Guidance for: I feel wrong and I think I need more input, not less

Give your body something to do

Not every sensory problem is too much. Understimulation is its own specific kind of awful — itchy, restless, faintly desperate — and quiet dark rooms make it worse. What helps is deep, repetitive input you chose yourself.

Then, if you have room for it

• Reach for pressure first: weight, squeezing, a tight hug, hands pressed together. It settles faster than noise does.
• Then movement. Rocking, pacing, stairs, anything rhythmic and repeated.
• Stim on purpose and without apology. It's regulation, and suppressing it is what the tiredness is made of.
• Keep a short list of what works for you. In the state where you need it, you won't be able to think of any of them.

Watch

Read

• Autism and sensory processingNational Autistic SocietyCovers both directions — too much input and too little — with practical adjustments.(opens in a new tab)
• The autistic and ADHD nervous systemNeurodivergent InsightsWhy regulation works differently, written for people who have both.(opens in a new tab)