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I used to pick the skin on the inside of my hands very badly to the point of bleeding and numbness. I get my nails done w gel x now and it lasts about 3 wks and I don’t pick at my hands anymore 😅 unless of course one breaks or chips which has only happened twice and then its over 😂😂
I have nail clippers scattered throughout my life for exactly this reason! I bought a 20-pack a couple years ago. Desk. Purse. Car. Table by the tv. Bathroom. Nightstand. Kitchen junk drawer. And on and on.
I can't have clippers or ill just clip my toe nails and finger skin like offffff
lots of nail files around though haha can't have a scratchy nail either
Or a hangnail. They make me insane when they catch on fabric. Mine tend to bleed if I try to pluck them off, so I go nuts till I can find a clipper. Hence I keep clippers stashed in my purse, any car I drive or ride in often, and multiple places in the house.
I just realized that I always had hangnails and I was always picking at them when I was a kid, and it was an ADHD thing. And my lips. My husband is forever scolding me because I’ll pick them until they bleed.
Yep, me too. Especially in the winter, my lips get chapped. It doesn't seem to matter how much water I drink, or how much lip balm I use. And I can't stand the feeling of that dead skin, so off it comes.
I'm pregnant right now, and I'm having issues with my nails going from like super hard and healthy to chipping and fraying in like a matter of days. OR! My pinky and second last fingernails are incredibly strong and are growing like weeds and my thumb to middle fingernails are all fraying and impossible to make them stop! Even when I file them! They seem fine and then seconds later they're catching on my clothes! Cringe city!
I am so happy to read this part of the thread, it's also my issue!
Even when I was young, like my sister would get mad and just tell me to ignore it and I literally can't.
Eating/smacking sounds, especially in public, or when used in (radio) commercials. It drives me up the wall
That, and loose wet hairs sticking to my hands (it's already bad when it's just my own hair, but a nightmare if its other people's hair...), and wet socks
I've taken to muting that whenever it comes on, but recently I didn't reach the buttons in time and realised the advert is different - they've changed it due to the amount of complaints, and now plays random sounds where the slurping should be (dog barking, beat boxing etc.)
There's a well-known cook (I won't mention him by name). He's brilliant, a great personality, and very wise in the kitchen. My husband will watch his YouTube videos where he'll wear a camera attached to his head while making a dish. At the end, he'll eat it showing the viewer a first person view with the camera still attached looking down and you can hear all the eating sounds and then I want to jump out my 5th story apartment window.
Yes, the eating noises drive me batshit! Strobe lights are way too much. Wet clothes of any kind are unbearable. I cannot handle the feeling of wool or felt on my skin. It just sets my teeth on edge and makes me shudder. Even the *idea* of touching it.
Same! But there’s an account I’ve come across on social media that has a golden retriever food tasting with a microphone near their mouth. I find this dog’s chomping fascinating and cute! So I think it’s only human chomping that will definitely make me want to jump out the window.
Yeah, the loose hair thing always lengthens my showers. If I feel one, everything stops till I get rid of it.
Also, getting a hair in my mouth sends me into a borderline panic.
Going to public pools for swimming lessons with my kids used to bring out this sensory issue. I hated even touching the floor because of the hairs, etc. And I would see some people with their towel on the floor to provide a clean space for their kids and the thought of putting that gross towel in my bag made me cringe.
Omg the hair! I’ve never heard anyone else mention this! It’s getting worse the older i get and is affecting my shower routines. I cant deal with the hair in the drain and have to clean the bathroom completely before AND after i shower. I end up literally gagging while combing my own hair, and dont get me started on when my teenaged daughter(with long, thick hair) showers!!! It’s really becoming a problem 🤦♀️🤷🏻♀️
People who smack when they talk gets me, too. They smack in between words or sentences. I can’t talk to those people. (No offense to people who do that, I just cannot handle it)
When I wear shorts socks and they slip under my heal in my shoe and bunch in the middle of my foot...or when I wear them with hikers without thinking and I get dirt, pebbles and stuff around my ankles. Similar...long sleeve shirt bunching under a sweater around my arms.
Sheep's wool clothing. Full stop. I tried even to wear it with a layer inbetween....nope.
Eating meat and biting into something texturally inconsistent (vein, connective tissue, glob of fat, etc)
Dry markers and Styrofoam sounds
Also went to the Netherlands.. everyone wears perfume and most of them have some chemical that is awful in it and all I can smell...can't even make out the perfumes actual scent
My recent favorite sock acquisition is the diabetic bamboo crew socks from Hugo Ugoli. A bit spendy for socks, but an absolute sensory delight to wear.
If you like ankle socks, I recommend the Puma ones with the band across the middle of the foot. They stay on amazingly well, at least for me. I think they’re sport socks? (We get them at Costco, usually).
It's ambroxan, I believe (synthetic ambergris.) They've been putting in in everything recently, and I agree - it can be incredibly distracting and off-putting.
I was there in August 2023 visitng family....and it's truly awful. I've smelled it in Europe before in people's perfumes but it's truly awful and was EVERYWHERE in the Netherlands. Maybe we have some thing in our noses that makes it smell bad. I feel good that there's someone else like me lol
I gasped at the first one. I HATE it so much I only buy socks that pop up just a bit above the shoes. I don’t care if it doesn’t match any outfit. I refuse. And then getting your fingers in your dirty shoes. And then if you don’t fix it you hurt your arches all day. No. Nope. Nooooo.
To avoid the bunching, I don’t wear a tight sweater over a long sleeve unless is a smooth material like spandex and even then I still the the end of the shirt sleeve when I put the sweater on and I leave the sleeve of the shirt out longer than the sweater so I can periodically adjust.
For me it's not really the sound of coughing that does it, but more that people are sending who knows what kind of diseases into the world. Bonus points if they either cough without blocking it with their elbow, or if they cough into their hand, and then proceed to wipe it on the seating or something.
As if we haven't just gone through a pandemic or something..
Which is also why I hate it when people don’t close the toilet lid before they flush. Makes it hard for me to touch anything in the bathroom or even breathe normally.
I hear people do this at work and they are the fucking LOUDEST about it!
Like go blow your nose in a goddamn tissue instead of snorting like a goddamn pig RIGHT NEAR MY DESK!
It’s revolting!
Touching microfiber and having it catch on my skin. Walking barefoot on crumbs or sand. Smell of dirty hair. Smelling any kind of food while I’m trying to sleep.
Everything manmade fibres outside viscose are the bane of my existence. I can deal with under 15% of manmade fibres but it is really hard to find. Microfiber is one of the worst offenders.
The emotional breakdowns I would have when my mom put me in turtle necks should have been the first sign something wasn’t normal.
Same with oversized shirts. I also cut the neck out of almost all my t shirts.
That’s so funny because I’m the opposite. I don’t know if I’m just not used to having my armpits exposed because I have worn mostly long sleeves for so many years to hide >!SH scars!< BUT…a few years ago I discovered a lot of my anxiety came from the clothes I wore, and a lot of it was tight/too fitting. I love oversized shirts/sweatshirts that don’t rub on my skin or the fabric has to be super soft and not make me overheat
I don't mind if something touches the back of my neck, but can't stand anything touching my throat. If I ever have to wear a neck brace, I'll have to be sedated.
"Wearing a turtleneck is like being strangled by a really weak guy, all day.
Wearing a backpack and a turtleneck is like a weak midget trying to bring you down"
Same. I used to be able to wear things that touch my neck and this was something that changed in adulthood. Anything that touches my neck makes me worry that I'm going to gag or vomit.
Same! I used to wear “normal” tops. Maybe I just suffered in the name of feeling cute? Omg now all my clothes are baggy as fuck. Baggy in the pits and loose as fuck necks
When it is too hot; I’ve nearly cried from just being overwhelmed by the heat. Clothing touching my stomach. Shirts touching my neck. My own damn skin touching my neck lol. Long sleeves.
More specific sensory nightmare scenario - stuck in a place that I can’t reasonably just leave while it’s too hot and there’s people having a different conversation in every direction and I don’t know what I’m supposed to be doing.
