Consider a normal weekday. Perhaps you drove the kids to school while listening to a podcast. Then, during a Zoom conversation, you responded to a few emails. You showed the plumber a small leak in the bathroom upstairs while you were between calls. While working on a brief paper, you observed your child playing soccer. If this scenario sounds familiar, you may be looking for ways to manage overstimulation.
We are limited to one task at a time. When we attempt to accomplish too much at once, we overstimulate and overload our brains. You might get burnt out, stressed out, and unable to handle stress if you experience chronic overstimulation. It will eventually affect how you connect with your family and how well you do at work.
Understanding how overstimulation occurs is a fundamental step toward reducing it. You may take action to lessen any overstimulation you may be experiencing once you know what’s causing it.
Tips To Manage Overstimulation
1. Understand The Patterns
The first step in finding ways to manage overstimulation is to figure out what it looks like for you. It’s important to know what your specific triggers are and when and how the symptoms happen. You may take action since you are aware of this. To begin, maintain a diary or a note on your phone to write down the times when you feel overstimulated.
Write down things like the time of day, the place, how you were feeling, and any particular sensory inputs, like noise or light, that could have played a role. Patterns will start to show themselves over time. Overstimulation symptoms sometimes come on slowly, especially if you’re already upset or nervous.
However, they may also come on quickly after being around bright lights, loud sounds, or busy places for a long time. The most important thing is to see these indications early. You will be better able to recognize your body’s signals if you keep note of how you feel. This will make it simpler to step in before the overload gets too much.
2. Determine The Reason
After you’ve established what overstimulation means to you, focus on the people, feelings, circumstances, or surroundings that contribute to the overload. Making the connection between your symptom patterns and their causes is your aim here.
For instance, because of the crowds, loud sounds, bright lights, and several choices that must be made, supermarket shopping at peak hours may be overwhelming. Instead, you can decide to shop during the midday hours when fewer people are there.
The degree of overstimulation might change based on your tolerance, emotional control, and surroundings. Don’t undervalue the little causes, such as tight clothes or a noisy oven fan. Be aware of significant changes, such as unexpected cancellations, at the same time.
3. Try To Reduce Stimulus And Distractions
It’s time to know how to manage overstimulation. Here, some trial and error is to be expected. In order to understand how overstimulation feels to you, you’re attempting to become more self-aware. In this manner, you may cut down or eliminate to prevent overload.
For instance, planning a digital detox might be one way to lessen the stimulus from technology. You may lessen the quantity of sensory input your gadgets provide you by reducing your screen usage during this time.
Likewise, reducing your sensory input from digital gadgets may be facilitated by a dopamine detox. This kind of “detox” happens when you stop doing things that are bad for your health, including watching TV or using social media. Reducing excessive stimuli is the ultimate objective in order to help you feel more at ease.
Using noise-canceling headphones may assist in lowering auditory input if you work in a loud workplace. Or, to assist in reducing the volume of the music, use earplugs if you’re going to a loud performance.
4. Practice Mindfulness
Present-moment awareness is the main goal of mindfulness. It goes beyond simple meditation. Some people find that using basic, daily grounding practices improves their capacity to cope with excessive sensory input. We may educate our brains to process incoming information by keeping our attention on the here and now. By doing this, we may lessen sensory overload and improve our control over sensory input.
One of the ways to manage overstimulation is the grounding approach. It’s an effort to adjust to your current surroundings. Take a deep breath first, for instance, if you’re sitting at your desk and you realize that your heart is pounding and your hands are sweating. You might then count how many blue objects you notice in the room.
Try taking a mindful stroll and focusing on each step if you have trouble staying motionless while feeling overwhelmed. You may relax in the present by using basic grounding methods like this one.
5. Be In Nature
Our hectic minds are calmed by nature. Although we can’t always completely block off sensory information, we can manage its source. It offers a calming diversion from the incessant sensory overload of our crowded environments. Spending time outside, whether hiking or relaxing in a park, is a grounding strategy that promotes pleasant feelings and helps repair brain functioning.
