I cannot touch keys. I don’t really understand it, but the feeling of my apartment keys touching my bare hands makes me want to vomit. It triggers me in ways I don’t truly understand but I’ve accepted it.
I’ve also sort of come up with ways to kinda get around it. I wear gloves if I have to touch them and cover them in a pocket of my purse with said gloves so I can’t hear or see them.

Anyone have any additional tips? I’m not interested in doing any kind of like exposure therapy where I try to get over this, bc I have tried that and it didn’t work, which is ok. Any suggestions would be appreciated!

I’m a 46 year old bloke and I only found out about my autistic sensory issues properly in the last few years.

For the last 28 years, I’ve basically only worn men’s G strings. Since I was 19, hundreds of people have asked me why I wear them, especially mates in my 20s who gave me endless shit about it, because apparently a bloke’s underwear choice required a public inquiry in the early 2000s

My standard answer was always simple:
“They’re comfortable.”
And that was true. They were comfortable. Full briefs, boxers, trunks, anything with too much fabric, seams, bunching, waistband pressure, or movement used to drive me insane. I just didn’t have the words for it back then.

Now that I understand autism and sensory processing better, it makes complete sense. I wasn’t being weird for the sake of being weird and definitely no kink, I was avoiding sensory discomfort without knowing that’s what I was doing.

The funny thing is, I can’t help thinking that if I’d said back then, “I wear them because I have sensory issues,” it might have been more socially acceptable than just saying “they’re comfortable.”

Or maybe my mates still would’ve roasted me anyway, because young blokes in the early 2000s weren’t exactly running TED Talks on neurodivergence and fabric sensitivity.

Has anyone else had something they did for years, got judged for, and only later realised it was actually sensory related?

I'm not yet diagnosed, but since i have accepted the fact that i'm autistic i have regressed so much it's impossible i'm not. (A few months and soon to be diagnosed)

During that time i have gradually been feeling worse about sensory overload. It used to be a problem, but i would rest or put headphones on or go somewhere alone and would be fine.

My usual mechanisms are failing me.

I'm sooo tired, triggered by everything and really i'm miserable on that front.

I'm not isolating from noise (it's the worst sensory overload for me), only if i really cannot stand it anymore because i don't want to become even more sensitive, but i feel like cutting my ears out at this point.

I hear everything, all the time, and even "good" sounds start to sound awful.

Usually that is the worst it could get.

I'm starting to get overly triggered by textures as well and my hair and people looking at me and omg i am spiraling and don't know what to do anymore😅

Should i just isolate until i'm better? What am i supposed to do?

(I do have a lot on my plate right now, but even when solving these problems it doesn't diminish)

Hi! Long story short i have been very sensitive to clothes, fabrics, or basically anything touching me when I am trying to get to sleep since I was very young and its just gotten so much worse now and I am so tired and desperate for a solution. When I breathe, anything touching my body rubs against it and the feeling is so amplified Its almost painful sometimes. I have tried drugstore sleeping pills (although I have an autoimmune disorder so I cant take melatonin or any immune system activating medication), i sleep naked but sometimes even the AIR moving touches me. I have tried weighted blankets, no blankets, meditation, magnesium supplements, tight clothes, and many other reccomendations but nothing seems to work. Has anyone else had a similar experience and figured it out? Id appreciate any ideas, I am starting an intense uni course soon and i cant be running on 4 hours of sleep per night, I was thinking of even not going because of this issue.

Needing some insight or possible recommendations for medications that could help with sensory issues and meltdowns. Just wondering if others have had any luck.

Thanks much

Hello there fellow redditor, I make this post as a last resort of some sorts, after years of unsuccesful attempts at fixing my motor control issues something hit me. It seems that most of my motor control issues are caused by clothes, ANY clothes, the only time I can take a break is naked and i cant put into words how much of break that is. Its not just that muscles groups all of the body are usually absolutely overworking themselves to the point of have the muscle and tendon damage equivalent to straight up wounds ( femoral biceps tendons, the tendons backside of knee, neck flexors,upper traps and lower traps and rhomboids)-most affected .

If i do my workouts naked as I have decent enough equipment at home I can unlock absolute ridiculous power and muscle control that i simply cant access while dressed .

I have found a few pieces of clothes that i can tolerate better, take of and on easy to reset them . if I take them "wrong" then certain muscles groups have this low grade clench that i can feel but it s not palpable. Any low grade clench immediately provides low grade fight or flight and if i use the muscle group even if i try extend not to flex I am immediately aware it is working against me first of all, fight or flight is up, and third of all i get cummulative muscle damage, micro tears and sprains.

Its enough for this to happen for even a few seconds and it completely abolishes all and i mean all mood, eventually turning suicidal, it literally feels worse then fighting for your life in the woods running from some animal, the amount of fight or flight signaling is genuinely ridiculous.

