Reged: 04/26/04
Posts: 1490
Loc: New York, New York
Some of this fits me pretty well
I am easily overwhelmed by strong sensory input. I can barely walk through the music section of circuit city, and I can't stand techno music -- it makes me crazy! Other people's moods affect me. This is very true for me, and I find it offensive when people take their poor moods out on me. I am very careful not to be grumpy or sulky around people when I am not feeling my best. I find myself needing to withdraw during busy days,into bed or into a darkened room or any place where I can have some privacy and relief from stimulation. I'd put it exactly that way. I am made uncomfortable by loud noises. Ny neighbor plays amazingly loud music with the bass turned way up. It's more than distracting -- it's totally infuriating. When I think it's too loud I tell her to turn it down, but when I can just generally overhear that she has music on, I leave it alone and chalk it up to apartment life. I startle easily. Yes, I jump at movies and tv shows especially. My nervous system sometimes feels so frazzled that I just have to go off by myself. Yup I make a point to avoid violent movies and TV shows. I don't mind violence at all but I don't like suspense thrillers or anything like that. Makes me nervous. Oddly enough, movies like "Meet the Parents" make me so stressed out on behalf of the characters that I cannot enjoy the movie. I haven't seen the sequel just for that reason. I am bothered by intense stimuli, like loud noises or chaotic scenes. I panicked trying to get out of a very crowded Penn Station during the RNC in NYC, and I don't know if that's normal or not. Usually chaotic scenes are okay but uncontrolled noise is not. When I was a child, my parents or teachers seemed to see me as sensitive or shy. Sensitive, yes. Shy, no. I can remember my parents sitting me down to say that I was too old to cry over hurt feelings anymore (I was probably 7). Having two older brothers toughened me up somewhat, but I am still pretty scared of confrontation and I hate when I do a bad job and others disapprove. I cry a lot -- sometimes up to 4 days a week for a long time, but in general I do not feel the least bit depressed and I generally have a positive outlook.