AVOID SENSORY OVERLOAD

Jun 19

tIPS TO aVOID FEELING OVERWELMED FROM A nEURODIVERGENT rAVER

Sensory overload can take a festival experience from one of the greatest highs to one of the lowest lows.

The bass is low, you feel the vibrations down to your bone. The music is loud banging into your ears. These are the sensations you came here for. The lights are bright and flashing. Flags and totems fly above you as the crowd slowly develops around you. A few brushes against your arms grab moments of your attention. You breathe in deeply and reorient. The smells around you creep into the forefront of your mind—bodily smells. I feels like the lights are getting brighter and the music isn’t just loud in blaring. You suddenly feel like your skin is cold but your core is hot from the rush of your heartrate. You start to lose focus on the moment. Everything and everyone is closing in.

Sensory overload can hit you like a wave, in moments that otherwise would be some of the best memories.

As a person with sensory sensitivities, my first festival required a lot of downtime and creating space for myself to reset. Overtime, I learned ways to boost my longevity and make the experience significantly better overall.

These are my top five biggest tips for preventing sensory overload this festival season!

Eargasm Ear Plugs

These are by far the most important item on this list. Nothing increased my longevity like Eargasms. I tried regular ear plugs at an EDC and frankly, I found them to be a worse sensory experience than wearing nothing at all. Earplugs dampen sound and are uncomfortable. Eargasms filter sound. This difference can be understood the second you put them in. We go to festivals for the music. I don’t want to miss out on the music.

The filtering allows for sound to still travel to your ears, but gives them a break from the harsher effects of loud music. These also help keep your ears healthy for longer.