Sensory overload

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For the record label see Sensory Overload Records

Sensory overload (sometimes abbreviated to SO) is a condition where one or more of the five senses are strained and it becomes difficult to focus on the task at hand. The term is commonly (but not exclusively) used in the context of autism/autism spectrum disorders. It may also be common in gifted children, which can be one of the factors that explains why they prefer to be alone.

It may be necessary for only one sense to be bombarded by stimuli to affect that sense as well as the other senses and the thinking process. The most common type occurs when more than one sense is stimulated. For example, a person might be watching television when someone comes in and asks a question; the watcher might fail to respond because he or she simply does not register it.

Sensory overload sessions can be practiced to intentionally increase coordination. Characteristics of such sessions would include any number of combinations of the following:

Reading
Speaking/singing/whistling
Listening to music/speech/sound (possibly two different sounds, one for each ear)
Any amount of touch or feel points/areas

There have been cases where people overload their senses intentionally. Sensory overload sessions can come in many forms that vary in duration, number of different senses overloaded, number of agents overloading a single sense, intensity, among other things. The effects are said to have an opposite-of-meditation effect. The idea behind it is to experience two extremes of brain activity. During meditation, the meditator ideally wants to "think of nothing" - thus minimizing brain activity. Sensory overload attempts to achieve the complete opposite (maximizing brain activity).