New here. I have not been medically diagnosed but after reading about SPD I think I have been living with it all my life. I have carved out a way of living that it not exactly ideal but I have survived this far. I have very little ability to filter out noises, physical sensations, and visual distractions. I am very easily over stimulated and seek isolation as a refuge. I am not lonely when I am alone, it is a relief. I have raised a family and am still married and have had more time to reflect on my uniqueness. I would love to learn how to be able to socialize more without feeling drained. I am a photographer which allows me time to work alone for hours. I am relieved I am not alone in the way the world affects me. As a child I would nod my head back and forth on my pillow to fall asleep and every morning my mom would have to comb the knots out of my hair. Fast forward 50 years and here I am now with a revelation of why. I look forward to meeting you guys and really want to learn to cope with SPD. I hate malls, loud music, ceiling fans, ticking clocks,
etc.. I am super sensitive to all fabrics/surfaces and hate walking barefoot unless the floor is perfectly clean (not likely) but carpet is okay. I always have to sit on an aisle seat when in church etc. I lose my train of thought in speaking but enjoy deep conversations, then I am drained and need to decompress. Thanks for letting me get this of my chest. I do not currently know anyone else like me that suffers with SPD.

Adapting is a thing that happens. Learning still when you are an adult is a thing that happens to. You'll be surprised how much you've done, and how much you can do with small adaptations I'll guess.

There are some of us here who are adults with SPD instead of parents.

Thank you so much for your comment and link Tuttleturtle ! I enjoyed your writings very much and will continue to check your posts. Now that I know I am not crazy, "overly-sensitive" or controlling etc. I am beginning to believe I can learn new ways to cope. To be validated after 56 years of struggling to cope in various situations at home and out in the world feels good! Yay, something that feels good! One thing I want to look into is how I can nourish my body to have as healthy nerves, brain chemistry, etc as possible. I practiced yoga (the physical not the spiritual) for a short time 10 years ago and remember how calming it was for my nervous system and so I will begin that again soon. I might try a weighted blanket too. To anyone who reads this post, please share what you have found to be helpful, I will be so grateful to be able to learn from your own experience! Thank you.

I didn't find yoga helpful, but I know a bunch of people who did. Weighted blankets are great for me. Not wearing thick shoes is awesome; I only wear minimalist shoes. Peppermint gum and chewing on altoids are useful. Fidgets are necessary - tangle jr is one of my favorites, but another thing that's good is yarning. Generally making things with yarn is good. I prefer to nalbind, and don't know crochetting or knitting but know people who do both.

Swimming, letting yourself stim, tinted lenses. Carrying tools like earmuffs or earplugs with you when you go out places. Keeping an escape with you; I like my kindle, you might choose something else.

Compression shirts, stretching daily, purposefully overstimulating my body in ways that doesn't cause me problems (I use my TENS unit for this), petting my cat...

Telling people, letting them know. Practicing how to internally swap processing senses. Letting myself choose what I need to do when.

(02-08-2015, 12:25 AM)GraceRyder Wrote: New here. I have not been medically diagnosed but after reading about SPD I think I have been living with it all my life. I have carved out a way of living that it not exactly ideal but I have survived this far. I have very little ability to filter out noises, physical sensations, and visual distractions. I am very easily over stimulated and seek isolation as a refuge. I am not lonely when I am alone, it is a relief. I have raised a family and am still married and have had more time to reflect on my uniqueness. I would love to learn how to be able to socialize more without feeling drained. I am a photographer which allows me time to work alone for hours. I am relieved I am not alone in the way the world affects me. As a child I would nod my head back and forth on my pillow to fall asleep and every morning my mom would have to comb the knots out of my hair. Fast forward 50 years and here I am now with a revelation of why. I look forward to meeting you guys and really want to learn to cope with SPD. I hate malls, loud music, ceiling fans, ticking clocks,
etc.. I am super sensitive to all fabrics/surfaces and hate walking barefoot unless the floor is perfectly clean (not likely) but carpet is okay. I always have to sit on an aisle seat when in church etc. I lose my train of thought in speaking but enjoy deep conversations, then I am drained and need to decompress. Thanks for letting me get this of my chest. I do not currently know anyone else like me that suffers with SPD.

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Hi Grace,

You are not alone. I get like that too. I don't like any type of noise especially ceiling fans, or sports announcers (my husband loves to watch sports), I too can get distracted, I tried to control it, but sometimes it is way too difficult. I also love to talk to people but sometimes I will loose my train of thought or tell something out of order. Also I have several projects around the house that are unfinished, I'm working on reorganizing things this year. I'm making some progress. Take care. Carol