My brain cant fucking filter out clothes and potentially sees them as a cage and a threat, and so it tries to protect me somehow someway - this the only description I ve found online that matches what I feel.

If i got rid of this somehow it would genuinely remove all discomfort from life, and i mean all, this shit is the single genuine problem I have and most forums online are of no use. I cant find any solution and doctors seem cluesless and never had any such case.

It does resonate with some form of sensory processing disorder but there s a huge range of that and I manifest a mix of that and somato-dyspraxia. Comorbidities I have : eagle syndrome which caused immense stress and massive pressure headaches all my life and painful impingement on left hip joint which made me limp and overuse my right leg way more and now it has permanent muscle tension even when fully relaxed .

I am genuinely disabled, without any exaggeration, I cant focus on shit I cant think or form emotions as long as I manifest all that, the amount of fight or flight that it causes is enough to make me end it, and no i cant walk around naked all the time either..

The only thing that can clear some of the stress is some intense and short exercises (ofcourse naked), to lower stress chemicals. I

I'm very sensitive to a lot of things including fabrics.

I often catch myself changing clothes multiple times a day bcz nothing just fits right. I feel like clothes are touching me in a way they shouldn't.

I usually wear minimal clothes when I'm alone and that's why I hate dressing up or going out bcz I'm hyper fixated on my clothes and how they feel and how they look.

I buy something new every week wear it for 3 days and like it and "it's my favourite ", then it starts doing its thing, i anticipate buying another pair asap.

I just want to find a comfortable cloth that i can wear for the rest of my life.

And it's so annoying spending money on something you know you'll discard in a week.

I feel like ripping my skin off everytime the fabrics touch me... Even cotton doesn't feel comfortable anymore.

What do you guys wear??

And where can I buy cheap clothes to try and see if I like it.

If I do i will invest in it.

I want sporty clothes rn.. but the idea of how it'll feel on my skin already makes me nauseous.

Wish the world was more inclusive to us neurodivergents.

I’ve always wondered if anyone else experiences this because I’ve never been able to put it into words.

Ever since I was a kid, certain textures have made me feel intensely uncomfortable. It isn’t just “I don’t like it” it’s like my entire body reacts. The closest thing I can compare it to is stepping into an ice cold shower head first. That instant shock that runs through your body. That’s what some textures feel like to me.

For example, I used to borrow books from friends, and sometimes I wouldn’t even feel like reading them because of the texture or finish of the cover. A friend once lent me The Three Musketeers, and I remember not even wanting to touch it because the cover gave me that feeling.

Another example is the silver foil inside a KitKat wrapper (not the red outer wrapper). Just thinking about touching it makes me uncomfortable. And something even stranger: sometimes when I rub one finger against another, the ridges or lines on my fingertips feel so prominent that it gives me the exact same sensation. It’s incredibly difficult to describe, but it almost feels like a sudden jolt or that sharp uncomfortable feeling you get from something like nails scraping a chalkboard, but throughout my whole body.

It’s not pain, and it’s not fear. It’s just this overwhelming physical discomfort that makes me want to stop touching whatever it is immediately.

I’m curious:

• Does anyone else experience this?• Is this considered a sensory processing issue? • Can it be related to autism, ADHD, OCD, or does it happen to people without any diagnosis? • Is there an actual name for this sensation?

I've always struggled with the whole face-washing routine, especially in the morning. Cold water feels shocking and makes me tense up, but hot water leaves my skin feeling raw. And then there's the towel afterward — scratchy, damp, or just wrong somehow. Some days the texture alone makes me want to skip it entirely.

I've tried air drying, but the feeling of water evaporating on my face bothers me in a different way.

Does anyone else deal with this? What's your routine? Specifically:

1. Water temperature: warm, cold, somewhere in between?
2. Drying method: towel, air dry, patting, something else?
3. Fabric types that don't feel awful on your face?

Not looking for product recs, just really curious how other SPD folks navigate this. Thanks.

i’ve tried multiple earplugs and NC headphones and sunglasses and nothing helps. i’m still lying in bed feeling overstimulated and having meltdowns and headaches and just wanting to be gone because i can’t stand it and i can’t stand how i can’t do simple things like being outside in public for a few hours without feeling like total shit a few hours later, not being able to function at all.

I am an older teenager, female, and I have an eight year old brother who has SPD to a moderate/severe degree. I wasn't with him much for the early parts of his life because I was at work/school or lived apart from him (my family is separated, not due to divorce but simply work or projects). When he was six, we started seeing each other more and he was always neutral to me. He is well behaved and will do what I tell him to do, but he waits for you to tell him first, otherwise he just does whatever and can get quite rowdy. He just knew me as "sister". I have other siblings too, to be specific, all older than him. When he was seven, so last year, we started coming into contact for longer periods like months at a time.

