Overstimulation: What is it? A therapist's 5 tips of healing from overstimulation
Highly sensitive people tend to know a lot about overstimulation. We need some time alone, in our own private spaces in order to recharge, process, and collect ourselves after a stressful period, or after overstimulation.
Overstimulation, or sensory overload, is when your senses are just completely overloaded with information, making it difficult (or sometimes near impossible) to fully process the information you are receiving. This type of overstimulation is often seen in what we often call highly sensitive people (or HSP for short).
Highly sensitive people tend to know a lot about overstimulation. We need some time alone, in our own private spaces in order to recharge, process, and collect ourselves after a stressful period, or after overstimulation.
How can you tell if you’re HSP?
I’m sure seeing the term highly sensitive person has a bit of a negative connotation to it, right? No one wants to be seen as “highly sensitive”, we don’t want to be labeled as such, because it makes it seem like we’re quick to be hurt or upset. While this could be the case, that’s not actually what I’m referring to when I’m referring to a highly sensitive person.
There are a few signs that typically point to someone being an HSP. These include:
Becoming easily overwhelmed with things such as bright lights, strong smells, coarse fabric, loud music
Easily nervous or rattled when there is a lot to do in a short period of time
Avoiding violent movies or TV shows
Making it a priority to arrange your days in a way that avoids overwhelming situations
Frequent emotional exhaustion from absorbing others’ feelings
Easy to startle
Often retreat — going into a dark room, into bed — during busy days
Get hangry easily
These are by no means the only traits that are common in HSPs and these traits don’t always make you an HSP. If you’re curious and you want to know if you may be HSP, then I suggest going here where you can take a self assessment test by Dr. Elaine Aron, who pioneered a lot of the research regarding HSPs.
What are the signs/symptoms of overstimulation?
As an HSP myself, I understand how easy it can be to become overstimulated and how necessary it is to have time to yourself to recover from it. But, you don’t have to be an HSP in order to experience overstimulation. In fact, overstimulation is also incredibly common in individuals with ADD/ADHD.
Overstimulation can come in many forms and can range between mild to severe, depending on the person, the length of “exposure”, or even the type of exposure. This means that there really isn’t a one size fits all when it comes to overstimulation. But, don’t worry, there are some signs of it that you can look out for in yourself and in others.
An inability to ignore loud sounds, strong smells, or other sensory information. For example, when there’s a siren outside, you may jump or clasp your hands over your ears.
A loss of focus
Feeling overwhelmed, agitated, irritable
Feelings of anxiety (restlessness, uncontrollable worry, negative thoughts on a cycle)
A general sense of discomfort
Extreme sensitivity to certain types of textures or clothing
Difficulties with sleeping
Even digestive distress, eye strain, heart palpitations, and lightheadedness
For some, overstimulation happens gradually, even without realising it’s happening. And for others, well, it can happen all at once all of a sudden.
I want to give you an example of overstimulation, in order to illustrate how gradual it can be and how “normal” we all think it is.
We’re all on screens all day — we’re working from home so everything is digital, with not just work meetings but even digital calls with friends (research has shown that the leading cause of overstimulation is screen time, btw). So, you wake up to your phone alarm and start your day by scrolling through Instagram. Then, after you get up and are ready to work, you’re looking at a computer screen for the full work day, with little breaks (we’ve talked about quarantine burnout here, which explains why so many of us are not taking as many breaks). And then, when you’re day is done, you go and sit in front of your TV or maybe a digital e-reader.
I bet that doesn’t sound too overwhelming, right? But it actually is; screens actively tax your senses and sitting on them for hours at a time can strain your body as a whole. There are constant notifications going on with computers, between text messages, Facebook notifications, emails — there is always something popping up that demands our attention, and that’s really exhausting. Now that on top of a pandemic with a constant bombardment of news? It’s no surprising if you’re experiencing the signs and symptoms of overstimulation.
How can you overcome this experience?
This raises the question, how do we cope with overstimulation in a digital time? And once we’re overstimulated, how can we come back from it? Here are some tips I have for you, as a person who finds herself often overstimulated.
Try to limit your screen time. Emphasis on the word try. I know it’s not easy to do this when everything is online, and that cell phone is always so tempting to scroll on, but you have to remember that it is contributing to your overstimulation. A good way to start limiting this is by setting time limits, either on your phone for real or not. When you wake up, try to not immediately reach for your phone, or try to limit screen use for 30 minutes before bed.
Find your safe space. And be sure that it’s quiet. Maybe that was a cafe or a library that you can no longer go to, but try to find a replacement at home, or outside. Whether that’s a separate room in your house or a favourite bench in the park, find somewhere that you can go to when it all feels too loud or overwhelming.
Listen to your own favourite playlist, podcast, or audiobook. Yes, sounds can cause overstimulation, but listening to something personal and familiar can actually help with soothe.
Set boundaries with others and ask for some quiet space alone. If you live with other people, this is a big one. This can be really challenging when you want to be there, support, and help the people that you’re around, but you can’t help anyone else if you’re not okay. This means, let those around you know that you’re not available to talk at the moment, tell your housemate that you need to stay in your room for the evening. It may not feel good in the moment, but trust me when I say it will end up a lot better than putting yourself in danger of overstimulation (remember, irritability? Yeah, not good for relationships)/
Mindfulness. I know I mention this all the time, so I suggest reading my post about mindfulness here.
I don’t believe it’s that far fetched to say that we’ve all experienced overstimulation before, but some of us may be at a higher risk of feeling it more often. There is absolutely nothing wrong with becoming overstimulated, in fact, it’s almost to be expected in our modern world; what’s important is knowing the sings and symptoms of overstimulation and how to overcome it.
Overstimulation can sometimes creep up on you, so remember to check in on yourself often — notice how your mind feels, your body feels, what your mood is like. These little check-ins can often help you pinpoint if you’re overstimulated or give you warning sings that something has to change.
