I understand that they get them but what happens exactly to them?
In: Biology
So basically what this comes down to is sensory regulation. Our body senses all sorts of information from our environment and also from our own body. Our brain takes that information and modulates – either increasing or decreasing these signals based on what is important.
For example, when you put your shirt on in the morning you can feel it on your skin, but soon after you brain modulates that so that you are no longer “feeling it”. Although technically the sensory information from your skin is still being sent to your brain, your brain is essentially ignoring it so you can pay attention to other more important things.
And our brain is doing this constantly.
But some people have difficulties with this modulation. So their brain maybe doesn’t decrease the signal when it’s supposed to – So they feel their shirt all day long.
Or their brain increases that signal so instead of just feeling the light touch of their shirt it actually feels more intense and maybe painful.
And then think about how that would feel knowing that this could be happening with a whole bunch of other things throughout the entire day.
So you are sitting there, trying to talk with a friend, but at the same time your shirt is hurting you and the lights are too bright and there are 15 people who are talking nearby who sound like they are yelling and the smell of coffee and the person sitting at the table next to you is also distracting and did you notice that that one florescent light is flickering. And you may or may not be consciously aware of all of these competing sensory input but you know that you are overwhelmed or distracted and just cannot make it stop.
And then add in that other things can make this feel even more overwhelming, such as when you are stressed about something socially or emotionally, or you’re physically stressed from not sleeping well. It can be a lot to handle.
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