When your brain is stressed or overwhelmed form light or sound, or too many ppl talking at the same time - how does that feel for you and what things cause you stress and how do manage to deal with them, what helps you to get all clear again?
I can quickly get overwhelmed by too much sensation from light or sound or just general chaos. When it happens to me I get a little more dizzy, more off balance, more unstable, etc. It completely zaps me off all energy. What helps me is just being in a quiet space devoid of most stimulation. I think rest is the most important thing for our brains when we get overwhelmed. I find if I'm in a situation or place that is too much for me I need to walk outside or to a different room. I've even gone to the bathroom in a restaurant just to escape the ovewhelming stimuli.
I have a somewhat high tolerance for stress, and doing yoga and meditation-or focused thought-awareness everyday definitely helps me to rebound from stress.
I’m just reading Trishe’s thing: I definitely try to escape to a restroom or sleep for alone and peace-of-mind time.
If I could have read your discussion sooner, I would have written exactly what Trish sent. Hang in there!
Hi Manux...its true that we cant escape stress.... but we can find ways to deal with it.... my suggestion would be....to make good numbers of friends around you...may be at work place or near your home or any place for that matter.....after u r surrounded by lots of caring friends it becomes easier to handle stress... take care..Santhosh
That's a good question. Loud noise, even loud music effects me. And.. crowded or busy places. I get dizzy, light headed, brain fog and sometimes tremors. I avoid it as much as possible. If I'm in a store, I leave earlier than I planned to. Then I go home and rest. I have had episodes where I had to sit in my car for a while until I felt safe enough to drive. I'm usually never far from home by myself though.
I am anxious to see what others experience.
Ben
I totally understand, I call it my verble explosions! My kids call it embarrassing For the most part walking away to a quiet zone is best for me. To much of being overwhelmed or stressed out sets it off! I have blown up at people I know & even strangers I don't know. I exploded just this past Friday at a stranger, I feel really bad now & my children tryed to stop me, I sounded like a drunken saylor, the f word was flying out of my mouth so much at this guy. It all started when I saw my 17 yearold son drive past our house with his friend right behind him as always, it was icey out & after he went past & as I walked into the kitchen the lights flickered, I had that motherly gut feeling one of the boys wrecked right down our road & as I looked out the window I saw our electric lines outside wiggeling, I ran out the door & all I could hear was a horn whaleing, knowing no one else went on our short road I threw my boots on & ran as fast as I could yelling & screaming out my sons name, when I got a few houses down I saw my sons truck smashed into a pole, by the time I got to him my head felt like it was gonna explode, He was ok, a bump on the chin from his airbag, but I was so stressed & freaked out. I had already had the cops on the way & called a family member to tow his truck, but while waiting, some guy stopped & to me I thought he was taking pictures of it & my protective mother mood set in & with my head still pounding it pist me off, I waved the guy around us & he went 7 feet past us & started getting out of his truck, I had it in my mind all he was doing was taking pictures, I yelled & screamed at him something horriable, when in reallity he was just trying to see if we needed him to call the police for us, but I could'nt even tell you what he was trying to say to me cause my mouth would'nt stop running! My bad!I even had my nieghbors freaked out by my outburst! As I said, getting to a quiet zone is best if possiable, explain to family & co-workers not to follow you & give you a 5-10 minute cooling down time!
Hiya
You ask how people manage it, I do what Trish does - walk away to a quieter place,
I also rest a lot. Ok, more than alot - I haven't got up today, but feel much fresher and able to conquer whatever tomorrow brings due to having had total quiet today.
Manux, I am also overwhelmed by noise, busy crowded areas and lights. I have to wear sunglasses most of the time, even indoors. My friends know that if a restaurant is noisy I can't go to dinner or lunch. Sometimes they have been able to find quiet places inside restaurants where they plan ahead and ask for us to be seated there. Fluorescent lights are the worse! I cannot tolerate loud noisy places, I almost faint, and it's very painful. When I was at lunch with my sister one dday I freaked and started to cry. Embarrasing but that's what you kind of live with. I am 7 1/2 years post surgery. I could hardly speak for over a year. I took singing lessons several years ago and that seemed to help. I remember Gabby Giffords singing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. I registererd on this site 4 years ago and this is my first post. I have trouble navigating the site but decided that it will help me to reach out to others and to hear about other AVM patients' experiences. Remember, REST IS BEST.
