at the LSE campus & halls 💕

Both neurotypical and neurodivergent people experience sensory overwhelm, even though neurodivergent people experience it in much greater frequency and intensity.

To be able to successfully deal with sensory overwhelm, we need to learn how to recognise when we are experiencing it. Some common symptoms of sensory overwhelm (or overstimulation) include fatigue and tiredness, irritability, an inability to process information and sometimes even dissociation (feeling numb and detached from your surroundings).

Here are some tips and places that have helped me manage overwhelm at the LSE campus and halls :-

• Cave Room, LSE Faith Centre, 2nd floor, SU building

This is hands-down the best place on campus to go to for some downtime. Located in the LSE Faith Centre on the second floor of the SU building, this is a dark, cold, silent room with a sound-proof curtain; no conversations are allowed inside, it is usually empty and no prior bookings are needed to use this space.

It is intended for some silent meditation and reflection, making it the perfect place to regain your energy away from the constant activity on campus. Food, drink and electronic devices aren’t allowed here, ensuring it is devoid of any and all sounds and distractions.

• Using takeaway boxes for meals

If you live in catered halls, you know how loud, bright and overwhelming the dining room can sometimes feel. After having a long and tiring day, getting dinner in a noisy hall with too many people is the last thing you want.

Luckily, all catered halls provide their residents with takeaway boxes, which was honestly a life-saver for me in first-year. Whenever going down to eat feels like too much, you can get your meal up to your room in a takeaway box, maybe even have your friends do the same and eat with them in your room.

Bonus tip: You can also ask one of your friends to get your meal up for you, however, you need to inform the halls’ staff in advance for that.

• White noise, fidget toys & reduced lighting

These are just a few of the things that have helped me manage my overwhelm in the past. Besides these, having a calming scent with you, using a weighted blanket/plushie, watching a comfort show/movie, using noise-cancelling headphones, doodling, drawing or journalling are other things that can help manage overstimulation.

The primary goal of all these activities is to do something that makes you feel better in that moment; something that relaxes and also re-energises you. It would be ideal to try out a bunch of activities and track which one makes you gain the most energy in the shortest time.

• Identifying and limiting triggers

Sensory overwhelm happens when your brain is bombarded with too many sensory inputs that it doesn’t have the capacity to take in. Ideally, you should learn to identify the sensory inputs that trigger you (could be noise, bright lights, socialising, etc.), minimise the triggering inputs in your daily life and experiment with different strategies and techniques to see what works for you.

Although we can limit instances of sensory overwhelm by identifying our triggers and incorporating accommodations in our day-to-day life, sometimes it is just unavoidable, considering how busy university life can be.

Besides the places and tools listed in this blog, I find it extremely useful to have a quitting time every day (a specific time when I stop working for the day) and to have a nightly routine that involves unwinding and spending time with myself for an hour or two before bed. This could include reading a book, listening to a podcast, journalling, doing some meditation or exercising; anything that calms down your nervous system and helps you sleep at night.

University life will try to pull you in a million different directions; it is essential to have an upper limit on how much space work will take up in your life and to leave some time for your well-being each day to make you feel grounded, calm and relaxed.