#sensory processing disorders

It's misophonia awareness day :D Bit different than what I normally post, but me and my best friend wanted to share this info comic with you!! hope it is informative and fun!

My instagram: @becks_the_orange

So today I was reading this medical paper/article on misophonia because the sound of my dog snoring completely mentally and emotionally derailed me from writing, and what I learned was really interesting.

Scientists don't know for sure what causes it yet, but studies show that when a person with misophonia is triggered their heartbeat increases, along with feelings of anger, disgust, and sadness/despair. These feelings are not invoked by other negative stimuli (control stimuli), just by the particular trigger sound, which I’m sure many people with misophonia can confirm.

But what's interesting is that some of the main areas triggered in the brain are those associated with facial recognition and enduring personal harassment. We also respond with the part of their brains related to morality, meaning we find the sound to be (either consciously or unconsciously) *morally* objectionable which is why it's interpreted by the brain the same way bullying or other harassment is. The response is also linked to conditioning.

This makes me (personal conjecture, not from the study) think that it's probably a result of early childhood conditioning that linked the trigger sounds with trauma. However! The study found there was no direct link to the fight or flight response, as you find with most trauma stimuli. Fear was anticipated when they set up the study, so they were surprised to find misophonia doesn't invoke it, aside from mild anxiety which was speculated to be related to anticipated exposure (and which I speculate to be related, at least in part, to self-monitoring mechanisms--as in, I know I’m over-reacting and so I become concerned that I will behave in a disproportionately vengeful manner).

Because of this, misophonia seems to be linked not with physical or emotional danger, but with bullying.

Even though the stimuli will invoke an immediate emotional and physical response that’s similar to a trauma reaction, it’s not directly trauma related, though it might be a byproduct. It's more likely a side effect of having been in situations where the individual felt they had no control, and were forced to endure the unpleasant sound unnecessarily and intentionally. This is why there's moral implications.

This is really interesting to me because my primary trigger is snoring, and I'll bet cash money that it's a result of having been forced to take naps as a kid.

Now, in most cases naps are totally healthy for children, providing them with much needed rest and structure. However, in my case ((and I will note here a trigger warning for my personal experiences with CSA)) my first non-familial babysitter would put his children and I down for “naptime” but always with me in a separate place, where he would sexually assault me.

As a result, I became terrified of sleeping in the presence of anyone other than my parents. Yet, all through preschool, kindergarten, and until my subsequent babysitters stopped forcing me to “nap,” I would simply have to lay there for at least an hour every day, listening to other kids snore while ruminating on how morally repugnant adults were. As such, I assume the sound of snoring became linked with my feelings of rage and despair at having my trauma-related feelings dismissed yet again (no one ever addressed the situation with the babysitter). This is just speculation, but given that one of the most common trigger sounds for misophonia is chewing noises, I'll bet a lot of kids were forced to sit at the table during silent, emotionally tense dinners, or were forced to eat stuff they didn't want to, and developed (were conditioned into having) a moral hatred for the sound of chewing.

YES. Physical Existence is The Worst and Constantly To Be Grappled With.

Management is Key. Who wants some Sensory Processing Pro-Tips ™ from your favorite blobulous being? Course you do!

The great irony of most mental health issues is: the more time you spend in a low-stress, healthy environment, the better you’re able to handle higher-stress environments. Low-stress environments are basically a charging station. Stock up whenever you can.

Favorite Autism Sensory Pro-Tips include…

The film has:

Flashing lights and colors (a LOT)

Tons of movement and strange camera angles

Loud sounds and some repetitive sound effects

Bright colors and neon lighting

I saw a few people asking about tasks for service dogs when you are disabled by your autism.

Keelo’s main tasks include:

Alerting me before a shutdown

If you’re autistic, you know what I’m talking about. Basically I generally can’t tell before it happens and it is a mess if I don’t consciously deal with it prior.

Blocking

I have bad sensory issues. Keelo provides a barrier between me and people who are getting too close. I’m sensitive to touch, which if it happens too much it can trigger over stimulation.

Deep Pressure Therapy

This is one that gets a lot of shit in the SD community, but as someone with autism, this is something very important for my dog to know. Stated above, I’m very sensitive to touch. Although, hard pressure is very relieving. Keelo is able to do DPT on any part of my body if I direct her. If you’re touch sensitive, you know how a touch can last with you all day, making you paranoid, and just all around disgusting. For me it is like it is happening on repeat. My nervous system is cringing.

Wake ups

I can’t wake up with noise. With my sensory disorder, I will either have hyper or hypo noise senses. Sadly, when I’m sleeping I am not responsive at all to anything noise related. When I was living at home this wasn’t an issue, but trying to become an independent adult in college, Keelo was trained to wake me up. She hears my alarm, and in turn will nudge me and lick me until I am fully at of my bed.

Guiding

If I’m out in public and can no way avoid a shutdown, this is an important task. Keelo guides to exits, parent, or other safe places.

These are the most important tasks she has, it may seem useless or small compared to mobility service dogs or hearing dogs, but honestly these are the things that make me not able to function.