interesting comments everyone. Myself, im not going good in groups, rather nervous with people i dont know that well, my aphasia just gets even worse and worse until i just shut up and generally go home etc! I guess i just try to be on my own when im getting stressed which is a lot lol
Hi, Manux. I keep cotton balls with me everywhere I go. I use earplugs if I have to seriously rest. I use cotton balls alot to muffle things but I can still participate (at a party for example). I'm also beginning to recognize that feeling BEFORE I'm totally overwhelmed and go for the cotton balls. I agree that rest is the best remedy.
I agree with Trish at work I retreat to the bathroom or call my friend and go for a walk towards the water. Also sometimes lights give me a headache and loud music. There are days when I will spend most of the morning in bed with no lights. Also I have rosemary and lavender in my garden and I will cut some and put it around the house. I try not to put myself in big crowds and if I am not feeling good I just say no which is hard because we are used to doing normal things and our friends and family have to get used to us having some bad days. I guess I rub my head and then my friends and family will ask if my head is hurting and I really dont think about that I am doing it
We had a few people over for Superbowl and everyone was asking about my head and if I needed to go to bed. I think when we share our experience with people even though they cant know exactly how we feel they can be more aware of what our triggers are and help to minimize them for us. I also find drinking coconut water when I feel off helps me a great deal. Its so important that we eat protein with every meal and that we eat.
Angela
I think I’ve ended up being more talkative since my operation, my conclusion is life is too short now to enjoy every moment including talking… On the flip side I’ve been excerising so hard my brain felt like it was going to blow up… It really hurt… e.g. When I swam 40 laps in the pool yesterday evening :o(
I have a very high tolerance to stress, but I get very quickly and easily overwhelmed with light and sound. I cant talk on the phone if there is someone else talking in the room, its like i cant hear what the person on the phone is saying. I also cant "think" or focus at all if there is noise. I cant 'read" if there is music for example. I used to be able to do all that. Being in a room with a lot of people talking makes me very dizzy and i feel like i could "go crazy". I find ways to manage, but it's hard. I dont really have any trick... I just repeat to myself that I can do it. I found that having a hot bath always calms the dizziness and the "crazies". I was told its because hot water will rise your blood pressure up a little bit when its down. Our blood pressure goes up and down quickly with this thing we live with. SO, my answer? a hot bath... hahaha
This happens to me all the time, Ben.. I thought i was crazy or imagining this... I usually manage ok. Sometimes, just being with the family (i have 4 kids) becomes so overwhelming just by everyone talking or tv being on while another is on the pc while another is talking on the phone. I just cant take it... I get very dizzy, light headed and feel like i am going to pass out. If i am in a situation where i cannot escape, i get major brain fog... Once, all the noises and people talking around me made me literally forget where I was, where i was going. I got in my car and left but realised I was so fogged up i had to truly focus to remember how to drive itself, its red, can i turn left? things we NEVER think about. I called my husband, but he never answers his cell phone so SO I pulled my car over and waited until i could "think" again...
I also cannot speak correctly if there is a lot of noise around. I start blabbering, which makes everyone laugh including me...
too many people talking at one time, the roar of the murmurs bothered me. I would have to leave. I haven't been to a movie in a few years, the theaters are just too loud. I had to leave an Eagles concert a few years ago because it was getting uncomfortable.
It's great to have people who understand what you're going through!
dandelionwishes,
You blabber? I'm the opposite. My friends have learned (the hard way) that if I get silent. Then I'm having a problem. I'm normally very talkative. But, if I'm in brain fog or fighting off tremors, etc.. I don't say anything. Thankfully I have wonderful friends. If we are in a public place such as a store. They make sure I get to the car without any incidents/safely.
I've been told that I get a distant look in my eyes when I'm not doing well. It's probably true since I don't feel like I'm "all here" at the time.
It is interesting lives we live, isn't it? (smiles)
Ben
Haha i actually used the wrong word. Excuse my french. I meant that i dont make sense i am not sure what the proper is. I blurt out the wrong words