There is Increasing Attention to the Different Ways People Process Stimuli – In The Cultural World, Sports, and Education. The word overstimulated is of used when we feel stressed or under pressure. But what does true overstimulation feel like?
The World is Full of Light, Sound, Color, And Smell. Healthy brains can usual handle thesis stimuli well. Many People Even Seek Out Places Where We Are Wovenhelmed by Sensory Stimuli – Think of Festivals, Busy Cities, Amusement Parks, and Fireworks Shows.
There is also a Group of People who Become Overstimulated by Light, Sound, Touch, and Smells. They Become Tired, Exhausted, Nauseous, Dizzy, Suffer from Severe Headaches, Develop a Fever, Vomit, or Cannot Concentrate Due to All this input.
How People Recover from Overstimulation Complaints Differs per person. For some people, a ‘rest day’ after such a busy, stimulating situation is enough to recover, but for others, the complaints can last for days to week.
‘Low-Stimulus Spaces Are A Good Start’
Our society seems to be slowly adjusting more to people who benefit from fewstimuli. Museums Are Increasingly Organizing Low-Stimulus Exhibitions.
In The Nijntje Museum (Miffy Museum), There is a Low-Stimulus Cabin Where Children Can Isolate Themselves from All The Colors And Sounds for A While. Technofestival Awakenings Set Up A Low-Stimulus Zone, And Wellness Enthusiasts Have Long Been Familiar with the Concept of Floating. This Involves Lying in a Water Tank in the Dark and in Silence for a While.
“Such Initiatives are Beautiful and a Very Good Start,” Says neuropsychologist Tanja Nijboer, researcher and associate professor at Utrecht University. “Stimuli that you can exclude do not need to be processed by the brain.” So, Headphones, Dark Sunglasses, Low-Stimulus Spaces, and Quiet Compartments are Useful Tools to Receive Fewer Stimuli.
“But for the Group of People with Severe Overstimulation Complaints, A Low-Stimulus Space or Theater Performance is a well-intentioned Initiative, But It Will not Be Enough for Them,” Says Nijboer. That degree of overstimulation – or prevention it – cannot be solved by simply floating.
Overstimulated by a Ticking Clock or Shadows
Overstimulation is common in MS Patients and People with Parkinson’s. People with Acquired Brain Injury (ABI) Can Experience Mild, But also Very Severe Overstimulation Complaints. Most people with Asd (autism) or ad (h) d experience stimuli differently, and highly sensitive and gifted people are also more likely to be overstimulated.
“Stimuli are small pieces of information that are picked up by the senses,” Nijboer Explains. “The Senses Pass thesis stimuli on the brain, and the brain determines which pieces of information we should become aware of and process. Processing stimuli – OR information – Costs QUITE A BIT OF ENERGY, So the brain actual only, to be new, dethuling”
The brain filters many stimuli so that you don’t have to process what is not relevant at that moment – a ticking clock, shadows on the wall, a beep, or a drill.
MoreOover, your brains link stimuli together so that they Become one stimulus together: a flash of light and a loud noise belong together, and your brains quickly process this as one stimulus. Each Sense has a separate brain area, and thesis areas work together. That’s how it works if you have healthy neutral stimulus processing.
“Just then, you can be very tired after a busy event or need to exclude all visual stimuli for a while. Sensory Perceptions.
If you have brain damage or a mental disorder such autism, stimulus processing does not work as efficiently as it could be. “Everything comes in at the same time, the brain areas do not communicate well with each other, stimuli all come in at the same time and equally hard.”
Hold Music is very annoying
Science is not yet so far that we can map Exactly What the Cause is – or what the causes may be – or over -stimulation. We also Cannot Yet Say at an Individual Level Where Things Go Wrong for Someone, Says Nijboer.
There is a lot of variation in complaints, and also a lot or overlap. For Example, Burdensome Visual Stimuli Are Screens with Bright Light, Many Lamps, and Flickering Light. Loud Noises Are Difficult to Process, But Many People with Overstimulation Complaints Are Bothered by That Ticking Clock, The Humming Dishwasher, or Beping Telephones.
“Don’t forget the music when you are on hold by telephone. Many people suffer a lot from that. Tangible stimuli are also mentioned, such as labels or loose threads on clothing. Smells can also be overhelming.”
Overstrimulation is extra difficult because it is invisible; People Cannot See It And That Causes Misunderstanding, Says Nijboer. “Someone who does not want to come to come to parties it is too much, lies in bed for days after a busy day, or ofte calls in sick is quickly not understood or called an Attention Seeker. That is bath.”