Still struggling with the aftermath of yesterday with sensory overload. I thought I had sufficiently prepared myself, mentally, with being around people for a holiday dinner party in a restaurant. Unfortunately, my efforts weren't enough. The party room was still open to the rest of the restaurant with ALL the ambient noise. Add to the noise, more than one person in our group were wearing necklaces that were FLASHING LIGHTS! Add to that, a HUGE mirror on the wall that was REFLECTING THOSE FLASHING LIGHTS and my nervous system couldn't handle all this sensory input! I had to keep fighting the urge to run and hide in a dark quiet place somewhere! Knowing that the group of people I was with were only acquaintances, NOT friends, made the situation even more difficult.
If there had been another Aspie in the group, it might have made the situation a little easier as I wouldn't have felt alone and isolated. Those on the Autism Spectrum would understand what I was struggling to deal with.
