Hello! Sharing a great analogy I used to explain my sensory overload to my partner.

TLDR; Noisy spaces = sensory discomfort that I can slowly adjust to, similarly to how jumping into super cold water is physically uncomfortable until you adjust. Partner can understand my sensory issues a bit better.

When we go out somewhere in public where there is a lot of noise, I normally need to adjust to the volume around us before I can have a proper conversation.

This has often led to me being super distracted while he tries to talk to me, and takes it as me being annoyed at him. While I've explained in the past that I'm just overwhelmed and will be okay, he doesn't understand as a person without ADHD.

Yesterday when we were in a busy restaurant after I had 'acclimated' to the sounds, I made a joke about how noisy places are like jumping into cold water. I realised how great that analogy was, and it helped him relate my sensory discomfort to a physical discomfort he had experienced.

Sometimes the water is so cold that you just don't adjust to the temperature, same with super overwhelming spaces.

I know everyone has different experiences and it's not a perfect analogy, but hopefully it might help someone explain their experiences better to a loved one :)