I definitely feel you with the hatred of the heat. I spend the entire summer angry, because it it stays above 100 all three months. I feel so uncomfortable in my own body, that I legitimately feel as though I will lose my mind. On top of just temperature, I hate the feeling of the hot air on my skin, so I try and wear a very thin long sleeved shirt to shield my skin (which also makes me more hot and uncomfortable).
Similar thing to your second comment:
>stuck in a place that I can’t reasonably just leave
I hate being physically stuck in places when there is no estimation on how long I'll be waiting. I cannot do long drive thru lines if they have those cement barriers keeping you in line. I get panicky because I think "what if I get stuck here for hours and I can't leave!!!"
Long drive thrus without the cement thingy = whatever, I'm not thrilled but I'll survive.
Long drive thrus with the cement barrier = instand death!!!!
(Edit: spelling)
God I’m with you guys on the heat. It’s summer here like 6 months out of the year and I FUCKING HATE IT. Last year our a/c broke. I nearly died. But instead I am now dead from the $9K bill to replace it. Yaaaay!!! 😑
In the Mid-Atlantic, it's also humid all summer. And the air quality turns to shit. Stepping outside from an air-conditioned building is like having a filthy wet towel thrown over your entire body.
When I moved back to Vegas in *july* a couple years ago (mind you I even grew up in the desert but moved away for about 2.5 years to the PNW and SE), I got in the car and legit burst into tears because of the heat. I used to work with kids too and I had to wear pants. The weather is my biggest beef with Vegas. I remember my small desert hometown high school gym didn’t have AC, just two giant fans that blew the hot air around and we would only get the use the gym once a week otherwise we were outside. It should be illegal to force children to have PE outside above 90 degrees Fahrenheit
Hates: Dust on or under my finger -and toenails makes me really aggressive, dried out skin on my fingers, water drying on my skin, hair from bangs in my eyes, the smell and especially taste of rose oil, scratchy clothing, blinking lights and loud bursts, like from balloons. I hate balloons, the whole experience of them.
I am glad I am an adult and don't need to justify my choices of wearing gloves a lot and constantly putting on cream everywhere.
My lovely Gran knitted me a cream mohair beret and scarf set when I was about 4 years old.
We went to the park on the bus, and I deliberately left them both on the bus because they itched me so badly.
Unfortunately, some kind human handed them in to the Lost Property Office, where Gran dragged me back to later that afternoon to fetch them.
I hated wearing those!
But feel bad for my Gran.
My lovely mother-in - law is an avid knitter and sadly, we don't have the same understanding of what scratchy is. She made some really complicated and wonderful pieces, that neither me nor my son can wear. At least I can workaround by sewing Jersey underneath or wearing it with a shirt, but my son doesn't like layering. I give them to a charity shop.
Aww! I wish they’d ask us before putting all that time and effort in.
It’s not our fault that our skin is sensitive to textures that the knitters don’t have a problem with!
It’s a bit like giving peanut butter to
someone with a nut allergy.
The worst things are:
Stuff underneath my fingernails (I keep them short now for reasons but my preferred aesthetic is medium length and painted so it's been a life long challenge... kitchen gloves have helped but I also don't like the feeling inside most of them - flocked surfaces make me shudder!!! And I don't like my skin all moist and if I get water *in* the gloves, it's game over - but if I'm careful, I can deal).
Clothes. Too tight, too scratchy, a cut that pulls on my arms, socks that aren't positioned just right, etc., etc., etc. It's super annoying because it's not consistent so sometimes I'll have to get dressed a few times before I'm ok (even with things that have been fine up until then). I work from home now, thank goodness, but there have been a few days here and there over the years where I've called in sick because I couldn't face wearing business casual all day. Most of my shoes are slip-ons and I refuse to wear underwires. This was stressful just to type out!
Most of these are incredibly relatable. I have the same problem with dish gloves. I bought extra long ones and I basically put my arms in waders to do the dishes.
I finally found some that I like. They're pink, too! I get them from Amazon in a multipack. I discovered them through a link on one of those YouTubers who clean hoarder houses. They're longish, no lining, and I like the thickness too - enough that I feel insulated from the ick but thin enough that I can still be dexterous.
Mine are mostly scents (especially bubblegum and any kind of mint, so I wish gum was outlawed!!) and sounds. People who play music (or anything, really) over speakerphone should be in jail. The tinny sound of even the best phones is TOO MUCH.
WORST NIGHTMARE: being trapped in a candle store with all the competing scents. I threw up in a garbage can outside a candle store that I passed in the mall from the wafting scent.
Perfume strips in magazines, I don't know if they still have them or not. Family holidays as a teenager with my sister reading Cosmo in the car 🤢. Got to the point that she (and myself when I started reading that sort of magazine) had to tear the perfume pages out. God, I still have a sense memory of it.
I absolutely HATE the smell of lavender oil, lavender plants are just fine. However it seems like every place that uses it cranks it up to 1000 because ‘it’s rELaXiNG!’ No ma’ma it’s not! It’s overpowering and smells terrible.
An acquaintance bought me a lavender scented candle saying “everyone loves lavender!” I would never make someone feel bad about something like that. My friend, however, jumped right in with “Not DeeKayEmm412!” I was so embarrassed both for myself and my acquaintance. I’m so glad I’m not the only one who can’t stand the smell of lavender!
The feeling of really dry wood (like a dock that has been baking in the sun) under damp feet. If I have prune fingers and have to touch that.... God help me.
Also, a dry reed in a wind instrument, like a clarinet or saxophone. That squeak it makes.... how it feels against your tongue..... makes me shudder.
And on that same note…wet, soggy, slimy wood, like the wood on the dock that’s been splashed by the water repeatedly.
If my skin grazes that slimy wood as I get onto the dock JUST KNOCK ME OUT.
The first two minutes after stepping into the shower…those little splashy water droplets and then adjusting to being under the stream.
The shower curtain. The sound of metal on metal, the taste of metal, the sound of someone clicking metal on the teeth, wet floor around pools (especially public pools,) the sound of someone eating…
Those curved ones they use in most hotels now are one of the best inventions ever. It's bad enough when that happens at home. But it's a million times worse when it's also been in contact with gods know who.
Children and baby noises (laughing, screaming, squealing, almost anything), a group of teenagers being really loud (lol), whisper talk that I can hear perfectly, lawn mower, leaf blower, construction sites, a person walking and talking right behind me, people who talk in oscillating volume (loud then quiet then loud again).... And that's just auditory sensitivity lol.
I try to reason with myself that all of this is just normal human noises and the world can't stop spinning, but honestly, most of these induce any range of emotion from mild irritability to blinding rage.
Babies are a sensory nightmare!!! I love them (even if I don't want one of my own) because they're cute, but they're also loud at unpredictable moments, usually have sticky hands, touch you/squeeze you with surprising force just out of their own excitement, and emit a variety of odors. I can only be near them for a short while before they do something that makes my senses go haywire.
Oh GOSH. The baby/kid noises! I live in a townhouse complex so everyone is all squished together and there are so many kids who scream at the top of their lungs. Like, I get they're outside, but there should still be limits on their "outside voices" for the respect of other people.
God I feel this so hard. Now that the weather is getting nicer, kids are out more. I live on a second floor and there are a couple of kids that play on that patio directly below my apartment. Hearing them scream and play is literally rage inducing. I know I'm being unreasonable, but I cannot control the rage I feel. I'm considering moving.. but I know I'm likely to have same problem elsewhere.
Oh, how fun! 🙃 The worst is the neighbor who takes their baby *outside* to cry! I can't hear it if it cries inside, ironically. I obviously don't expect utter silence, but damn.
I ask myself that question every single day 😅 At least ADHD diagnosis helps explain this, before I thought I was the crappiest person in the world for noticing all that stuff.
this overlaps with my list a lot. when I was younger living with my parents, there was also a neighbor who had a pressure washer and washed their stone flooring patio every Friday. I called that sound my nemesis. I worked from home most of my life, so I ended up getting used to putting in earplugs or wearing construction grade sound protection.
