Visiting Chicago With Sensory Issues
Plus this week's music picks
Recently, I was visiting family in Chicago and had a ton of fun! We ate some good food, I bought some CDs to add to my collection, and my sister-in-law and her partner got to show us around the great windy city.
Unfortunately, I was also reminded of how I have to take into account how easily overstimulated I am. I just find myself hyper-vigilant all the time, seeing and hearing every little thing around me, getting drained more quickly than others.
I used to never know why this happened, and it made me feel like a big baby, but recently I read about a personality trait called sensory processing sensitivity (SPS). From what I read, it basically means individuals with SPS are more sensitive to physical, social, and emotional stimuli than others.
The biggest thing I read is that it’s believed that people with SPS are prone to being overly overstimulated by what’s going on around them. Which is me both at home and especially in Chicago!
It's not always a bad thing. Often times, I’ll notice things before others. Like I usually see food coming to the table in a restaurant before everyone else and can help get the table cleared for them to put our stuff down.
But other times, it can cause some issues. For example, if you've ever been to Chicago — or any other big city, really — you'll know there's a LOT of stimuli. Which isn't inherently a bad thing. I enjoy seeing all the sights and sounds. One of my favorite things is seeing the pigeons. It's dumb but they're just so fun to watch!
The problem is that sometimes there's just too many things going on at once. When there's too many people, there’s loud music in the background, or I’m sitting in a pretty crowded space, I find myself feeling overstimulated and anxious.
While I used to think something was wrong with me and I just needed to toughen up, over the years I’ve come to accept it’s just a unique part of me I have to learn to live with. Now I use strategies like deep breathing and looking down at the ground to get rid of some of the visual stimulus.
But the biggest game-changer for me has been a pair of earplugs — specifically, the experience earbuds from loop, but any will do, really. While I originally bought them to avoid damaging my hearing at concerts, they work great for other loud environments like bars and crowded coffee shops. Now, when I can feel myself reaching sensory overload, I pop these in and it helps a bit. It’s not a fool-proof way to prevent me from feeling overly stimulated every day but it helps more often than not.
And if you find yourself getting overly stimulated, earplugs might be a good option for you too! At the very least, they can help protect your hearing.
This Week’s Picks
Tyler the Creator - Igor
His first projects were straight up vile lyrically, but even back then people paid attention to Tyler the Creator for his early signs of promise. Since his first album came out in 2011, Tyler has been slowly working his way toward lyrics that are more introspective and vulnerable. The first glimmers of this were heard in his album Flower Boy, but Igor is the first album where he truly struck gold, winning his first Grammy in 2020 as a result. About a love triangle featuring a character named Igor, a man he’s interested in, and said man’s wife, one could almost call this project a concept album. Tyler does a fantastic job of going through the highs and lows of a love that ultimately isn't working out. Tyler didn't completely leave his old self behind though; “New Magic Wand” features some of the more aggressive industrial sound Tyler’s used before, but with lyrics that are more relatable, resulting in a perfect blend of past and present. If you didn't like Tyler in his early days, I'd highly recommend giving him another chance with this album.
Blood Incantation - Absolute Elsewhere
This is a wait hear me out album, at least for me. Being a soft boy who generally listens to his soft indie music, death metal is a far cry and sometimes uncomfortable genre for me to explore. But in Absolute Elsewhere, they manage to grab my attention with the promise of some prog rock, my latest musical weakness. While it's primarily a death metal and prog metal album, the sounds of prog rock are definitely found throughout the album, giving way to sections that remind me of Pink Floyd.