Before July 22, 2014 I had never heard of Sensory Processing Disorder or Highly Sensitive People. Towards the end of the third session with my counselor, I saw a light bulb come on over her head...almost literally. She showed me a copy of Sharon Heller's book Too Loud, Too Bright, Too Fast, Too Tight and I went home and ordered a copy immediately. In the meantime, I scoured the internet for information. At first I was frustrated to find only articles, web sites, blog posts, etc. on SPD in children. As I dug deeper, I found adults like me who had lived most of their lives not realizing why everything seemed like "too much".
Sensory defensiveness is a condition that encompasses a constellation of symptoms, including tension, anxiety, avoidance, stress, anger and even violence that result from aversion or defensive reactions to what most people consider nonirritating stimuli. (1)
In an almost childish way, I have thought for all of my life that everyone experiences things like I do, but they do a better job of handling them. They get adrenaline rushes from cabinet doors closing, feel every thread of a rough towel, and smell the individual perfumes and colognes of each person in a room...at the same time, and I was certain that fluorescent lights gave everyone a headache. The one thing I realized I was different on was taste; mostly because it has been an ongoing joke in my family for many, many years.
My hope is to post my "adventures" with SPD here, both in the past and the future. Mostly it will be for my own benefit to mark the progress of my education on the subject and how it is helping me be a better me. If, in the process, it helps someone else, well, that would be really awesome.
SPD Self-Test
Symptoms of Sensory Defensiveness
SPD in Adults
(1) Patricia Wilbarger and Julia Wilbarger, Sensory Defensiveness in Children Aged 2-12: An Intervention Guide for Parents and Other Caretakers. Santa Barbara, Calif.: Avanti Educational Programs, 1991. (via Too Loud, Too Bright, Too Fast, Too Tight)
