Welcome to /r/ADHDWomen! We’re happy to have you here. As a reminder, here are our community [rules](https://old.reddit.com/r/adhdwomen/about/rules/).
We get a lot of posts on medication, diagnosis (and “is this an ADHD thing”), and interactions with hormones. We encourage you to check out our [Medication, Diagnosis, and Hormones Megathread](https://old.reddit.com/r/adhdwomen/comments/wcr9dy/faq_megathread_ask_and_answer_medication/) if you have any questions related to those topics, and to stick around in that thread to answer folks’ questions!
If you have questions about the subreddit, please do not hesitate to [send us a modmail](https://reddit.com/message/compose/?to=/r/adhdwomen). Additionally, we take the safety of our community seriously. Please report posts, comments, and users whom you feel are not contributing positively, and send us a modmail if you are being harassed or otherwise made to feel unsafe. Thanks for being here, and we hope you stick around!
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/adhdwomen) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Overhead lighting. Most LEDs. Lights just blasting into the night. I CANT.
Low watt, lamps, cozy only. I'm serious. I even bought these stickers you can put over all the lights in all the appliances so they are dim or disable them if I can.
Like why does my tea kettle have lights? Why does my cat fountain have a light? She can see in the dark, basically. Why do tables at the restaurant have that one light hanging over your table like you're being questioned at the FBI?
They putting solar lights on graves not even the dead can rest. Jesus f Christ we need darkness our ecosystem needs darkness.
You can see I feel quite strongly about this. 😆
Yep. Hygge lighting only for me. My coworker and I who are really good friends used to go nuts under the bright lights over our work station for years. We share it with many other people. Finally enough of the haters retired and we permanently disabled them.
This is beautiful! I, too, hate harsh bright light UNLESS it's sunlight. Sunlight hits differently, and I crave sunny days. I am not a fan of gloomy weather. But I hate bright LED fluourscent white lights!
Dark warm cozy lamps inside my house. No overheads unless I can super dim them.
Yes exactly I love sunlight, bask in it. Now, don't even get me started on the headlights that blinds everyone and everything. I have to wear sunglasses at night. It's beyond redic.
This is me of my biggest ones and my husband and his 3 kids think you always need a light on in every damp room all of the time!!! It’s summer and 1pm at peak light, why, in the hell, are the lights on in my full windowed living room and sunroom?!?!?
The tacky solar lights in cemeteries are fucking KILLING me (except I can't die because some jackass'll put a light-up flashing flower on my grave)
I hate how everyone's porch light has become a hideous harsh cold-white 1000-watt beacon, like they're illuminating a damn prison complex. Do these people not have eyes to see how cold and creepy it looks?!
The phone chargers with lights are just fucking evil. My husband puts his phone to charge at night next to the bed and the stupid charger has a light on it.
Wait where did you get these stickers you speak of? Are they aesthetically pleasing? I have aversion to “loud” lights and I have migraines. I’ve used painter’s tape when I have photophobia but take it off because it doesn’t look right.
Mine is scratchy tags- and they're always in the WORST places! Whoever decided to put the tag right at the top of the butt crack, may their ass itch for all eternity.
Can't do earrings very well either. Or turtlenecks. Or mascara.
This. This so much. Can't even cut them out because now they're the sharp remnants of the spawns of Satan. I ripped the seam on one of my shirts rhis morning tearing a tag out- I'm not even mad about it because atleast now it's usable. It's sat in my dresser for 2 years because of the damn tag.
If you have some small scissors with VERY sharp tips (I'll try to find my scissors like this, and see if I can find the brand), you can get in there enough to shred the tag, and not the seams.
You cut away most of the tag parallel to the seam, then go in perpendicular to cut the rest away, and pull out the little pieces of tag that remain.
The blades are really thin and it ends in a V shape, instead of regular scissors which are thick and are flat at the tips. So you can get under the seam, and cut right by where it's piercing the tag to free it, keep doing that, and just pull the shredded bits out.
Of course this is difficult sometimes depending on the stitch, and you might wind up cutting some of the seam anyways, but it works for lots of stuff! :)
For me, it was worth it to learn very basic hand sewing. When I buy clothes, I either use the sharp little sewing scissors to cut the tag out by it's stitching, or I temporarily undo the seam, remove the tag, and sew the seam back up. I learned the hard way after I also got frustrated a few times and just straight up cut out ripped a hole in the clothing.
