More on overload

Just thought to write about it while it is happening. As I sit here, almost every sound I hear feels wrong. The washing machine, the dog licking something, a bird making a repetitive sound outside - all too irritating. And the last thing I need to hear now is voices. I cannot listen to anybody right now, even the radio would be too much. A little while ago I had to listen to someone at school telling me something, and it took so much self-control to stand still and smile and respond while my stomach was hurting and my skin was crawling and I could feel every part of my clothes against my skin. It is hard to explain - it is not the person that I find irritating, nor the things he/she are saying, the problem lies with me and my senses and the inability to tolerate all the incoming stimuli. The muscles in my upper body feels funny, uncomfortable. You know that feeling you get when someone drags nails down a blackboard? I feel like that - not that intense, but constantly on days like this. Sounds, voices, textures make me cringe. And all you can see from the outside, is an irritated, unreasonable, angry woman.