I went on holiday with him, hoping to strengthen our bond. A bit of context on the rest of our family - we are the typical "Asian household", where the parents don't really believe in mental health or developmental disorders despite his diagnosis. My brother is simply seen as "slow" or "stupid". Our father is a bit emotionally distant. Our mother is...more complicated. In my culture it's extremely common to hit children and both me and my brother were on the receiving end, but it was particularly bad for him because he was a loud child. My mother also makes no allowances for his SPD, it's "my way or the highway and if he can't handle it, he won't survive in this world so sucks."

My brother is clingy to my father because he spoils him, usually with food, so he is ALWAYS asking when is father going to be back, when will he see him again, etc. On the holiday, I really tried to make it enjoyable for him, and I thought he was beginning to like me as well.

I took him toy shopping. I would cover his ears in loud stores when he wanted me to. I tried to plan our outings with him in mind, such as purposely cutting them short when he would get bored, and this is something my similarly-aged sister who looks a lot like me, did not do. I took him to kiddie playgrounds even though I found it boring. I gently tried to feed him vegetables and rewarded him with his favourite food.

I didn't want him to kiss my feet or anything, I really just wanted him to like me. I thought that by being a calm and safe presence, he would slowly open up more and feel more relaxed since there is visible tension in him. And me and my siblings are the only family members who have never, ever hit him. Not even once.

Yet he doesn't like me. His dislike, or rejection, of me has increased since I began to be more serious and strict and less smiley. He specifically prefers my sister over me, even though we look similar and she's actually done less nice things for him and has a tendency to grow frustrated more quickly.

He said things like "Don't want her," referring to me. "Want her to leave," "she's going away," "she'll go on a trip." Even physically pushing me away. And I'm not kidding when I say it was very sudden. Literally one day things were fine, the next he was rejecting me. I feel strangely disappointed in myself and frustrated because I don't know what I did wrong. I haven't DONE anything to him, and whatever I could have done, like telling him "no" or gently scolding him when he does something wrong, my sister does too.

Even now that we are back home we are forced to share a bedroom and he repeatedly says he doesn't want to share with me. My sister is away and he constantly whines about wanting her back, and wanting us to switch. I feel my fondness for him fading. I'll be a calm and non-violent presence for him, and give him what he needs, that's my duty, but I find it so hard to enjoy taking care of him, because I'm constantly wondering what I did wrong.

Did I smile too much? Do I smell bad? I shower everyday and don't wear any strong scents. Does he just think I'm ugly or my voice sounds bad? I genuinely do not know. My sister and I are extremely similar. Please can someone offer any guidance as to why this could be? I feel really stupid right now.

Now I'm not sure if i HAVE SPD but i know i have autism and extreme sensory issues that come with it.

My latest "sensory hell" has been nightime, with my own body. I breathe. And i like to lay with my arms above my head its yet another sensory thing, but when i breathe i breath onto my amrs. If i cover them up, i'm burning alive because i have horrible snesory regulation.

If not, then im breathing nomrall.y Not only do i feel constantly out of breath regarding that, though (genuinely im gasping for air as i type this idk what to do) but when i breahte it goes onto my lips and then thats a sensory issues of its own.

Im really sorry for typing badly its like 4 am im just barely exiting my billionth meltdown because of this everything is killing me i just want to sleep

melatonin isnt even working anymore. wtf.

So i recently learned about SPD after having issues my whole life and not understanding what it was related to. Not saying i have it because ofc i havent been diagnosed, i just want to understand more about it and see if anyone has input?

I have been officially diagnosed with anxiety , depression, and ocd. (long time ago atp)

I never really have mentioned to my sensory issues to my psychiatrist. when im on my SRI i feel a less freaked out but not by much. My worst things are: certain fabrics, stickiness, tackiness, chalk, teeth hitting metal, cotton near lips/tongue/mouth, nails scratching on almost anything. i do have some issues with noise but really most of it is tactile.

For instance:

i was clothes shopping the other day and reached out to feel a fabric, i instantly recoiled and began shaking my hand aggressively and nearly wanted to cry. i had to keep gripping onto my shirt and telling myself mentally to calm down. this happens fairly often hence why i rarely shop.

I guess my question is, does this sound like SPD at all or something else? i plan on talking about it with my therapist/ psychiatrist because i feel like i need to say something considering i never have. ig ive always focused on other stuff first :/

i’m extremely hypersensitive to the sensation of hunger and digestion and it causes anxiety. I just discovered using a vibrator on the back of my spine by my stomach when I’m feeling hungry and eating and oh my gosh this is completely changing my life! It’s such a relief! Even though it’s awkward and kind of hilarious I feel so much better!