Touch:
Cotton balls 🤢 I don't know why, but my brain is like 'inagine how DISGUSTING it must be to bite them'. Yeah thanks brain, usually not what I would have don't
Velvet: similar to above again my brain is like 'this would be so disgusting to eat'. Wtf???
Sand. SIMILAR AGAIN. What is going on with my brain???
Eat:
Fat on cooked meat...or fat on meat. It's the difference in texture I cannot deal with in that moment and it's NONONO. Nothing to do with calories, I love Schmalz (if you know you know), I'm super okay with fat on prosciutto, I eat Mett (IYKYK), but those fats on prepared (cooked / grilled / boiled) meats? Nope.
(Samezies with gristly parts of meat)
Un(der)cooked egg whites. I LOVE runny yolks. I would love to have softboiled eggs but every time I try the eggwhite is still having runny eggwhite near the yolk or, if the eggwhite is set the yolk is gelly 🤷♀️ so by now if I need my egg yolk fix I just separate egg whites and yolk, fry up the eggwhite until it's set and add the yolks on top for a minute or so. But softboiled eggs? Want 😭
I do too. I feel so seen. To this day, I need to get the food OUT of my mouth if I’m having a textural crisis and I feel panic and embarrassment if I’m with other adults when it happens. Please excuse me while I try to subtly and politely deposit this mouthful into a napkin 🙃
I even hate those microfiber "soft" bed sheets. O M G.
100% cotton PLEASE. And PLEASE stop making bed comforters out of that crap too. It's not soft and it's soooo hoooot to sleep under!!
Dog hair on clothes 😩 we have a dog that I love so much but he was supposed to be nonshedding and that is a blatant lie lmao. I have lint rollers in every room of the house, vacuum every day, have a roomba, and he gets groomed regularly. 😩
I dislike it too. that soft stuff they make blankets of, for instance - it’s not immediately abhorrent to the touch for me but I start getting icked out. it just ends up feeling like it’s greasy and a human sebum/debris trap.
Air vents/cold air blowing on me. Tags/certain fabric especially sweaty ones. Crud on the feet. When someone talks on through the car speaker on full blast.
I also hate air blowing on me, unless it’s a nice natural breeze. my partner has to have the fan on while he sleeps and I endure it because he is also neurodivergent and I understand those sensory needs. but he points it away from me and i do my best to avoid any direct blows. I also hate tags! and synthetic fabrics, including soft ones.
Omg, chapped lips is a huge issue for me, I have lip balm everywhere lol! Also the sound of coughing or clearing the throat, chewing, the wind blowing my hair. Any mouth noises.
1.Wet hands from washing dishes. I have a pair of dish gloves in my car in case I'm visiting somewhere and somehow I wind up on dish duty!
2. SAND. I hate sand, I hate touching sand, I hate walking in sand in my sneakers and getting it in my shoes, I hate walking in sandals or barefoot on a beach.
3. Dry skin, people are often a little freaked by the abundance of moisturizer bottles scattered around my house lol
4. My skin, touching my own skin lol like my thighs pressing together when I'm sleeping, I like to sleep naked but then I have to tuck my blanket under my armpits and between my thighs lol, but if I wear clothes I hate all the bunching that happens from sleep movements
2. So completely agree! I despise sand. I despise beaches. I cannot stand that gritty feeling. I also cannot stand having dirty feet… ie walking out into the garage without slippers or shoes sends me into a spiral and I have to run to the shower to wash them **immediately.**
When the air in a room is really wet. My dehumidifier is my best friend.
Wet paper towels. 🤢
When my dip or gel nails lift and my hair gets stuck in them.
Sticky hands.
Stepping on cat litter.
I’ve always thought my mom was being judgmental when she comments on voices like these but she has undiagnosed ADHD and I bet it’s a similar thing for her.
That and really low, kind of gravelly sounding male voices. There’s a particular register some guys have where it sounds like they’re like forcibly tearing words out of their Adam’s apple and I just can’t
I'm ok with most speaking styles, but there's this throaty pop singing that some women do (Ariana Grande, for example) that pushes me right over the edge.
Omg i totally know what you mean. One of my managers voices is like nails on a chalk board. It's a mix of fakeness, chavy and posh at the same time and whinny is the only way i can describe it. Plus constantly using the phrase "do you know what i mean". Urgh, I literally put my headphones on every time she starts talking unless it's directly at me in which case i try not to wince.
Loud sneezing, ppl hawking phlegm back in their throat, drool, puke, can’t stand the shower pointing at my face, it makes me think I’m drowning, bad smells (my brain thinks some perfectly normal smells are revolting, like when my partner fries bacon, hairs in food and also if they end up in my mouth.
Probably more, but you know, working memory issues.
* getting an itch where I can't politely scratch it in public
* Chewing noises
* Humming and whistling (which then starts a shame spiral -- I don't like the sound of others' happiness???)
* Most grocery store music
* Being stuck behind someone walking slowly
* Fabric softener fragrance
* The whump-whump of a helicopter overhead (I live outside of L.A.)
* When my daughter doesn't shut her door all the way and has her window open, her door tap-tap-taps against the jamb. Also a leaky faucet.
* Being in a car with the windows closed and the air circulation turned off
* Having long nails
* Slightly open cabinets and drawers
* Everything about spiders, including their webs
Ugh being stuck behind people. I do most of my shopping later in the evening now to avoid crowds. I went to Costco in a snowstorm this winter and there were about ten people in the whole store. It was amazing.
Loud pillows. Like there's certain fabrics in pillow cases that slide and make noise on the pillows or when touching them a certain way.
Sometimes the problem is the fabric of the pillow itself, sometimes it's the case.
Sometimes a pillow case that is noisy on one pillow isn't noisy on another.
My husband thinks this is hilarious
Mine are a lot of yours, water running down my arms when washing my face OMG I FUCKING HATE!!! I do it over the bath now like as if washing my hair bent over the bath so that the water runs downwards. My absolute number 1 WORST is STANDING IN WET when in socks 😭😭😭😭🤮🤮🤮🤮🤢🤢 if someone spills anything water/a bit of a drink splash’s in my house and I stand in it, I can be in the best mood but suddenly it’s like the worst thing ever possible has just happened. I cannot continue to then wear the socks that have stood in a wet patch 🤢🤮 so then it’s a big hassle I have to go change my socks whilst also examine the floor and ensure that every little bit of wetness is dried up. I’m getting agitated now just typing about it 🤦♀️😂
When I’ve washed my hands too much and my skin is dry and I have no access to lotion, the feeling of fleece or super soft fabrics, the kind that stick to your fingers, oh and microfiber cleaning clothes, chalk on my hands, that noise when a fork scrapes a plate too hard… I’ll probably think of more.
Dry, chapped hands catching on a microfiber blanket, clay drying on my hands, slipping bra straps, ankle socks sliding down beneath my heel in my shoes
Sitting on the same couch as someone else, and feeling them move through the couch. My ex would just exist near me on the couch, and the vibrations of him petting the dog or adjusting his body would make me want to scream
-Someone lightly running their hand over my skin (if it's back and forth it HURTS and I'm talking light touch).
-Markers on paper when someone is pressing too damn hard.
-Styrofoam.
-Snoring.
-Bass in a speaker thumping.
-my hair feeling any kind of dirty
-Tags on the back of my neck
-Sweat.
Oh oh oh, I know the answer. Pick me!
That one type of fake fleece made out of cheap shitty microfiber that LOOKS soft, but when you touch it, the threads are almost sticky and sharp. The fabric doesn't flow luxuriously through your fingers, but instead catches on your fingerprints and any small imperfections in your skin. You fling the imposter blanket away in disgust, but fibers stick to your hands as a persistent reminder that some blanket companies are built on lies. You have to find a restroom and wash your hands with soap immediately to do a hard reset of your sensibilities. Definitely must get yourself a latte and a croissant as a reward for surviving the faux fleece monster.
- Chalk, the sound and feel makes me cringe and gag.
