# Managing Anxiety and Sensory Hypersensitivity



## Kynx (Feb 6, 2012)

What techniques or strategies have you found helpful for managing anxiety and/or sensory hypersensitivity?


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## Slagasauras (Jun 26, 2013)

Gosh, I wish there were more answers to this, right now I'm actually losing my shit from anxiety and I can't sit down and do homework because of it. This is horrible. 
My plan is to read five pages at a time, take a breath and drink a glass of water until I finish my readings, then I can proceed onto something else.
This is shorrible, maybe I do need medication.
Bye, sorry if this was out of place!


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## AmalyaIvy (Mar 12, 2015)

Tai Chi can help to overcome anxiety. Also yoga, meditation but you might not be able to do any of these while suffering from anxiety. Get help from a doctor to overcome the immediate problem and then once you are temporary "cured" try any one of these continuously. Will keep anxiety away from you.


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## Maye (Feb 15, 2015)

Actually, yoga could be a good recommendation. It involves focusing all your attention to your breath. When done as meditation, I've found it really helpful for when I feel trapped in the stress of my thinking.

Here's a page that explains calm breathing: Calm Breathing | Anxiety BC Also, here's a page with free guided meditations. I've only tried the first one on calming breathing, and it also teaches you basically how to meditate. Free Guided Meditations | UCLA Mindful Awareness Research Center

If environmental factors happen to be part of your anxiety, maybe a pair of high quality noise canceling headphones. They're definitely on my to-buy list, as i have a very noisy family lol.

*Edit: Not sure what hyper sensitivity is. I looked it up quickly and it seems to be about the immune system??? If you get sick a lot and are looking for a way to kill colds effectively, maybe try eating a couple slivers of raw garlic every day (with honey or something to weaken the flavor). Also drinking lots of orange juice, and plenty of water. Ok, sorry for the excessive advice. I have too much time on my hands.


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## Tad Cooper (Apr 10, 2010)

Neverontime said:


> What techniques or strategies have you found helpful for managing anxiety and/or sensory hypersensitivity?


I found when I get stressed/overwhelmed then putting a towel over my face helps me calm down. That or a sleep mask and ear plugs works to block out stimulation so you can calm down and get on with what you need to do after a few minutes.
Anxiety is more about noticing what sets of your anxiety and doing your best to avoid it or working out ways of combating it i.e. crowds freak me out so I found playing a game of weaving through them without touching anyone occupies my brain enough so anxiety cant overwhelm me. (Its a little game in my head a bit like Frogger of just avoiding making contact with ''obstacles'')


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## Kynx (Feb 6, 2012)

Maye said:


> Actually, yoga could be a good recommendation. It involves focusing all your attention to your breath. When done as meditation, I've found it really helpful for when I feel trapped in the stress of my thinking.
> 
> Here's a page that explains calm breathing: Calm Breathing | Anxiety BC Also, here's a page with free guided meditations. I've only tried the first one on calming breathing, and it also teaches you basically how to meditate. Free Guided Meditations | UCLA Mindful Awareness Research Center
> 
> ...


By sensory hypersensitivity I meant being oversensitive to certain stimuli. Specifically, in this case the main problem is an oversensitive disgust reaction, causing him to feel nauseous at the slightest thing.


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## Maye (Feb 15, 2015)

Oh. Well, I can relate to that feeling (although maybe not to the same extent, idk). Its really awful. Hope you're feeling better.


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## stone100674 (Jun 22, 2012)

I suffered a concussion last year, and was later diagnosed with PCS: two of my major issues were audio and photo-phobia. The only treatment for either of these is exposure therapy.


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## xraydav (Jan 3, 2013)

Maye said:


> Oh. Well, I can relate to that feeling (although maybe not to the same extent, idk). Its really awful. Hope you're feeling better.


I think she means like in sensory processing issues, especially common in sensory processing disorder. Where it feels like pain on bright lights, strong odours etc. 

it is a physiological problem. Something like wearing sunglasses inside, can help loads. Generally , lowering the level of lighting in the room also helps. 

Alongside this, I think breathing exercises can help to refocus away from the pain in some cases. Someone here who can relate to sensory processing issues with anxiety myself, I hear breathing techniques done with mindfulness can help with the chronic pain as well, and generally it can help management over time.


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## Peter (Feb 27, 2010)

Neverontime said:


> What techniques or strategies have you found helpful for managing anxiety and/or sensory hypersensitivity?


How are these 2 related, anxiety and sensory hypersensitivity?


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## dragthewaters (Feb 9, 2013)

Pro tip: yoga, meditation, breathing exercises, working out, and changing your diet doesn't do shit.


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## Kynx (Feb 6, 2012)

Peter said:


> How are these 2 related, anxiety and sensory hypersensitivity?


Anticipating potential/known situations which cause sensory issues (due to spd) is triggering anxiety.


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## xraydav (Jan 3, 2013)

Neverontime said:


> Anticipating potential/known situations which cause sensory issues (due to spd) is triggering anxiety.


Generally when you use sunglasses and physical things to block out or manage, I think it may reduce the anxiety a certain degree. If it's anxiety caused mainly by the spd.

theres also this this thing called a squeeze machine ; http://www.grandin.com/inc/squeeze.html 
i think visualizing something similiar to a small room where no light can enter, is also a technique I've heard for spd (not sure if autism spd though, but it may be helpful)


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## Peter (Feb 27, 2010)

Neverontime said:


> Anticipating potential/known situations which cause sensory issues (due to spd) is triggering anxiety.


Ok. I had to look SPD up. Looks like it's mostly a kid's thing that just take more time to learn to deal with sensory input. But in some cases it stays and it remains into adulthood. From what I've read, the same kinds of therapies used for kids can also work for adults. There is no reason to believe that in adults the pathways in the brain and from the senses to the brain can't improve. It probably requires more work as an adult.


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