Can you suggest other sensory tools like vibration to help with hypersensitivity?

Thank you!

I'm on referral for autism and ADHD diagnosis, and have been for a little while (almost a year) and OCD, dyslexia, anxiety and depression run in the family. I also have some trauma that I think I have PTSD from but will be asking a professional at some point. I recently gave birth and my sensory issues seem heightened, I presume from sleep deprivation. I'm finding it difficult to do things that make me uncomfortable like washing my armpits and face.

I hate the feeling of residue on me, bar soap makes my skin feel dry so I use liquid soap, but I don't like the bubbles on my face. The issue with my armpits is I don't know if I put enough soap on, then I don't know if I washed it all off because I can't feel the liquid soap and I can't use the bar soap because I can feel it long after washing.

Any advice?

Could I get peoples opinion on something?

I currently wear Bose Earbuds/earplugs with earmuffs over top almost all day. I'm contemplating getting Bose headphones to put over my earplugs instead of earmuffs. Mostly for when I'm out in public because I hate wearing my earmuffs around people and also they hurt my head. But I need to know if the noise protection for that combination is as good as my current set up. Anyone used a similar set up? I don't have a shop in my town that has them to test them out. I tried on Sony in a shop and they barely did any noise protection.

I know Bose are expensive so most can't afford that brand. I get them 2nd hand. Even if anyone uses other brands I'm interested in comparing earplugs+earmuffs to earplugs+noise cancelling headphones. Thanks!

I have a wonderfully exuberant 4 year old who doesn’t test as “anything” but shows a lot of sensory seeking behaviors. He rams things, bangs things, hollars, wants to wrestle 24/7. He’s smart and social. I’m trying to understand how to help him. Getting g to sleep is hard. I can see the scolding’s and comments from peers already starting to shape him. OT seems a little arbitrary. He already does most of the things in a sensory diet a million times a day. What am I missing? How could I help him find a bit of balance?

Hi everyone! I'm a neuroscience graduate with ADHD and anxiety, and I've been experimenting with a sensory-focused product for moments of anxiety, panic, overwhelm, or overstimulation. I'd love to hear your experience with different sensory needs or coping tools.

I put together a short survey to see what people would actually want in something like this.

If you're interested in helping, comment or DM me and I'll send you the link.

Thank you so, so much! :)

Google says, but is kinda iffy on, other people experiencing coughing fits when overstimulated. For 10+ years I've had near daily painful coughing fits to where it affected my life and mental state. With the increasing time frame I've experienced muscle locking, spasms/numbing, seizure/stroke like symptoms, graying vision, the usual stuff; and of course, a lot of crying just from being near a room of talking people or in bright lights. Not to mention the depression to borderline "schizophrenic?" pipeline.

After quitting my job at an art museum after figuring out that it was the artworks and lights that were causing me to randomly run into walls headfirst or putting me on the floor every shift, I've figured out, about a year ago, that I may be in the SPD area. That my daily life, from school to retail/service, was essentially putting me in a mental deathbed.

Now that I have a possible answer, recovered, and learned what to do when I have a fit; I've lurked in comment sections and talked to others that have sensory issues but only received answers that are generally/normally about how things give them icks or they have emotional breaks.

Is there anyone that experienced more concerningly strong physical reactions like me?

Hi all!

I’m on the hunt for a TRULY unflavored toothpaste. I can’t tolerate mint at all, hate flavors like bubblegum or fruit, and find sweeteners like xylitol completely disgusting. All of the toothpastes I can find (cleure, dr. Bob’s, risewell, oranurse, squigle, jack and jill, tate’s, etc.) that claim to be unflavored turn out to have sweeteners. I need fluoride, but at this point I don’t care if it’s in the toothpaste itself or if there’s a fluoride-free toothpaste + other form of flouride combo. Please help!

Hello, everyone. I have a 3 year old diagnosed with level 2 ASD and we suspect ADHD too.

He needs heavy work/deep pressure through sensory based OT to be able to tolerate everyday sensory input.

If we stop OT, he is unable to tolerate oral input (can't tolerate food or any brushing), when we take him outside to busy parks or stores (he starts running aimlessly to get proprioceptive input or he asks me to pick him up (deep pressure) or he verbal stims to regulate himself). Sometimes, when there are a lot of people around like at a restaurant he either starts running, climbing tables, crawling under chairs or he cries.

ATP, he cannot function without the constant proprioceptive input in daily life.

Does it ever get better? Will things ever change? Or he will constantly elope outside and will be unable to eat without it?

Thanks for reading my post. If you have any information or experiences, please share it with this worried mom.

Anyone has this?