Anxiety vs. Sensory Overwhelm: What’s Really Going On?
Written by Devin Heilmeier (Clinical Intern) | Edited by Olivia Price, LCPC
“I’m getting overstimulated!”
“I am so anxious.”
These may be things you’ve heard said online, or just in everyday conversation. We all have a general idea of what being overstimulated or anxious means, and often, we use these terms interchangeably. But, experiencing symptoms of anxiety and experiencing sensory overwhelm are two different things! We’ll talk about the difference between two, as well as what you can do if you or your teen experiences either.
Imagine this: You are at home, trying to cook dinner. The television is blaring your kids favorite show, while they are very busy asking you questions and telling you about their day. Your phone begins to ring, you start to get hot from standing over the stove, and you start to smell one of the multiple things on the stove burning. Your head begins to pound while you look around the kitchen, and you can’t get yourself to answer your phone, take the food off of the stove, or anything else. One of your kids asks you if you are okay, and you snap at them both to go to their room.
This is an example of someone becoming overstimulated, or experiencing sensory overload. Think of it as a traffic jam on your sensory highway. There are several things that can trigger sensory overload. Environmental triggers like loud noises, bright lights, and strong smells, and social triggers like large crowds, constant conversations, having to interpret social cues, and close physical proximity to others all have the potential to trigger sensory overload.
Sensory overload manifests in many different ways. Someone experiencing sensory overload may experience one or a combination of the following symptoms:
- Physical: headaches, nausea, fatigue, light-headedness, increased heart rate
- Emotional: irritability, anxiety, mood swings
- Behavioral: withdrawing, isolation, restlessness, meltdowns
- Cognitive: trouble focusing, struggles with decision making, simple tasks become overwhelming
Now, imagine this: Your child comes home from school and shares that they had a particularly hard day. They tell you that they have an important exam in their math class next week that is worth a large percentage of their grade. They have been struggling in math, and they tell you that if they do poorly on the test, they may not be able to play on the soccer team or stay in any of their other extracurriculars. You notice that over the next week, your child goes straight to their room when they get home from school, they tell you that they feel like they can’t pass the test because they can’t retain anything they’re studying, and they tell you their stomach has been hurting.
This example depicts someone who is experiencing anxiety. Anxiety can occur when someone feels fear, discomfort, or apprehension in regards to stimuli or a future event. This can sound similar to stress, but anxiety separates itself from stress when the fear and discomfort remains, even when the stressor is absent.
Anxiety may be triggered by adverse life experiences, like a death in the family, divorce, or major illness. Someone who has been exposed to abuse, violence, or poverty is also more likely to experience anxiety.
Anxiety can present itself in many ways. Someone experiencing anxiety may experience one or a combination of the following:
- Physical: headache, nausea, vomiting, sweating, trembling, stomach pain, ulcers, diarrhea, tingling, weakness, body ache, feeling shortness of breath, hot flashes or chills, increased blood pressure and heart rate, etc.
- Emotional: nervousness, worry, fear, irritability, insecurity, isolation from others, self-consciousness, desire to escape, feeling that one is going to die, etc.
- Cognitive: impaired thinking, decision-making ability, perceptions of the environment, learning, memory and concentration
So…what is the difference? On the surface, sensory overload and anxiety present themselves in very similar ways. Mild anxiety or stress may even be a symptom you experience when you are overstimulated! But the difference stems from the cause, or the trigger. Do you feel the symptoms when you are in a situation that has a lot of environmental or social stimuli? If so, you are likely experiencing sensory overload. Do you feel the symptoms when you are anticipating an upcoming event? In that case, you are likely experiencing anxiety.
You don’t have to have a sensory processing disorder or an anxiety disorder to feel overstimulated or anxious! Having some anxiety can be normal, and in some ways, it can even be beneficial by helping to recognize dangerous situations. Sensory overload is also normal to experience in situations with lots of stimulation. However, if you feel like sensory overload or feelings of anxiety exceed that (you experience sensory overload easier and with less stimulation, or your anxiety is out of proportion to the situation and you can’t control your reactions) to the point when it interferes with your ability to function day to day, seeking assessment and intervention from a mental health professional may be an appropriate next step.