3 things I wish I knew about sensory sensitivities 20 years ago…

1. Sensory overload is when sensory inputs feel like they’re too much. Anyone can experience this.

2. Sensory anxiety is when sensory inputs trigger anxiety... which is also something anyone can experience.

3. Sensory processing differences related to SPD/autism are when the brain over or under responds to sensory information that the average brain is unbothered by and it causes clinically significant impairments in daily functioning. This has to do with brain wiring.

The first two can be situational and often do not impair a person’s ability to function in their day to day. The last one does cause impairments, which is why it is considered a disability. 

I’m sharing this because understanding it would have led me to answers about my own brain and experiences literally decades sooner. And I would have been able to find support and advocate for myself all that time instead of struggling every single day and feeling like I was at fault somehow for my very real and valid needs. And I really hope this information helps some of you. 

Let me know if you learned something new from this video. 

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