When the World Feels Too Loud and Bright: Coping with Sensory Overload

A few words on noise/light sensitivity and silent migraines…

As I suffer it, and have researched into it, I offer a few solutions beyond waiting it out behind blackout curtains until the tumultuous storm of unpleasant agony passes.

The sunlight piercing through the curtains, though dim, feels like hot pokers driving into your skull. Any noise louder than a pin drop ratchets up the agony, making your fingernails hurt your palms. The cheer of children playing as they grow up, becomes intolerable, each ‘rat-tat’ of constant machinery seems to rip your being apart. Even soft fabric touching bare skin causes flinching discomfort. You become more acutely aware of what can, in an instant, throw you totally off balance and slowly learn to identify and avoid the triggers, eventually identifying the hidden ones. Your very survival depends on it!

“To be so highly sensitized, so fragile and acute that sensations hurt and the ordinary stimuli of environment destroy you, is an inescapable and intolerable torture.” ― Ashley Montagu

The symptoms have taken you hostage, rendering you helpless against the sudden onslaught of sensory input that you once effortlessly managed with daily life in metropolitan cities.

You have changed and now the world feels painfully amplified, your nervous system unable to filter even subtle stimulation. The familiar environment morphs into an enemy rather than a nurturer. This descent into overwhelm and subsequent misery is the defining feature of several chronic health conditions and a growing epidemic in our modern way of life.

Those with severe reactivity describe living under constant siege, senses mercilessly bombarded past capacity day and night. Any light brighter than dusk, residual noise bigger than a whisper and mild scents stronger than air can trigger reactive circuits dialled to 11 and beyond on a scale that was designed to contain 10! Imagine functioning in everyday society while the sun sears eyeballs, chatter deafens ears and perfume chokes airways. Even short trips to the grocery store or speaking with agitated family members could require hours or days of recovering in isolation to prevent total system crashes and nervous breakdowns.

In this prison, what was once perceived as neutral stimuli gets perforce recategorized as toxic threats throwing the nervous system into overdrive. With alarming speed, environmental forces turn traitors, amplifying the unease rather than soothing it. Safe thresholds rapidly retreat and diminish and then disappear so suddenly, shifting conditions easily cross the line, tripping endless alarms and bringing about the illness.

Those with heightened sensitivity exist on perpetual high alert, emergency state activated with no identifiable threat, and yet unable to stand down. Attempts to push through or mask symptoms under aspirin or over-the-counter medications often incur disastrous consequences, with the constant bombarding of side effects, the body ultimately forcing extended downtime through illness flareups to heal the cumulative burden of override attempts. A vicious cycle, unless you seek solutions elsewhere and use other means.

“The healthy human brain is wired to tolerate a healthy range of sensory input. But some brains display sensory hyper-reactivity. Then this tolerance range is greatly diminished, thus rendering the person with sensory hyper-reactivity vulnerable to commonly tolerated ordinary sensory input.” ― Maureen B. Roberts

Underlying this sensory chaos still under study and research, some medics theorize, may be neural pathways that have filters disabled, causing you to be chronically stuck in a threat response. When it is unable to modulate fight-or-flight activation appropriately, the brain repeatedly floods the body with stress chemicals in response to any stimuli slightly beyond baseline tolerances, which themselves keep narrowing as reactivity spikes. Over weeks, months and years, this causes systemic inflammation and brain changes including losses in key neurotransmitters. Nerves and neurotransmitters essentially get burned out through relentless high-voltage firing, impairing their ability to regulate. Sounds apocalyptic for the sufferer and yet there is hope and succour.

On a side note, children often ‘act up’ when subjected to sensory overload. If the child is hyperactive, check what they are being subjected to in terms of environment, information and diet.

Many who suffer this severity of sensory overload also have several overlapping neuroimmune conditions like chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia and multiple chemical sensitivities to name a few. Though differing in origin stories, these share features of extreme chemical and sensory intolerances rendering participation in what we today term as normal life near impossible. Some, like myself, may experience relentless waves of silent migraines involving all associated headaches, light/sound sensitivity, respiratory unease, endless nausea and cognitive dysfunction but no identifiable head pain. Needles of burning, stabbing and piercing through the body add an extra dimension of constant physical discomfort with no evident bodily damage or tangible and effective relief measures. Providers often lack solutions beyond prescribing trial-and-error psych meds to numb the emotional distress or suppress the physical symptoms accompanying the devastating anguish, suffering and losses.

So what can offer comfort when the very texture of your ‘normal’ world causes pain?

Those without neurologic disorders take symptom management for granted, oblivious to how powerfully sensory input influences wellness until they experience first-hand how its amplification becomes crippling. But once your sensitivities cross critical thresholds, little can be done beyond hiding away in strictly controlled environments day in and out just to prevent full nervous system collapse. Even strict protocols for sleeping, eating, activity timing and supplements sometimes provide limited relief when all input hurts.

Invisible suffering further isolates those afflicted, doubted or minimized by sceptics regarding the extent of impairment endured. Few can grasp the reality of their experience by simply glancing in from the outside, just like I once was unable to understand why certain people quickly left the party or the fun.