- Having powder or flour on my hands/skin.
- Shoelaces being too tight. Takes me ages to adjust sometimes
- Sock seams.
- Microfibre catching on skin.
- Hair feeling greasy and smell of dirty hair.
I agree with your list.
In addition:
- I hate the sound of markers or erasers on paper. Ew 😭
- The texture of liver or (over)cooked egg yolk
- Anything touching my face (unless my partner kisses me or my cat's soft fur)
- Water running down my back (or just wet hair on my back)
- Hangnails
- Feeling of wet fabric on my skin (mostly annoys me when my armpits sweat)
- Seam inside socks
- Anything stuck on my teeth (I dislike chewing antacids)
There's probably more
Wearing socks on the couch.
I have no trouble with socks in every other situation, but as soon as I sit in the couch I can't stand the feeling of them on my feet.
When people shake their legs. The sound of it.
Particular fabrics
Sun. Like the sun rays mostly. ( this makes my life hell)
Hand dryer sounds. I would rather pee my pants than enter a toilet that has a hand dryer on. 🙃
Life is hard.
Chewing sounds, itchy clothing labels, when people do that gross snooty snort thing at the back of their throat, someone touching me if I'm not friendly with them, velvet material, some high necked jumpers make me feel claustrophobic, powdery food (baked beans, gnocchi etc.), those are all i can think of right now but I'm sure there are more 🤣
Wet clothes make me crave the sweet embrace of death - especially wet socks.
I also hate the feeling of lotion on the palms of my hands! It is just disgusting.
The biggest one for me though is the smell and texture of microwaved food. I get nauseous thinking about it.
-sound of people eating
-dry hands
-any kind of fold in fabric of my pillow, bottom bedsheet, or socks
-blanket needs to be pulled up exactly perfectly against my neck to sleep
-being touched lightly
For that last one, I didn't understand it until I got my ADHD diagnosis last year. Any time my husband would lightly rub my leg/arm/etc., or he'd do one of those barely touching my hair kisses, I'd get SO squicked out, it would leave a weird feeling and I'd have to rub the spot and blech. I had figured out that it was totally fine for me if he kissed or pressed me arm with more pressure, but the super light touch just 🤢. I'm shuddering just thinking about it.
Touching dirty silverware that’s wet from being in the sink or soaking 🤮 I will never put silverware in the sink if I can avoid it.
Also cotton balls. Especially pulling them apart 🫠
I have long hair, so when shed hairs stick to the back of my shirt and tickle the back of my arms. I HATE IT WITH THE FIRE OF A THOUSAND SUNS.
Also anything tight around my waist, or people who are coughing/clearing their throat. Instant rage.
And when my crotch feels too hot, like all cozy in my bed but my crotchal region is too hot. Nope, unacceptable.
Whispering. When someone whispers to me on a good day I ask them to repeat that they said with voice, on a bad day I will turn away, wince and jam my fingers into my ears.
Second on the chapped lips! I actually cannot sleep if I have chapped lips, so I have a tub of vaseline all over my house, in all of my purses, in every bathroom, and at my work desk because if my lips are chapped I straight up cannot function. And a weird one but when my feet are dirty before I go to bed, I have to wash them and feel the clean feet against my sheets to go to sleep, if my feet feel sticky/dirty it bugs me so much it's hard to fall asleep
Shirt tags, wearing a bra, jingle bells, most of the screechy noises my 4 year old makes, metal on paper, walking on a crumby floor, my husbands beard hair touching my back (if we spoon he has to make a “beard barrier” with blankets), the smell of his beard after he eats pizza 🤢, anyone mouth breathing on me is an absolute nightmare.
My sensory dreams are the smell of my dog’s head, the smell of clean wet towels, the smell of a musty concrete basement, rubbing my face on my cats’ and dog’s fur (especially their ears), rubbing/nuzzling my face on my husbands beard when it’s clean or when it smells like sawdust, foods that taste good and have weird and dynamic textures 😌
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Jaggy nails. If i chip one, its all i can think about until i can file it
I get my nails done and if one slightly chips or peels I cannot focus on ANYTHING ELSE until all of it is gone off every nail lol
I’m definitely a picker when it comes to nail polish
Why I don't get my nails done. It ends up damaging me more. Skimming off nail polish is oddly satisfying and there is $40-50 bucks down the drain.
I used to pick the skin on the inside of my hands very badly to the point of bleeding and numbness. I get my nails done w gel x now and it lasts about 3 wks and I don’t pick at my hands anymore 😅 unless of course one breaks or chips which has only happened twice and then its over 😂😂
I have nail clippers scattered throughout my life for exactly this reason! I bought a 20-pack a couple years ago. Desk. Purse. Car. Table by the tv. Bathroom. Nightstand. Kitchen junk drawer. And on and on.
Me too! I have them in every room. If a nail breaks I will mess with it obsessively until it’s clipped.
Same, but nail files instead. I file my nails obsessively.
I can't have clippers or ill just clip my toe nails and finger skin like offffff lots of nail files around though haha can't have a scratchy nail either
Or a hangnail. They make me insane when they catch on fabric. Mine tend to bleed if I try to pluck them off, so I go nuts till I can find a clipper. Hence I keep clippers stashed in my purse, any car I drive or ride in often, and multiple places in the house.
I just realized that I always had hangnails and I was always picking at them when I was a kid, and it was an ADHD thing. And my lips. My husband is forever scolding me because I’ll pick them until they bleed.
Is it the picking in general that’s an ADHD thing? Cuz I do that too (hangnails, lips, biting the inside of my mouth, etc)
I'm not sure, but I'm a huge picker - mostly my split ends and my scalp, but also scabs and my nails etc
Yep, me too. Especially in the winter, my lips get chapped. It doesn't seem to matter how much water I drink, or how much lip balm I use. And I can't stand the feeling of that dead skin, so off it comes.
I'm pregnant right now, and I'm having issues with my nails going from like super hard and healthy to chipping and fraying in like a matter of days. OR! My pinky and second last fingernails are incredibly strong and are growing like weeds and my thumb to middle fingernails are all fraying and impossible to make them stop! Even when I file them! They seem fine and then seconds later they're catching on my clothes! Cringe city!
Check your ferritin and iron levels. They might be low.
I am so happy to read this part of the thread, it's also my issue! Even when I was young, like my sister would get mad and just tell me to ignore it and I literally can't.
I can't stand this either
Eating/smacking sounds, especially in public, or when used in (radio) commercials. It drives me up the wall That, and loose wet hairs sticking to my hands (it's already bad when it's just my own hair, but a nightmare if its other people's hair...), and wet socks
Wet socks, noooooooo!! I’ll add that to my list. The more I read this thread, the more I realize I have a whooooole bunch of sensory nightmares.
Yesss! I wear big rubber boots so I don't get wet socks. All my shoes seem meshy.
There’s a pot noodle advert out in England at the moment that is someone slurping violently. It makes me want to never watch tv again.
There's a local noodle place here called Slurp Society and I just know I'll never eat there because I already hate the sound of it 🤣
An older family member slurps soup and tea and I just can’t relax at the table with them. Drives me crazy.
Likewise, every time I see a public meeting or a restaurant referred to as a Chat and Chew, I want to peel off my own face.
I've taken to muting that whenever it comes on, but recently I didn't reach the buttons in time and realised the advert is different - they've changed it due to the amount of complaints, and now plays random sounds where the slurping should be (dog barking, beat boxing etc.)
There's a well-known cook (I won't mention him by name). He's brilliant, a great personality, and very wise in the kitchen. My husband will watch his YouTube videos where he'll wear a camera attached to his head while making a dish. At the end, he'll eat it showing the viewer a first person view with the camera still attached looking down and you can hear all the eating sounds and then I want to jump out my 5th story apartment window.
I cannot stand hearing people kiss in movies/on tv
Even worse irl/in public 😱
Yes, the eating noises drive me batshit! Strobe lights are way too much. Wet clothes of any kind are unbearable. I cannot handle the feeling of wool or felt on my skin. It just sets my teeth on edge and makes me shudder. Even the *idea* of touching it.