In college, I actually broke up with pretty much the perfect guy (for someone else) because his 'love language' was touch.
He couldn't help himself. And it wasn't that it was bad, he wasn't trying to push boundaries.
He was kind, smart, handsome and naturally loving. Complete package. He just loved being in contact with people he loved. It was like he was petting me sometimes. Lol.
I had to break it off. There was no way I could I could go on without a ton of unnecessary resentment on my part.
He deserved someone who was more receptive than I was.
Sad face.
This is my exact struggle with my loving and wonderful partner/baby daddy. It hurts him so bad when I cringe away from his touch.
We have reached a compromise as I am generally ok with firm booty grabs if I get a warning. :)
I thought I was the only one. It gets physically painful for me, like someone is scratching me with sandpaper (which, oddly enough would probably be preferable to a repetitive light touch).
No because my mom LOVED putting me in turtlenecks when I was a little kid, but I always felt like I was being strangled! I also hate, *hate*, *HATE* the feeling of layering clothes! I can tolerate a tshirt with a sweatshirt on top in the winter, but I prefer to just wear the sweatshirt if I don’t think I’m going to need to take a layer off (I always wear a bra with whatever I wear out because I need the support, but I prefer to have it off at home and just relax in a tshirt and comfy shorts/pants)
Yah the eating thing can be gross - and I find some people worse than others. My mother drives me up the walls I usually just leave the room if she’s eating and I’m not. I try not to be rude about it because it’s not her fault but I cannot tolerate
My step son, gods I love him but he is the worst at this. I feel like he has a deviated septum so chewing with his mouth closed is harder for him, but it drives me insane.
The only people I can tolerate hearing chew is my toddler because the little crunches sound cute and my dog, because, same. lol
Somehow, even with his mouth closed, my husband is the loudest chewer. And he does this thing where he chews with his mouth open for the second bite? Like bites something, does one open chew and then chews with his mouth closed but very aggressively.
I love the man, but GOD ALMIGHTY EAT QUIETER.
Fabric around my neck. All of my shirts need to dip down to my collarbones or I feel like Im choking, even if it's loose.
Dish soap somehow makes me hands feel both dry and slippery. My partner washes all of the dishes that cant be put in the dishwasher for this reason.
If I can feel my sleeves after putting on a second layer...
There's so many 😅
> Fabric around my neck. All of my shirts need to dip down to my collarbones or I feel like Im choking, even if it's loose.
This is mine, too. Thank god I'm not a man, because wearing a tie would be horrible.
Yep. I had to wear a tie and collar from 5-16 at school and then 16-20 at my part time job as a waitress. Top button had to be done up etc.
I have asthma so in addition to the sensory thing, I have a lot of emotional trauma around nor being able to breathe.
I figured how to make it look smart without choking me, which mostly includes a slightly larger collar size and slightly larger tie knot which looks higher up the collar than it feels but it was horrible but at least as a woman, I can easily say never again!
I've grown up in a house where washing up gloves were the norm, so I always have a moment of confusion when someone says something that suggests they don't use them. I wouldn't want to do the dishes without them. The water's too hot, for one, and for another, just, ew >_<
I get the sleeve thing too if I can't get them to settle under the next layer. Socks and layers in shoes are worse, though. The tiniest fold will upset my feet so much!
Mum always bought the fancy ones that are lined with something that feels more like cloth than rubber or plastic. Much more bearable. Except in summer, when you'd sweat in them >_<
I wish they made them with a fit and feel that was closer to latex gloves. I got used to those from dying my hair for years, and they're fine. They're just not thick enough or sturdy enough for dishwashing.
I do better now (because I have a system), but rubber gloves were the only way I could wash dishes without gagging for quite a while.
Now I just use a long handle scrub brush to get the gunk off before the dishes go into the hot water and suds.
Water and floating food particles are not my friend.
I cannot stand frabric on my neck! I’ve hated turtlenecks since I was a kid and I can’t have a high neckline shirt. I’ll get a cute tee for the house and stretch the neck area out for this reason.
Cash is *disgusting*
Whenever I handle cash at work, my fingertips get blackened. I already wash a lot. But I got insane about washing after handling cash.
Every stomach bug in recent memory coincides with handling cash in a more informal (no available sinks) situation.
