A Closer Look: Hyper-Sensitivities Across the Senses (B1.1.1)
You're ready to take a closer look at how hyper-sensitivity (being over-responsive) can manifest across the different sensory systems. While some people experience heightened sensitivity in just one or two areas, many neurodivergent individuals find that several of their senses are dialed up high.
Below is a list of our eight sensory systems. Think about your own experiences: which of these senses often feel overwhelming or contribute most significantly to feelings of sensory overload for you?
You can explore them in any order that feels right, and you can always return here to explore another.
Choose a sensory system to explore its hyper-sensitive aspects:
1. Visual (Sight): "Bright lights, busy patterns, visual clutter, or even certain colors can be overwhelming or distracting for me." (Turn to Page 55: The Visual World - When Sights Overwhelm) 2. Auditory (Hearing): "Loud noises, specific sounds (like chewing or humming), or environments with lots of background noise are often unbearable or painful for me." (Turn to Page 56: The Auditory World - When Sounds Invade) 3. Tactile (Touch): "Certain textures of clothing, food, or even light touch from others can feel intensely uncomfortable, itchy, or even painful." (Turn to Page 58: The Tactile World - When Touch is Too Much) 4. Olfactory (Smell): "Strong perfumes, cleaning products, food smells, or other odors can be overpowering, cause headaches, or make me feel nauseous." (Turn to Page 59: The Olfactory World - When Smells Assail) 5. Gustatory (Taste): "I'm highly sensitive to strong flavors, specific food textures, or the temperature of food, which can make eating a challenge." (Turn to Page 61: The Gustatory World - When Tastes Trigger) 6. Vestibular (Movement & Balance): "I can be sensitive to motion, easily get car sick, feel dizzy with certain movements, or feel anxious if my feet aren't firmly on the ground." (Turn to Page 62: The Vestibular World - When Movement Disturbs) 7. Proprioception (Body Awareness): "While often associated with needing more input, hyper-sensitivity here might mean an acute, sometimes uncomfortable, awareness of one's body, or difficulty with tasks requiring fine motor control due to overwhelming body feedback." (Turn to Page 63: The Proprioceptive World - Navigating Body Awareness - Hyper) 8. Interoception (Internal Body Senses): "I might be acutely aware of internal sensations like my heartbeat, digestion, or subtle feelings of discomfort that others don't notice, sometimes leading to anxiety." (Turn to Page 64: The Interoceptive World - When Inner Sensations Amplify) 9. "Actually, before diving into specific senses, I'd prefer to learn about general strategies for managing overall sensory overload." (Turn to Page 57: Toolkit for a Quieter World - Managing Hyper-Sensitivity & Overload) 10. "I'd like to go back and explore a different sensory profile (like seeking or hypo-sensitivity)." (Links to Page 60 for Seeking/Hypo or Page 68/66 for Interoceptive Hypo, or back to Page 50 for the main Sensory Section landing page - let's simplify this to Page 60 for now). (Explore Sensory Seeking / Hypo-sensitivity - Page 60) 11. "Return to the Hyper-Sensitivities Introduction." (Turn back to Page 52)