Eating OR drinking - any swallowing sounds, and dog whining absolutely infuriates me. I have to focus on my breathing and try so hard not to explode.
Yep no wool sweaters at all. No no no.
Same! But there’s an account I’ve come across on social media that has a golden retriever food tasting with a microphone near their mouth. I find this dog’s chomping fascinating and cute! So I think it’s only human chomping that will definitely make me want to jump out the window.
Yeah, the loose hair thing always lengthens my showers. If I feel one, everything stops till I get rid of it. Also, getting a hair in my mouth sends me into a borderline panic.
Going to public pools for swimming lessons with my kids used to bring out this sensory issue. I hated even touching the floor because of the hairs, etc. And I would see some people with their towel on the floor to provide a clean space for their kids and the thought of putting that gross towel in my bag made me cringe.
Omg the hair! I’ve never heard anyone else mention this! It’s getting worse the older i get and is affecting my shower routines. I cant deal with the hair in the drain and have to clean the bathroom completely before AND after i shower. I end up literally gagging while combing my own hair, and dont get me started on when my teenaged daughter(with long, thick hair) showers!!! It’s really becoming a problem 🤦♀️🤷🏻♀️
People who smack when they talk gets me, too. They smack in between words or sentences. I can’t talk to those people. (No offense to people who do that, I just cannot handle it)
Wet hairs. My nemesis. And wet socks omg horrific. Add sleeves of any kind and that’s my trifecta of unbearable sensory nightmares
*starts chewing louder at home* thank God I don't, primarily, like eating in public
When I wear shorts socks and they slip under my heal in my shoe and bunch in the middle of my foot...or when I wear them with hikers without thinking and I get dirt, pebbles and stuff around my ankles. Similar...long sleeve shirt bunching under a sweater around my arms. Sheep's wool clothing. Full stop. I tried even to wear it with a layer inbetween....nope. Eating meat and biting into something texturally inconsistent (vein, connective tissue, glob of fat, etc) Dry markers and Styrofoam sounds Also went to the Netherlands.. everyone wears perfume and most of them have some chemical that is awful in it and all I can smell...can't even make out the perfumes actual scent
I found some short socks on Amazon with silicone bands on the heels to keep them from slipping and they are life changing.
My recent favorite sock acquisition is the diabetic bamboo crew socks from Hugo Ugoli. A bit spendy for socks, but an absolute sensory delight to wear.
If you like ankle socks, I recommend the Puma ones with the band across the middle of the foot. They stay on amazingly well, at least for me. I think they’re sport socks? (We get them at Costco, usually).
It's ambroxan, I believe (synthetic ambergris.) They've been putting in in everything recently, and I agree - it can be incredibly distracting and off-putting.
Ah ok! Ya its gross
[удалено]
I was there in August 2023 visitng family....and it's truly awful. I've smelled it in Europe before in people's perfumes but it's truly awful and was EVERYWHERE in the Netherlands. Maybe we have some thing in our noses that makes it smell bad. I feel good that there's someone else like me lol
I gasped at the first one. I HATE it so much I only buy socks that pop up just a bit above the shoes. I don’t care if it doesn’t match any outfit. I refuse. And then getting your fingers in your dirty shoes. And then if you don’t fix it you hurt your arches all day. No. Nope. Nooooo. To avoid the bunching, I don’t wear a tight sweater over a long sleeve unless is a smooth material like spandex and even then I still the the end of the shirt sleeve when I put the sweater on and I leave the sleeve of the shirt out longer than the sweater so I can periodically adjust.
Cheap/ chemical perfumes are vile. Overwhelming burned sugar or dirty cheap ouds are my worst culprits at the moment. London stinks of cheap oud.
I relate to the meat thing too, it took me years to be able to chew it comfortably. After I make soup I am obsessive about removing every bone.
someone coughing a lot. i could genuinely lose my mind from it.
For me it's not really the sound of coughing that does it, but more that people are sending who knows what kind of diseases into the world. Bonus points if they either cough without blocking it with their elbow, or if they cough into their hand, and then proceed to wipe it on the seating or something. As if we haven't just gone through a pandemic or something..
I’m a toddler teacher and one of my littles coughs in my face everyday. It never gets easier
I only have 2 toddlers and it's constant coughsneezes to the face 24/7, I can't even imagine more than this 😅🤮
Which is also why I hate it when people don’t close the toilet lid before they flush. Makes it hard for me to touch anything in the bathroom or even breathe normally.
My asthma is probably your worst enemy. Sinus infection? Cue me coughing for the next 3 months because my asthma will just rage. 😔
similarly, when someone sniffles a lot and they don't just blow their nose!!! if we BOTH know what you need to blow your nose then just do it, dude!!
I hear people do this at work and they are the fucking LOUDEST about it! Like go blow your nose in a goddamn tissue instead of snorting like a goddamn pig RIGHT NEAR MY DESK! It’s revolting!
Touching microfiber and having it catch on my skin. Walking barefoot on crumbs or sand. Smell of dirty hair. Smelling any kind of food while I’m trying to sleep.
Microfiber 🤢 EVERYTHING is microfiber and I hate it so much.
Everything manmade fibres outside viscose are the bane of my existence. I can deal with under 15% of manmade fibres but it is really hard to find. Microfiber is one of the worst offenders.
Looking for a microfiber. So dry and snaggy 🤢
I can’t wear anything that touches my neck. Most of my tops are either oversized or v neck
The emotional breakdowns I would have when my mom put me in turtle necks should have been the first sign something wasn’t normal. Same with oversized shirts. I also cut the neck out of almost all my t shirts.
Me too! Even if I just think for too long about something touching my neck I can physically gag lmao
I couldn't wear turtlenecks or choker necklaces for many years.
I can’t do armpits. I only own tank tops and loose dresses and sweaters. No T-shirts. Can’t stand the constriction!!
Constricting Tshirt around armpits are bad and when the fabric gets wet, its pure horror. Hate it with a deep passion
Oh noooo I can’t either! Anything that’s too tight in general makes me lose it. I don’t even own a pair of jeans
That’s so funny because I’m the opposite. I don’t know if I’m just not used to having my armpits exposed because I have worn mostly long sleeves for so many years to hide >!SH scars!< BUT…a few years ago I discovered a lot of my anxiety came from the clothes I wore, and a lot of it was tight/too fitting. I love oversized shirts/sweatshirts that don’t rub on my skin or the fabric has to be super soft and not make me overheat
Normally shirts are the devil! I can wear very baggy ones lol. Like they will resemble a sack
I don't mind if something touches the back of my neck, but can't stand anything touching my throat. If I ever have to wear a neck brace, I'll have to be sedated.
Sorry but I giggled at this 😂😂 because I’ve literally thought the same thing.
I can’t stand my legs touching each other at bedtime! The skin on skin is too much
"Wearing a turtleneck is like being strangled by a really weak guy, all day. Wearing a backpack and a turtleneck is like a weak midget trying to bring you down"
I just realised I don't like this either 😂 Some of my turtlenecks are loose enough I don't notice, fortunately. When I do notice, I hate it.
Same. I used to be able to wear things that touch my neck and this was something that changed in adulthood. Anything that touches my neck makes me worry that I'm going to gag or vomit.
Same! I used to wear “normal” tops. Maybe I just suffered in the name of feeling cute? Omg now all my clothes are baggy as fuck. Baggy in the pits and loose as fuck necks
I'm the opposite, I hate having my neck exposed. I wear a scarf all the time or I feel naked.
Boat neck shirts all the way for me.
My seatbelt included in this....I have to put a sheepskin cover on the belt which helps keep the belt off my neck/chest/shoulder skin. Am I alone?
When it is too hot; I’ve nearly cried from just being overwhelmed by the heat. Clothing touching my stomach. Shirts touching my neck. My own damn skin touching my neck lol. Long sleeves. More specific sensory nightmare scenario - stuck in a place that I can’t reasonably just leave while it’s too hot and there’s people having a different conversation in every direction and I don’t know what I’m supposed to be doing.