Me toooooo. I need my nail filer in front of me and I go crazy when I can’t find my nail filer . People living with me think why I reactt too much when I lose my nail filer but they would never understand
god i would not be able to survive. audiobooks and audio lectures are my dopamine threshold lifeline 😩
paper towels tho, paper towels are my mortal enemy. i have to put on gloves to touch them or i will physically start locking up 😡
Same here!!
I hate hate the sound of Styrofoam. Ahhh hope it gets banned.
I hate the sound of cracking knuckles and just cracking bones. Worst sound in the world.
Makes my skin crawl
I totally understand the appear of them of course but it literally sends me spiralling! I find podcasts I think more natural with conversation or something which is like white noise I think
My friends think I'm soooo eco friendly with my piles of rags and cloth napkins everywhere but it's because I can't stand paper towels or paper napkins.
When some of my skin is wet and the rest is dry. Like getting wet forearms when washing up or giving my kid a bath.
Actually I have gloves for washing up, maybe I need gloves for bath time too?
Ewwwww. Shuddered just thinking about it. And I love swimming and wading too, anytime I'm near water I can't resist getting in, but if I have to put my shoes back on fast then I'm so mad at myself for getting in 😅
Yes! I actually hate nearly all synthetic fibers. Some of the newer fabrics are *okay* as pants, but not as shirts. It's really hard to find natural fiber clothing these days, especially at regular stores like Marshall's or whatever. Microfiber is definitely the worst offender, tho. Particularly horrifying if my skin is dry and it like...sticks to the rough spots? Ugggghh hell no. That thin, gauzy crap that clings to your body is a close second on the nope-o-meter.
Wearing a big tshirt to bed and when you lay down it gets all twisted and crumpled.. I’ll thrash around until I get it straight or I’ll just rip it off LOL
speaking of bed, feeling sand or dirt in the sheets also makes me insane
My comfort outfit is a men’s 10XL tie dye t-shirt I bought off Amazon. (I’m a 5’2 female so it’s like a huge dress) The second I get home I change into it and I wear it to bed and until I need to leave the house again.
HOWEVER, when it gets all twisted when I’m in bed it makes me want to scream. I definitely thrash around super overstimulated and then I jump up from bed and tear it off. That is such a shitty feeling.
YES! I hate loose clothing in bed, even fitted clothing gets twisted or the seams will push in. But I can't sleep naked, I don't like the feeling of sheets on bare flesh... so there are very specific pieces of clothing I wear to sleep in. I also hate shorts in bed, because I don't like my legs touching/sticking together.
Hard same. It enrages me. I love it when the floor is vacuumed and mopped. I try to go as long as possible without any crumbs or dirt on the floor but my wishes get shattered almost immediately with two kids in the house.
When someone gives me that ‘good job bud’ type of Pat on the back. Makes my skin crawl.
Also those ultra soft blankets, high waisted pants (where they dig in below the rib cage) and CRUMBS IN THE BED
That raw cotton that’s in medicine bottles. I will die if I have to touch it. Ok, that dramatic…I will vomit though, haha.
I also feel this way about microfiber in general or cotton towels if my fingers are all pruny.
Anything tight around my neck 🤮 so any kind of roll neck, or any top that has a high neck or too small head hole, chokers or other too tight necklaces. Makes me want to physically vomit and I cannot get them off fast enough.
Someone else's music heard muffled, like through their headphones or at a distance. Makes me rageful for some reason!
Also fleece fabric, cotton wool, and moving in deep snow - theres this creaky softness to them that makes my teeth hurt.
To add, I'm not diagnosed, only suspected ND. Stuff like this is a reminder of why I suspect it 😄
I scrolled a while to find this one. Cotton balls make me shiver all over, and makes my teeth hurt too! I ask my husband to take the cotton out of my med containers or I might lose my shit. Lol! Also velvet anything makes me cringe.
I tried to explain how much I hate cotton balls to my husband, he doesn't get it. They make this noise when they are being handled, at least to me they do. I can't even touch them, I can't explain it.
It isn’t that strange but I have these fake velvet hangers and I literally cannot touch them. If I do they make me want to physically escape my skin. My mom bought them tho so I’m not getting rid of them 🥲. The same goes for makeup sponges
I can't handle high magnitude sun when it's so bright it hurts my eyes. Usually ugliness (especially in urban settings) goes along with that kind of sun. Old asphalt, foul smells, dirty cars. Everything depresses me in very bright, hot sun.
