I have trouble telling what the pain in my stomach is telling me, so I pretty much only just realized how bad my body hates certain sensory and social stuff. It’s as though my insides were on fire and the only way to slightly affect it is to cry (and obvi get away from the noise). I thought it was just anxiety or under stimulation before, but no, those are separate things. I have spent hours today doing various self care type stuff (meditation, being in nature, exercising, mindfully eating, yoga nitra, massage, taking a bath, fun things on the internet, positive stimulus of other sorts, zoning out), and the feeling’s still there. I don’t even mask. How do you deal with having to be in a sensory hell for hours of the day? How do you calm down? Please don’t say drugs.
Context: ADHD often makes people struggle with interoception and being able to relax.
I have to remove any loud or bright stimulus, and usually end up lying in bed or on the couch in the dark wrapped in a blanket or a big hoodie, with a squishy stim toy. Stimming really grounds me and brings me back to focus, since I tend to dissociate when super stressed. If I'm gonna cry I'll just sit in the shower until the tears stop and I'm too dehydrated and worn out to do anything but sit quietly or sleep. I always try to kind of check in with myself and question my feelings and thoughts, because it helps me process whatever is going on, kind of like an imagined therapy session. Figuring out what your body AND your mind need is a weird and tricky thing. Lot of good advice and comments here though. Hope you can find some peace.