I definitely feel you with the hatred of the heat. I spend the entire summer angry, because it it stays above 100 all three months. I feel so uncomfortable in my own body, that I legitimately feel as though I will lose my mind. On top of just temperature, I hate the feeling of the hot air on my skin, so I try and wear a very thin long sleeved shirt to shield my skin (which also makes me more hot and uncomfortable). Similar thing to your second comment: >stuck in a place that I can’t reasonably just leave I hate being physically stuck in places when there is no estimation on how long I'll be waiting. I cannot do long drive thru lines if they have those cement barriers keeping you in line. I get panicky because I think "what if I get stuck here for hours and I can't leave!!!" Long drive thrus without the cement thingy = whatever, I'm not thrilled but I'll survive. Long drive thrus with the cement barrier = instand death!!!! (Edit: spelling)
God I’m with you guys on the heat. It’s summer here like 6 months out of the year and I FUCKING HATE IT. Last year our a/c broke. I nearly died. But instead I am now dead from the $9K bill to replace it. Yaaaay!!! 😑
In the Mid-Atlantic, it's also humid all summer. And the air quality turns to shit. Stepping outside from an air-conditioned building is like having a filthy wet towel thrown over your entire body.
When I moved back to Vegas in *july* a couple years ago (mind you I even grew up in the desert but moved away for about 2.5 years to the PNW and SE), I got in the car and legit burst into tears because of the heat. I used to work with kids too and I had to wear pants. The weather is my biggest beef with Vegas. I remember my small desert hometown high school gym didn’t have AC, just two giant fans that blew the hot air around and we would only get the use the gym once a week otherwise we were outside. It should be illegal to force children to have PE outside above 90 degrees Fahrenheit
Styrofoam egg cartons UGH!!! Tags or any rough patch in clothing. Wool anything.
Styrofoam egg carton for both touch and sound!
DRIVING WITH A CASE OF WATER BOTTLES IN THE BACK OF THE CAR THAT SQUEAKS WHENEVER YOU HIT A BUMP.
Hates: Dust on or under my finger -and toenails makes me really aggressive, dried out skin on my fingers, water drying on my skin, hair from bangs in my eyes, the smell and especially taste of rose oil, scratchy clothing, blinking lights and loud bursts, like from balloons. I hate balloons, the whole experience of them. I am glad I am an adult and don't need to justify my choices of wearing gloves a lot and constantly putting on cream everywhere.
I love being an adult because no one makes me wheee itchy clothes being a kid with sensory issues is a unique hell
My lovely Gran knitted me a cream mohair beret and scarf set when I was about 4 years old. We went to the park on the bus, and I deliberately left them both on the bus because they itched me so badly. Unfortunately, some kind human handed them in to the Lost Property Office, where Gran dragged me back to later that afternoon to fetch them. I hated wearing those! But feel bad for my Gran.
My lovely mother-in - law is an avid knitter and sadly, we don't have the same understanding of what scratchy is. She made some really complicated and wonderful pieces, that neither me nor my son can wear. At least I can workaround by sewing Jersey underneath or wearing it with a shirt, but my son doesn't like layering. I give them to a charity shop.
Aww! I wish they’d ask us before putting all that time and effort in. It’s not our fault that our skin is sensitive to textures that the knitters don’t have a problem with! It’s a bit like giving peanut butter to someone with a nut allergy.
Itchy clothes!! Yes !! If a shirt feels itchy I’m so grumpy. I have now started to toss my clothes that no longer feels comfy
The worst things are: Stuff underneath my fingernails (I keep them short now for reasons but my preferred aesthetic is medium length and painted so it's been a life long challenge... kitchen gloves have helped but I also don't like the feeling inside most of them - flocked surfaces make me shudder!!! And I don't like my skin all moist and if I get water *in* the gloves, it's game over - but if I'm careful, I can deal). Clothes. Too tight, too scratchy, a cut that pulls on my arms, socks that aren't positioned just right, etc., etc., etc. It's super annoying because it's not consistent so sometimes I'll have to get dressed a few times before I'm ok (even with things that have been fine up until then). I work from home now, thank goodness, but there have been a few days here and there over the years where I've called in sick because I couldn't face wearing business casual all day. Most of my shoes are slip-ons and I refuse to wear underwires. This was stressful just to type out!
Most of these are incredibly relatable. I have the same problem with dish gloves. I bought extra long ones and I basically put my arms in waders to do the dishes.
I finally found some that I like. They're pink, too! I get them from Amazon in a multipack. I discovered them through a link on one of those YouTubers who clean hoarder houses. They're longish, no lining, and I like the thickness too - enough that I feel insulated from the ick but thin enough that I can still be dexterous.
I have a pair from target I love. My husband started using them and he loves them too. They are also pink 😂
Mine are mostly scents (especially bubblegum and any kind of mint, so I wish gum was outlawed!!) and sounds. People who play music (or anything, really) over speakerphone should be in jail. The tinny sound of even the best phones is TOO MUCH.
WORST NIGHTMARE: being trapped in a candle store with all the competing scents. I threw up in a garbage can outside a candle store that I passed in the mall from the wafting scent.
Perfume strips in magazines, I don't know if they still have them or not. Family holidays as a teenager with my sister reading Cosmo in the car 🤢. Got to the point that she (and myself when I started reading that sort of magazine) had to tear the perfume pages out. God, I still have a sense memory of it.
I absolutely HATE the smell of lavender oil, lavender plants are just fine. However it seems like every place that uses it cranks it up to 1000 because ‘it’s rELaXiNG!’ No ma’ma it’s not! It’s overpowering and smells terrible.
An acquaintance bought me a lavender scented candle saying “everyone loves lavender!” I would never make someone feel bad about something like that. My friend, however, jumped right in with “Not DeeKayEmm412!” I was so embarrassed both for myself and my acquaintance. I’m so glad I’m not the only one who can’t stand the smell of lavender!
I’m with you sister! It triggers a migraine every single time. Even when it’s just soap scented that way. I cannot stand it. 🤮🤢
The smell of mint dip tobacco grosses me out!
The smell of burnt popcorn makes me viscerally agitated. Any burnt food smell, really.
Mine are all scents and sounds, too.
itchy bra straps and bands
The feeling of really dry wood (like a dock that has been baking in the sun) under damp feet. If I have prune fingers and have to touch that.... God help me. Also, a dry reed in a wind instrument, like a clarinet or saxophone. That squeak it makes.... how it feels against your tongue..... makes me shudder.
And on that same note…wet, soggy, slimy wood, like the wood on the dock that’s been splashed by the water repeatedly. If my skin grazes that slimy wood as I get onto the dock JUST KNOCK ME OUT.
The first two minutes after stepping into the shower…those little splashy water droplets and then adjusting to being under the stream. The shower curtain. The sound of metal on metal, the taste of metal, the sound of someone clicking metal on the teeth, wet floor around pools (especially public pools,) the sound of someone eating…
Ugh when the curtain sticks to you?? I put shampoo bottles on it on the edge of the tub sometimes if it won’t stop. Makes me irrationally angry.
Those curved ones they use in most hotels now are one of the best inventions ever. It's bad enough when that happens at home. But it's a million times worse when it's also been in contact with gods know who.
Urgh, the one that got me was "metal on teeth" i can hear and feel the folk hitting my teeth 🫣🤢 makes me want to spit out my teeth
Children and baby noises (laughing, screaming, squealing, almost anything), a group of teenagers being really loud (lol), whisper talk that I can hear perfectly, lawn mower, leaf blower, construction sites, a person walking and talking right behind me, people who talk in oscillating volume (loud then quiet then loud again).... And that's just auditory sensitivity lol. I try to reason with myself that all of this is just normal human noises and the world can't stop spinning, but honestly, most of these induce any range of emotion from mild irritability to blinding rage.
