Just post every day

[sasha_feather]

For record-keeping, and for the curious, here are some of my remaining concussion symptoms,

--Feeling clammy (cold but sweating)
--emotionally labile: snappish, anxious, overwhelmed
--Sometimes dizzy and motion-sensitive
--Needing to sleep and rest a lot. This is not new but is worse, and I need to stop myself from doing things.

There's a certain "sensory" component, i use quotes because I don't have a lot of experience with this term and I don't want to appropriate it from autistic people, but I'm not sure how else to describe it. It's seeking out soft clothes, being bothered by clothing tags, that sort of thing. When I first got home I put on the string lights (aka Christmas lights), wore my boiled wool jacket 24/7, listened to my favorite songs. I am going to continue this practice-- trying to calm the nervous system down.

I went to see the Barbie movie with a couple of friends, and I was a little worried I was not going to be able to handle it. But going to the movies is one of my favorite things of all time.
Turns out the movie was fine but the previews were difficult. I closed my eyes for the previews. This was a good movie to see because it does not have a lot of flashing lights, quick motion, spinning camera, etc, and it was fairly light-hearted and funny.

I just discovered something that may help with my food issues (but is annoying), and that is to plug my nose while eating.

The air quality right now is in the "very unhealthy" category. The smoke is so thick you can barely see across Lake Monona. It's a natural disaster that, from what I can tell, is not being treated as such. I suppose people are tired of public health events involving the air.

Comments

[sovay]

There's a certain "sensory" component, i use quotes because I don't have a lot of experience with this term and I don't want to appropriate it from autistic people, but I'm not sure how else to describe it. It's seeking out soft clothes, being bothered by clothing tags, that sort of thing.

That sounds sensory to me. You are not appropriating it; it's accurately descriptive. < / comes from a family of people with sensory integration issues, self included >

[ladyjax]

Having experienced smoke events where I am, I sympathize. It's absolutely hell on my lungs when it gets bad. I hope it clears out for you soon.

[rydra_wong]

There's a certain "sensory" component, i use quotes because I don't have a lot of experience with this term and I don't want to appropriate it from autistic people, but I'm not sure how else to describe it. It's seeking out soft clothes, being bothered by clothing tags, that sort of thing. When I first got home I put on the string lights (aka Christmas lights), wore my boiled wool jacket 24/7, listened to my favorite songs. I am going to continue this practice-- trying to calm the nervous system down.

Speaking as an autistic person, we don't have a monopoly on sensory processing issues -- they can come along with various different kinds of neurodivergence, and Google says it's a Known Issue with concussions.

You're not "appropriating" the term, it's the correct term for what you're dealing with! And you're doing the right thing by trying to soothe your nervous system and avoid things that aggravate and overload it.

Tangential -- do you have a weighted blanket? If not, does one sound appealing? It's a YMMV thing, but for many people it can be useful for providing good, calming sensory input and helping with sleep.

[peardita]

seconding all the above, it's not asd only, and it's not appropriation! from my rudimentary understanding, "sensory issues" can go broadly in 2 buckets: 1. sensory processing, where your brain struggles to interpret sensory inputs and produce appropriate responses. it's often associated with asd but can be a symptom of many other things. it can potentially be treated with sensory integration therapies.

2. sensory hypersensitivity is where your nervous system is overreactive and normal stimuli become painful. migraines with light and sound being the most known example. with this you have to treat whatever is causing the cns overreaction, like ending the migraine or managing the fibro.

either kind can be very painful, or just make you uncomfortable, depending on the intensity. and i think sometimes its impossible to say is it column a or column b, or a mix of both? and doing exercises to sooth and rebalance the nervous system may in fact help reduce the pain from the hypersensitive kind? I don't know, I assume it's not well studied. but working on recalibrating your nervous system sounds like it's a great idea for you!

and I agree the smoke is a natural disaster in itself, and people are just not thinking of it that way. im sorry trying to keep it out of your house is such a struggle :(((((

[starshipfox]

As others have said, I think it's definitely fine to talk about sensory issues or sensory overload: it's a descriptive term that's common to a lot of different disorders. I'd also recommend a weighted blanket if you are feeling the need to be covered up, or don't want to experience too much sensory input. It's very soothing and helpful when you are feeling emotionally labile.

I'm glad you had fun at the Barbie movie! That sounds like a great outing.