Drained by Sensitivity to Sound and Light: Writing Out Sensory-Overload Days to Recover

The buzz of a packed train, the flicker of office fluorescent lights, the endless chime of phone notifications, the perfume of someone passing by. You haven't done anything special, yet by evening the back of your head feels heavy and your body is thoroughly worn out. Everyone around you seems fine, and you feel like you're the only one this drained. Haven't you repeated a day like that, over and over?

Being tired by sensitivity to sound and light comes from your senses taking in the world more finely and deeply than others. It is by no means an overreaction or your imagination. In this article we'll gently unpack why stimulation exhausts you, and share a self-care method of writing out overstimulating days to recover.

Why sound and light tire you out so much

People with sensitive senses tend to take in surrounding stimulation in finer, deeper detail than others. The hum of the air conditioning, background chatter, glaring lights that most people naturally tune out — your brain picks up and keeps processing each one carefully.

In other words, even in the same environment, the volume of information you receive is greater than others'. Keep up that processing all day, and your brain naturally wears out. The wiped-out fatigue of evening isn't laziness or weakness — it's the result of ceaselessly processing a huge amount of stimulation.

Blaming yourself for "overthinking it" won't change your senses. What matters isn't blaming your sensitivity, but finding ways to work with stimulation.

First reduce stimulation, then write

When stimulation has worn you out, the first thing to do is reduce the stimulation itself. Move to a room with fewer people, dim the lights, block sound with earphones, close your eyes for a while. Even a few minutes of reducing the information entering your brain lets your taut nerves begin to loosen.

Then, try writing out what stimulation tired you that day. "The buzz of the packed train drained me from the morning." "The meeting room's lights were so bright I couldn't settle the whole time." Putting the reason for your fatigue into words turns a formless wiped-out feeling into a specific, manageable event.

The act of writing itself has a quiet recovering effect too. Move the contents of your stimulated head, just once, onto quiet paper. At the end of a noisy day, that becomes time to recover some stillness in your heart.

Build up records, and the environments you struggle with emerge

Keep recording your overstimulation, and it becomes clear which environments tend to drain you. Crowds, harsh lighting, cluttered noise, particular smells. Once you know the pattern of stimulation you struggle with, you can prepare in advance.

If you know crowds are hard for you, avoid the busy hours. If glare is painful, change seats or use tinted glasses. On days with prolonged stimulation, deliberately build in a quiet break. Knowing your tendencies through writing means, rather than coping only after you're completely drained, protecting yourself ahead of time.

Sensitivity isn't a bad thing

You may feel your sensitivity to sound and light is "inconvenient," or wish you could be "thicker-skinned." But the power to sense finely is also the sensitivity to deeply savor beautiful sound and light, and small changes. Being easily tired is, in fact, proof of how richly you take in the world.

What you need isn't to erase your sensitivity, but to have a habit of recovering without hoarding the stimulation you take in. Reduce, write, rest. This small flow becomes the support that protects your delicate nerves.

When the distress continues

If fatigue or discomfort lasts a long time and you can't sleep or it disrupts work and life, it's generally considered a sign to talk to a professional such as a doctor or mental health specialist without toughing it out. Strong sensory sensitivity can sometimes benefit from specialized support. The methods here are everyday self-care and not a substitute for medical judgment. If it feels like more than you can hold, borrow a professional's help early.

Venting the fatigue as a "curse" is allowed too

On a day worn out by stimulation, trying to swallow your fatigue with "everyone else is putting up with it" only deepens the exhaustion. There's no need to force a brave face.

Noroi Nikki is an app for those overstimulated days. We built it as a place where you can vent the 'I've had enough' toward the sound and light that drained you, exactly as it is, in the form of "curses." What you write is seen by no one and stays only within you. The more full of stimulation your day was, the more you deserve to give yourself a little time, at the end, to quietly empty your head.

References

• James W. Pennebaker, Opening Up: The Healing Power of Expressing Emotions (Guilford Press, 1997). A foundational body of research on the effects of writing out accumulated strain, known as expressive writing.