Reply To: Head full of nothing

[Rick Green – Founder of TotallyADD]

This is so common. I didn’t realize this aspect of myself until fairly recently, despite having been diagnosed over a decade ago.

But I started to notice that when we went to a noisy restaurant I had trouble following conversations. If it was a sports bar with TV’s on, well, of course I was gone. But I was also hearing about 30% of a conversation at the next table, 20 % from another table, and perhaps 50% of what was being said at our table.

It’s all about Executive Function. What you are paying attention to. What your mind is focussing on and what other stuff it is ignoring.  It can be with ideas and thoughts, and tasks we should be doing or at least sticking with… but it can also be emotions that are all over the place. And it can be overly sensitive to sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and even tactile stuff.

In our video on Oversensitivity and Emotion Terry Matlen, who is doing a webinar with us later this year, talks about how certain fabrics drive her nuts. And how she cannot have a conversation with someone if there are other conversations going on around her.

The solution? Well, for me, I avoid noisy restaurants. If there are TV’s I don’t face them.  And Terry talks about asking the person she is talking to, “Why don’t we step into that room to talk, it’s quieter and it will be easier for us to chat.”

Another thing I’ve noticed is that I don’t like beaches. Why? The wet sand drives me nuts. My skin gets too activated. Certain smells. Certain tastes or textures of food. All of these can be overwhelming.

REPORT ABUSE