The holiday season is right around the corner! The holidays can be joyful occasions for some, but they can also certainly be a busy time! If you or others that you may be spending the holidays with struggle with feeling overstimulated at times, it can turn busy holidays into stressful and overwhelming experiences. Luckily, it doesn’t have to be that way! Let’s explore some ideas for making the holidays more sensory friendly!
What is overstimulation?
The word “overstimulated” will appear a lot here, so let’s start out by discussing what exactly this means. You have likely already heard of the 5 senses; touch, smell, taste, hearing, and sight. Sometimes, when there’s a lot of sensory input for any one (or more) of those senses, it can become overwhelming and extremely distressing. For example, too many people talking at once, or lights that are too intense. Aside from feeling more distressed or irritable, there are lots of other signs that you or someone else might be feeling overstimulated, such as covering your ears to muffle sound, withdrawing from the social situation you’re in, or not wanting to be touched (sometimes, even the feel of clothes on your skin can feel like too much when you’re overstimulated). Feeling overstimulated isn’t unique to any particular type of person, although some populations may become overstimulated more quickly than others, such as autistic people, or people with PTSD, ADHD, or anxiety, to name a few examples. What counts as “too much” sensory input varies from person to person, so sensory-friendly holidays will look different for everyone. The ideas below are meant to help get you started, but since everyone’s needs differ, feel free to get creative with modifying these ideas, or using them as inspiration to find ways to make holiday gatherings feel more welcoming and comfortable for everyone!
Lighting
It’s probably easy to imagine holiday gatherings with lots of colorful, ultra-bright, dazzling lights decorating the event, often seen in movies and pictures! But these bright or flashing lights can become overstimulating at times. Still, no need to forgo fun holiday lighting entirely! Why not consider battery-powered candles for dimmer, warm-toned lighting for dinner, or decorate your space with garlands or other lights-free decorations? If you are using lights to decorate, consider leaving them set to stay the same color, instead of having them cycle through different colors or flashing. If your lights are on a dimmer, you could also try dimming the lights a little, or using warmer-toned lightbulbs to light your space instead of fluorescent lights.
Noise levels
Imagining a holiday party can also sometimes call to mind booming music or a loud TV, and while this may be fun sometimes, it can become overwhelming at other times. Consider holding part of the gathering in a different room from the TV if you plan to have a show or movie playing at the event, so that guests have the option of watching TV or spending time with others in a quieter space. If you want to play some music for everyone throughout the event, try to keep the volume lower, or, like with the TV, have a space for music and a quieter space.
Foods available
Sometimes strong smells can lead to sensory overload, or the textures of some foods can be unpleasant sensory experiences. One person’s favorite food might be another person’s sensory nightmare! Consider inviting guests to bring food to contribute so that guests know that there will be at least one familiar food, and avoid pressuring guests to try foods that they’ve declined. Asking guests in advance about dietary preferences and asking them for ideas of foods they would enjoy can also help with thinking of foods to prepare—and can take some of the pressure off of the host to come up with all of the food plans on their own!
Self-care
Many of us have likely had experiences of feeling more irritable when we are tired or hungry, so it might not be surprising to hear that, when our self-care isn’t getting prioritized, we can sometimes feel overstimulated more easily. Things like getting enough rest before an event, staying hydrated, and using coping skills such as breathing exercises can help us feel more ready to manage stressors. While this won’t necessarily prevent overstimulation, it can reduce the likelihood of it by supporting our overall well-being before we go into a potentially overstimulating situation.
Calming spaces
Sometimes overstimulation happens despite our best efforts to prevent it. In cases like these, having a quieter space set aside to go to where you can relax can be a huge relief! This could be a whole room set aside from the main gathering, or a part of a room, depending on what your space allows. Some ideas of things to keep in this space could be fidget toys, coloring supplies, an eye mask (to reduce light), or a spare pair of headphones (to further reduce noise, or in case someone wants to listen to some calming music). You could let guests know where that space is, and then, if you or others start to feel overstimulated throughout the event, you know where you can go, and then you can rejoin the others when you feel ready!
Talking to your therapist can give you more ideas for ways to tailor the holiday season (and your everyday life) to your own specific sensory needs, and can also help you with identifying what your triggers tend to be for overstimulation. Don’t have a therapist, but want one? We have therapists who can help! We invite you to reach out to our office to schedule an appointment with us!