Dr. Alex George

So what flavor of what I don't know is causing it, but it's quite a...

a unique experience for those who are neurodivergent i think a lot of people can be overstimulated i think you know a lot of you know if you're neurotypical you can say oh gosh i've had a bit too much of people but i think it is a form of shutdown i think when you're really overstimulated and you're neurodivergent it actually means you kind of shut down you can't do it anymore you have to stop you have to remove yourself then

Definitely.

I mean, I actually, and it can be odd.

The oversimulation can be from odd things.

Like I was driving home yesterday from Wales and there's just a squeaking noise in my back of my car.

And I kept pulling over three times, I pulled up to work out what it was and I couldn't.

Eventually I was like, ah, what is this sound?

And I think what happens is like, it's like, ah.

I think what happens is that, you know, you are in a state where your stimulation levels, your kind of ability to cope has been put to the limit.

It might be a sudden change or might be a lot of people around you and then something happens.

So the straw that breaks the camel's back and then like that frustration can really come out.

What I've kind of learned to try and do over the last few years is to recognize that.

Not just when it's happening, but the circumstances it's likely to happen.

So if I go into a room and there's lots of people, there's lots of sounds, there's noise in the background, there's some sort of like drilling going on in the background as well as this busy room.

I'm like, ah, this might be a situation and end up being overstimulated.

And often I'll think, how long am I going to be here?

How long do I need to be here?

And I'll often plan my exit in that sense.

And then if I recognize I'm suddenly getting agitated, I'll just tell people around me now.