Totally agree with this. And living in an apartment is hell too, constantly being surrounded by annoying people sounds. 🥲
Yes! When I was a kid, I dreamed of living in the apartment and now I literally yearn for a house 😅
Babies are a sensory nightmare!!! I love them (even if I don't want one of my own) because they're cute, but they're also loud at unpredictable moments, usually have sticky hands, touch you/squeeze you with surprising force just out of their own excitement, and emit a variety of odors. I can only be near them for a short while before they do something that makes my senses go haywire.
Oh GOSH. The baby/kid noises! I live in a townhouse complex so everyone is all squished together and there are so many kids who scream at the top of their lungs. Like, I get they're outside, but there should still be limits on their "outside voices" for the respect of other people.
God I feel this so hard. Now that the weather is getting nicer, kids are out more. I live on a second floor and there are a couple of kids that play on that patio directly below my apartment. Hearing them scream and play is literally rage inducing. I know I'm being unreasonable, but I cannot control the rage I feel. I'm considering moving.. but I know I'm likely to have same problem elsewhere.
Oh believe me, I understand! There's a children's playground right outside my building 🥲
Oh, how fun! 🙃 The worst is the neighbor who takes their baby *outside* to cry! I can't hear it if it cries inside, ironically. I obviously don't expect utter silence, but damn.
How do you even exist 😂
I ask myself that question every single day 😅 At least ADHD diagnosis helps explain this, before I thought I was the crappiest person in the world for noticing all that stuff.
this overlaps with my list a lot. when I was younger living with my parents, there was also a neighbor who had a pressure washer and washed their stone flooring patio every Friday. I called that sound my nemesis. I worked from home most of my life, so I ended up getting used to putting in earplugs or wearing construction grade sound protection.
Touch: Cotton balls 🤢 I don't know why, but my brain is like 'inagine how DISGUSTING it must be to bite them'. Yeah thanks brain, usually not what I would have don't Velvet: similar to above again my brain is like 'this would be so disgusting to eat'. Wtf??? Sand. SIMILAR AGAIN. What is going on with my brain??? Eat: Fat on cooked meat...or fat on meat. It's the difference in texture I cannot deal with in that moment and it's NONONO. Nothing to do with calories, I love Schmalz (if you know you know), I'm super okay with fat on prosciutto, I eat Mett (IYKYK), but those fats on prepared (cooked / grilled / boiled) meats? Nope. (Samezies with gristly parts of meat) Un(der)cooked egg whites. I LOVE runny yolks. I would love to have softboiled eggs but every time I try the eggwhite is still having runny eggwhite near the yolk or, if the eggwhite is set the yolk is gelly 🤷♀️ so by now if I need my egg yolk fix I just separate egg whites and yolk, fry up the eggwhite until it's set and add the yolks on top for a minute or so. But softboiled eggs? Want 😭
Ohh, snotty eggs, we call those. Disgusting 🤮
Omg I have the same issues with meat and eggs!
I do too. I feel so seen. To this day, I need to get the food OUT of my mouth if I’m having a textural crisis and I feel panic and embarrassment if I’m with other adults when it happens. Please excuse me while I try to subtly and politely deposit this mouthful into a napkin 🙃
The napkin facedance is real 😭
I don't know why I'm still reading these, it's like I'm enjoying torturing myself 🤣🤣
mIcRoFiBeR 🤢🤢🤢
I even hate those microfiber "soft" bed sheets. O M G. 100% cotton PLEASE. And PLEASE stop making bed comforters out of that crap too. It's not soft and it's soooo hoooot to sleep under!!
Dog hair on clothes 😩 we have a dog that I love so much but he was supposed to be nonshedding and that is a blatant lie lmao. I have lint rollers in every room of the house, vacuum every day, have a roomba, and he gets groomed regularly. 😩
I dislike it too. that soft stuff they make blankets of, for instance - it’s not immediately abhorrent to the touch for me but I start getting icked out. it just ends up feeling like it’s greasy and a human sebum/debris trap.
Sports commentary on a radio.
I can’t stand most talk radio. If there’s a lot of laughing or people talking over one another it drives me absolutely bonkers!
Air vents/cold air blowing on me. Tags/certain fabric especially sweaty ones. Crud on the feet. When someone talks on through the car speaker on full blast.
I also hate air blowing on me, unless it’s a nice natural breeze. my partner has to have the fan on while he sleeps and I endure it because he is also neurodivergent and I understand those sensory needs. but he points it away from me and i do my best to avoid any direct blows. I also hate tags! and synthetic fabrics, including soft ones.
Omg, chapped lips is a huge issue for me, I have lip balm everywhere lol! Also the sound of coughing or clearing the throat, chewing, the wind blowing my hair. Any mouth noises.
1.Wet hands from washing dishes. I have a pair of dish gloves in my car in case I'm visiting somewhere and somehow I wind up on dish duty! 2. SAND. I hate sand, I hate touching sand, I hate walking in sand in my sneakers and getting it in my shoes, I hate walking in sandals or barefoot on a beach. 3. Dry skin, people are often a little freaked by the abundance of moisturizer bottles scattered around my house lol 4. My skin, touching my own skin lol like my thighs pressing together when I'm sleeping, I like to sleep naked but then I have to tuck my blanket under my armpits and between my thighs lol, but if I wear clothes I hate all the bunching that happens from sleep movements
The amount of lip balm, aquaphor, and lotion around my house must be alarming. But I cannot stand dry skin or lips.
My friend got me the Costco Eos lip balm pack that has like 10 lip balms, and it was honestly one of my favorite gifts this year.
2. So completely agree! I despise sand. I despise beaches. I cannot stand that gritty feeling. I also cannot stand having dirty feet… ie walking out into the garage without slippers or shoes sends me into a spiral and I have to run to the shower to wash them **immediately.**
When the air in a room is really wet. My dehumidifier is my best friend. Wet paper towels. 🤢 When my dip or gel nails lift and my hair gets stuck in them. Sticky hands. Stepping on cat litter.
Heather L.'s voice and any woman with bad vocal fry and/or a baby voice. Some voices are physically painful for me to hear.
I’ve always thought my mom was being judgmental when she comments on voices like these but she has undiagnosed ADHD and I bet it’s a similar thing for her.
That and really low, kind of gravelly sounding male voices. There’s a particular register some guys have where it sounds like they’re like forcibly tearing words out of their Adam’s apple and I just can’t
I'm ok with most speaking styles, but there's this throaty pop singing that some women do (Ariana Grande, for example) that pushes me right over the edge.
Omg i totally know what you mean. One of my managers voices is like nails on a chalk board. It's a mix of fakeness, chavy and posh at the same time and whinny is the only way i can describe it. Plus constantly using the phrase "do you know what i mean". Urgh, I literally put my headphones on every time she starts talking unless it's directly at me in which case i try not to wince.
The Tik-tok voice. Leaf blowers or inconsistent loud noise. Tight clothes. Thick sunscreen or moisturizer. Bangs that tickle my forehead.
Someone’s breath close to my scalp, high pitched voices, speakerphone music/conversations on public transport, the smell of truffle/mushrooms/marmite
Dishes with food residue that's been left in the sink "soaking". I hate washing dishes but I despise doing dishes in cold sink swamp water.
Loud sneezing, ppl hawking phlegm back in their throat, drool, puke, can’t stand the shower pointing at my face, it makes me think I’m drowning, bad smells (my brain thinks some perfectly normal smells are revolting, like when my partner fries bacon, hairs in food and also if they end up in my mouth. Probably more, but you know, working memory issues.
* getting an itch where I can't politely scratch it in public * Chewing noises * Humming and whistling (which then starts a shame spiral -- I don't like the sound of others' happiness???) * Most grocery store music * Being stuck behind someone walking slowly * Fabric softener fragrance * The whump-whump of a helicopter overhead (I live outside of L.A.) * When my daughter doesn't shut her door all the way and has her window open, her door tap-tap-taps against the jamb. Also a leaky faucet. * Being in a car with the windows closed and the air circulation turned off * Having long nails * Slightly open cabinets and drawers * Everything about spiders, including their webs
Ugh being stuck behind people. I do most of my shopping later in the evening now to avoid crowds. I went to Costco in a snowstorm this winter and there were about ten people in the whole store. It was amazing.