Gregory Bratman, a University of Washington assistant professor, conducted research on the effects of nature on human health. He discovered that research participants’ mental health suffered when they were deprived of access to green areas.
Make tiny daily objectives to begin spending more time in nature. Perhaps you sit outdoors in the sun for lunch or go for a daily 15-minute stroll. These everyday objectives eventually develop into wholesome, long-term routines.
6. Have Empathy For Yourself
It might be difficult to know how to manage overstimulation, only to still feel overwhelmed in some circumstances. However, instead of feeling irritated, try rethinking your attitude by practicing self-compassion. Recognizing that you are learning to control your triggers, just like acquiring any new skill, is vital to long-term success.
Self-compassion entails treating oneself with love and tolerance amid failures and realizing that it’s acceptable to make errors along the road. Incorporating strategies such as grounding exercises, where you concentrate on your surroundings to reconnect with the present moment, may help calm your nervous system.
Scheduling mental health days—time away from demanding responsibilities and environments—can also give respite. Practicing positive self-talk, where you substitute negative ideas with affirmations, can further boost your capacity to deal.
Additionally, knowing various kinds of sleep and prioritizing restful, restorative sleep is important for maintaining your emotional resilience. With self-compassion, failures become learning opportunities, and you continue on the correct route.
Read More: How To Start Living for Yourself
7. Put Your Faith In A Loved One
If managing overstimulation feels overwhelming, don’t hesitate to seek support from a loved one you trust. It’s important to remember that you’re not alone in this struggle—research shows that between 5% and 16.5% of people experience difficulties related to sensory processing. Talking to someone close to you can provide not only emotional relief but also a sense of validation.
Confiding in a friend or family member often makes us feel supported and understood, which in turn can help us feel more capable of managing the challenges we face. You might even be surprised to learn that the person you turn to for support may experience similar sensory sensitivities.
This shared experience can create a sense of solidarity and mutual understanding. By working together, you and your trusted friend can establish safe spaces where you can openly address overstimulation and develop coping strategies, making the process feel less isolating.
When You Should Seek Professional Help
At times, you may find the ways to manage overstimulation on your own are just too much to handle. If you’ve tried several tactics but haven’t noticed the decrease in symptoms you’re looking for, it might be a sign that it’s time to seek professional treatment.
Professionals like life coaches and mental health therapists have particular expertise and abilities that may make a major impact in managing overstimulation. They give counsel geared to your unique requirements, helping you learn the basic reasons for your sensitivity and how to manage efficiently. One specialized treatment is sensory integration therapy, specifically designed for individuals with sensory sensitivities.
This treatment helps patients adapt to sensory-rich settings in a manner that decreases the tension and discomfort they may experience. Sensory integration therapy works by giving controlled tasks that allow the brain to integrate sensory information more effectively, helping you handle overwhelming stimuli with more comfort.
Consulting with an expert enhances your chances of uncovering the real reasons for your overstimulation, which may frequently be more complicated than they initially seem. A professional may educate you by detecting your triggers and giving tailored coping skills that may be more beneficial than generic ones.
With professional support, you may construct a toolbox for controlling overstimulation and move towards a more balanced and pleasant experience in everyday life. A specialist can give you insight and confidence that you’re not alone in this struggle.
FAQ
Q: Can someone be overstimulated?
A: Yes, neurotypical individuals may undoubtedly feel overstimulation. Although overstimulation occurs more frequently in individuals with mental health conditions, trauma, ADHD, or autism, anyone can experience it when exposed to excessive stimuli.
Q: Is it possible for overstimulation to increase heart rate?
A: The emotional, behavioral, and physical changes range from disagreeable to overwhelming. When someone is overstimulated, their body may react with an elevated heart rate.
Q: What is the mechanism of overstimulation?
A: When a person struggles to absorb their surroundings and is overloaded with information from their senses, they are said to be overstimulated. The brain receives information about your environment from your senses, which act as messengers. After processing this data, your brain provides your body instructions on how to respond to stimuli.
