Sensory Overload

 

What is sensory overload?

Sensory overload is a very serious problem in the modern world. My previous post was about rest and I shall continue under the same topic. We are all very different from each other and we all have different capacity to cope with the commotion all around us. You might be a music lover, but still, hate going to the store because of the background music. You might get overly agitated when asked out and you know that you probably need to hang out with a group of people. Commercial billboards with bright lights drill holes that, you feel, reach into your brain. The noise from the crowd, people bumping into each other and everybody passing by minding their own business makes you feel like you were suffocating. Anxiety takes the fun away from shopping. These are serious signs of sensory overload. Some of us can take more and some of us are more sensitive by nature and suffer more because of it. 

I used to love music

Music has the capability to heal and calm a troubled mind. Unfortunately, that too may turn into a burden. If we are in balance and all pieces in our lives exist in harmony, we rarely have any sensory issues while enjoying the modern world with all our senses. The problems start when we do not get enough rest in all aspects of life.  Some behavioural patterns turn against our own well-being. Anxiety grows as people in lockdowns stay seated on the sofa watching Netflix and scrolling down social media on their smartphones. They may not even realize how much unbalance they cause to their bodies and minds. Starting from deteriorating posture, shrinking breathing capacity and most of all sensory confusion in the brain. Without realizing the severity of this problem, there will be more mental instability and physical issues than ever before. Because of the overload of artificial relationships, lights from the screens, ever-changing images and texts before one's eyes, confusing newsfeed and most of all limited amount of human to human connections. We can get tired even we feel that all is well and we sleep enough at night. And we might even start hating music not understanding why. 

Before all that happens, tune down the beat and turn off your tv and computer well before bedtime. Enjoy silence at least occasionally. And read a book. You could call someone close to you or even go out for a walk. 

Do I need sleep and rest?

We know when we get physically tired. We feel when we are emotionally drained. We know when we are hungry or thirsty. And for sure we know when we have work-related stress that weighs us down mentally and we lack all exercise because of it. However, it is harder to comprehend if we lack the rest only a little bit in each sector. And the sensory overload is just the last drop that did not fit into your cup anymore. When your cup is overflowing a good night's sleep is not enough. You need that sleep, but you also need to rest. You should feed your body, rest emotionally, physically and mentally as well as make sure that your body and mind are fit enough to digest all you put into it. And yes one needs to sleep at night and take time to rest during the day. Just remember that resting does not necessarily mean sleeping.