probably only 40 minutes. It took until the next morning to recover, but even so, when we finally left, stepping outside was the best possible thing that could happen to me. Sorry if I'm dramatizing this.

Wait this is not normal?