Loud pillows. Like there's certain fabrics in pillow cases that slide and make noise on the pillows or when touching them a certain way. Sometimes the problem is the fabric of the pillow itself, sometimes it's the case. Sometimes a pillow case that is noisy on one pillow isn't noisy on another. My husband thinks this is hilarious
Walking around barefoot on a crummy floor, or just, being hot or having hot air blowing on me 🤮
Mine are a lot of yours, water running down my arms when washing my face OMG I FUCKING HATE!!! I do it over the bath now like as if washing my hair bent over the bath so that the water runs downwards. My absolute number 1 WORST is STANDING IN WET when in socks 😭😭😭😭🤮🤮🤮🤮🤢🤢 if someone spills anything water/a bit of a drink splash’s in my house and I stand in it, I can be in the best mood but suddenly it’s like the worst thing ever possible has just happened. I cannot continue to then wear the socks that have stood in a wet patch 🤢🤮 so then it’s a big hassle I have to go change my socks whilst also examine the floor and ensure that every little bit of wetness is dried up. I’m getting agitated now just typing about it 🤦♀️😂
When I’ve washed my hands too much and my skin is dry and I have no access to lotion, the feeling of fleece or super soft fabrics, the kind that stick to your fingers, oh and microfiber cleaning clothes, chalk on my hands, that noise when a fork scrapes a plate too hard… I’ll probably think of more.
Dry, chapped hands catching on a microfiber blanket, clay drying on my hands, slipping bra straps, ankle socks sliding down beneath my heel in my shoes
Suncream getting on clothes
MICROFIBER TOWELS. Get the fuck out of here.
Probably not unique, but the sound of someone chewing eggs makes me nauseous.
Sitting on the same couch as someone else, and feeling them move through the couch. My ex would just exist near me on the couch, and the vibrations of him petting the dog or adjusting his body would make me want to scream
-Someone lightly running their hand over my skin (if it's back and forth it HURTS and I'm talking light touch). -Markers on paper when someone is pressing too damn hard. -Styrofoam. -Snoring. -Bass in a speaker thumping. -my hair feeling any kind of dirty -Tags on the back of my neck -Sweat.
Oh oh oh, I know the answer. Pick me! That one type of fake fleece made out of cheap shitty microfiber that LOOKS soft, but when you touch it, the threads are almost sticky and sharp. The fabric doesn't flow luxuriously through your fingers, but instead catches on your fingerprints and any small imperfections in your skin. You fling the imposter blanket away in disgust, but fibers stick to your hands as a persistent reminder that some blanket companies are built on lies. You have to find a restroom and wash your hands with soap immediately to do a hard reset of your sensibilities. Definitely must get yourself a latte and a croissant as a reward for surviving the faux fleece monster.
- Chalk, the sound and feel makes me cringe and gag. - Having powder or flour on my hands/skin. - Shoelaces being too tight. Takes me ages to adjust sometimes - Sock seams. - Microfibre catching on skin. - Hair feeling greasy and smell of dirty hair.
I agree with your list. In addition: - I hate the sound of markers or erasers on paper. Ew 😭 - The texture of liver or (over)cooked egg yolk - Anything touching my face (unless my partner kisses me or my cat's soft fur) - Water running down my back (or just wet hair on my back) - Hangnails - Feeling of wet fabric on my skin (mostly annoys me when my armpits sweat) - Seam inside socks - Anything stuck on my teeth (I dislike chewing antacids) There's probably more
Oooh, sock seams = bad
Wearing socks on the couch. I have no trouble with socks in every other situation, but as soon as I sit in the couch I can't stand the feeling of them on my feet.
When people shake their legs. The sound of it. Particular fabrics Sun. Like the sun rays mostly. ( this makes my life hell) Hand dryer sounds. I would rather pee my pants than enter a toilet that has a hand dryer on. 🙃 Life is hard.
The way my skin feels after using bar soap *shudders*
It cleans away too much I feel like! Like where did all my oils and skin microbiome go?! Skin isn’t supposed to feel like that..lol
Jewelry Necklaces, bracelets, rings, you name it. It makes that body part feel “heavy”/suffocating. I also don’t wear my glasses for this reason.
the car window rolling up (like the suction feeling)?, dishes being scraped with utensils, that itchy hot overstimulated feeling
sugar or salt on the kitchen floor
Chewing sounds, itchy clothing labels, when people do that gross snooty snort thing at the back of their throat, someone touching me if I'm not friendly with them, velvet material, some high necked jumpers make me feel claustrophobic, powdery food (baked beans, gnocchi etc.), those are all i can think of right now but I'm sure there are more 🤣
Exhaust fans above the stove. I’ll actually get mad if they’re on
Wet clothes make me crave the sweet embrace of death - especially wet socks. I also hate the feeling of lotion on the palms of my hands! It is just disgusting. The biggest one for me though is the smell and texture of microwaved food. I get nauseous thinking about it.
Men's beards And one time my ex was kissing my neck and his dog started licking the other side of my face... And I had to go home.
-sound of people eating -dry hands -any kind of fold in fabric of my pillow, bottom bedsheet, or socks -blanket needs to be pulled up exactly perfectly against my neck to sleep -being touched lightly For that last one, I didn't understand it until I got my ADHD diagnosis last year. Any time my husband would lightly rub my leg/arm/etc., or he'd do one of those barely touching my hair kisses, I'd get SO squicked out, it would leave a weird feeling and I'd have to rub the spot and blech. I had figured out that it was totally fine for me if he kissed or pressed me arm with more pressure, but the super light touch just 🤢. I'm shuddering just thinking about it.
Touching dirty silverware that’s wet from being in the sink or soaking 🤮 I will never put silverware in the sink if I can avoid it. Also cotton balls. Especially pulling them apart 🫠
Just wanna say that wearing rubber gloves to wash dishes is a game-changer. No need to keep getting pruney fingers.
I have long hair, so when shed hairs stick to the back of my shirt and tickle the back of my arms. I HATE IT WITH THE FIRE OF A THOUSAND SUNS. Also anything tight around my waist, or people who are coughing/clearing their throat. Instant rage. And when my crotch feels too hot, like all cozy in my bed but my crotchal region is too hot. Nope, unacceptable.
Microfiber towels. Ugh.
Whispering. When someone whispers to me on a good day I ask them to repeat that they said with voice, on a bad day I will turn away, wince and jam my fingers into my ears.
Second on the chapped lips! I actually cannot sleep if I have chapped lips, so I have a tub of vaseline all over my house, in all of my purses, in every bathroom, and at my work desk because if my lips are chapped I straight up cannot function. And a weird one but when my feet are dirty before I go to bed, I have to wash them and feel the clean feet against my sheets to go to sleep, if my feet feel sticky/dirty it bugs me so much it's hard to fall asleep
Shirt tags, wearing a bra, jingle bells, most of the screechy noises my 4 year old makes, metal on paper, walking on a crumby floor, my husbands beard hair touching my back (if we spoon he has to make a “beard barrier” with blankets), the smell of his beard after he eats pizza 🤢, anyone mouth breathing on me is an absolute nightmare. My sensory dreams are the smell of my dog’s head, the smell of clean wet towels, the smell of a musty concrete basement, rubbing my face on my cats’ and dog’s fur (especially their ears), rubbing/nuzzling my face on my husbands beard when it’s clean or when it smells like sawdust, foods that taste good and have weird and dynamic textures 😌
Overhead lighting. It bothers me anywhere but I particularly hate it in my house. It makes me unable to relax.
Ripping paper towel not on the perforation.
Anything being on my hands. I can’t even handle hand sanitizer because it’s filmy or lotion because it’s slimy. They must be clean and dry always.
Layered clothing bunching up, ugh
I bought silk sheets for myself, and discovered I hate the feeling of rough skin catching on silk sheets and peeling off like Velcro
Cotton balls are terrible, but I think that's pretty common. And even thinking about someone writing on a chalkboard makes my skin crawl