With autoimmunity levels rising exponentially in recent decades along with associated sensory issues, validation and support cannot come quickly enough for those weathering this isolating storm day after brutal day. This silent epidemic gaining momentum deserves witnessing, compassion and relief response.

“To be chronically exposed to toxic stimuli and living under existential threat is pushing human adaptability to its absolute limits.” — Gabor Maté

For those newly experiencing patterns of extreme sensory overload, it is never too soon to start charting your symptoms and triggers closely to determine solutions, helpful modifications, pacing and chemical avoidance. If necessary, consider seeking specialized testing around relevant autoimmune issues, nervous system antibodies, allergy spectrum disorders, toxic accumulation and nutrient deficiencies, addressing all findings vigorously, even if sometimes they turn you inside-out like a sock and all you find is nothing!

Traditional medicine, i.e. what has been practised before the advent of modern medicine can be a very powerful ally. Be open to looking into what mankind did before the advent of whatever is currently the norm. After all, it is the current norm that is causing the problem! Many solutions exist for any problem.

Research into your own well-being instead of leaving it to someone else; your health is your priority before it is anyone else’s priority!

You can make informed and essential choices to prioritise your well-being to amp up the quality of your life, despite disabilities or external factors you cannot control. Here are a few tips:

• Identify your triggers. Observe yourself and your reactions.
• Remove yourself immediately from whatever can trigger you, to avoid the onset of sensory overload. Environment matters a lot.
• Prioritize calming the nervous system through quiet times, soft natural environments, gentle herbs, stretching, vagus nerve stimulation, energy healing and time outdoors grounded in nature.
• Regularly carve out quiet, predictable spaces solely for rest and regulation without pressure to socialize or work on healing days.
• Meditation is one of the most powerful allies you can cultivate!
• Keep ear-plugs and noise-cancelling headphones always at hand.
• Ensure that your eyes are protected with sunglasses against the harsh glare, invest in an eye mask while resting/sleeping, and avoid overbright environments, neon lights and overuse of bright screens.
• Choose clothing and objects, materials and fabrics that provide comfort.
• Create living and working spaces and schedules more in harmony with the rhythms of nature. Tune into your own biorhythms and prioritise your rest and sleep schedules.
• Simplify and reduce appointments and other commitments temporarily to minimize stress while stabilizing.
• Many sufferers claim that therapies like acupuncture, infrared sauna, myofascial release and craniosacral therapy also calm overreactive wiring gently.
• Set firm boundaries regarding when you make yourself available to avoid reaching the tipping point of overload through depleting social interactions or digital immersion.

Most importantly, respond with utmost compassion toward yourself through this profoundly challenging passage of losing choice around how your system handles normal sensory input.

“The most essential requirement for existence — an inner stillness absent of stimuli and even thought — felt to me like a luxury forever out of reach.” ― Victoria Loustalot

Release attachment to productivity norms and instead fully dedicate the time needed for rigorous whole being recovery, even if extensive. Allow yourself to grieve the version of life as you knew it, releasing its loss. We as humans were not designed for, nor meant to ‘live’ 24/7 connected lives with the constant onslaught of light, sound and information that has radically increased after the industrial revolution. We are slowly and silently killing ourselves with a lower threshold of well-being in the name of progress.

It takes awareness, courage and resilience to realise and own that your surroundings are morphing into unpredictable enemies but with awareness and being informed you can navigate this change and move toward a more beneficial and fulfilling lifestyle.

Avoid falling into the victim mindset or the self-blame around “Why me?” when you see everyone else going about their business with full energy. These kinds of mental loops on any occasion fail to honour your person. Reframe the situation into “What can I do about this?” Believe me, it is way more respectful of your time, energy and person!

Reach out for support where necessary. Know that you do not walk this long road alone. Even if few fellow travellers make themselves known as fervently seeking relief, still caught up in the modern myth of showing up as indestructible to maintain the facade of productivity.

As you show up as your authentic self, others show up with their vulnerabilities, dropping their masks and sharing their experiences and solutions beyond the isolation. Where solace is lacking in comprehension from the present company, allow yourself to sink into Mother Nature’s gentle splendour and embrace; she always provides a healing balm when humanity cannot comprehend.

“The most important kind of freedom is to be what you really are. You trade in your reality for a role. You trade in your sense for an act. You give up your ability to feel, and in exchange, put on a mask.” ― Jim Morrison

The path towards peace and well-being exists, even in the midst of chaos, should you choose to seek it. That choice will transform your life from unease into shimmering and deeply fulfilling moments of being.

The above article is the fruit of my research and experience and is not meant to substitute professional medical opinion for those suffering from sensory overload.

As a mindfulness practitioner and life-design coach, I help clients focus on well-being and personal growth and make life choices that prioritize their mental and emotional health. This leads to personal freedom and independence allowing the person to blossom and manifest the life they deserve. Connect with me if you are seeking to go forward on your journey.