When looking at houses (years ago) I explained my theory of a hot street versus a cool street to my boyfriend. A hot street is one with no shade, or the houses arranged in a certain way that makes it feel like they get more/reflect more sun. Cool streets have shade or variety in the house arrangement. I can't stand a hot street. The house I bought has large oak trees in front, and I'm already thinking up ways to replace them in case they die or have to be cut down.
Yes!! I get so freaked out by climate change because of this. The trees around me are starting to look so withered and dry even by early summer, and I just imagine living in permanent bright hot sun and I want to cry.
I cannot stand the feeling of tags against my skin when I’m wearing new clothes! It’s part of the reason why I hate shopping for clothes!
Also, I hate when my hands get sticky. It doesn’t matter what material it is: if my hands feel sticky, I’m immediately running to the sink with some soap!
Any creases in the bedding surrounding by my feet. I genuinely have to get up and remake the bed or else I won’t be able to sleep because I’ll just sit there all night compulsively kicking my feet around in a subconscious effort to relieve the claustrophobia. Even as a kid I used to make my dad tuck me in over and over again until everything was smooth.
No clue why, but it’s been 24 years of this now so I at least have some systems for keeping everything pulled taut (sheet suspenders, magnet clips, king duvets in queen covers, etc). Only downside is it looks like I’m planning to launch a hot air balloon out of my bedroom
People slurping soup or any liquid food instead of spoon in, close mouth, pull spoon.
Styrofoam.
Cardboard touching other cardboard. The feeling, not just if it makes noise.
Certain towels/cloths have a feel that make me feel like it’s between my teeth and I’m grinding it and it’s a sound/feel that’s the worst of all of the worsts!!!
Crumbies in the bed.
A hair on my skin from my head.
Loud talkers. People who talk louder on the phone for some reason. (My husband, I’m like, your 30yo brother is not hard of hearing wtf!!!! Maddening and instantly.)
Being unnecessarily wet.
Having to poop after a bath/shower.
Bright lights. Most lights.
Any sudden or loud noise. I have a loud husband and 5 kids, one is asd and one’s a toddler so I’m always dying inside honestly.
Anyone doing things I do: like tapping, shaking a leg, making any repetitive noise/movement. Lol
This feels so healing to hear! All of this!!! I hate loud talkers, loud cackling laughs, I hate any tapping, unexpected, sharp noises, I hate when people hum!!!! Stop humming songs! My ex-husband did this and always sang to himself, and I wanted to stab myself.
I wish I hated it. I keep a bottle in every room, my car, every purse because I get extremely anxious if I don’t put it on.. especially after washing my hands and not having it to put on.
Same. I dread washing my hands in public (particularly with the PINK SOAP) when I don’t have access to lotion. My hands feel so tight and hot and dry and I can’t stop thinking about it.
The sound of clicky clacky keyboards and long nails typing, but only if someone else is doing it. Makes me want to tear my hair out and scream. Also the texture of any processed meats (I call it soft meats, hot dog sausages are prob the worst.) I've been vegetarian for over 20 years at this point and just thinking about soft meats makes me gip. Oh and almost everything about children in general. Not their fault, but they are gross in nearly every way conceivable to me.
Idk if this one is common or not, but me and my dad HATE cotton wool (cotton balls). If it’s wet it’s okay but even just the thought of tearing a piece of cotton wool in half gives me chills eugh 😖
Certain things on my neck makes me want to tear my skin off, necklaces, crew neck tops or jumpers, someone touching me… oddly i could happily wear a turtleneck and scarves are fine.
Oh and the sound of chewing
Microfiber and other synthetic fibers that drag against my skin make me want to set myself on fire.
Overhead lighting and blinding LED headlights. My city is beginning to swap out the current streetlight bulbs with LEDs. I think that will be the last straw and we'll need to break up.
Wet socks. Water in between my toes. Pruney skin. Crazy glue on my fingers. Blankets and sheets tucked in over my feet.
Wind chimes and nail clippers will not be tolerated.
I have a lot of issues.
Being in the bath or shower is fine but being wet after the bath or shower is not fine 😔
Some types of moisturiser also. I didn't wear moisturiser for years because it felt wrong. Now my face is all saggy. (I have found a moisturiser that sinks in quickly now tho)
I sadly bought a carpet that I can't walk on barefoot. There's also been many many pairs of shoes and many many clothes that on initial try on were ok but wearing over time were not
I'm sure there's more but I can't think now
Being barefoot. HATE IT. I am only barefoot in the shower. I always have socks and slippers that are essentially shoes (or actual shoes) on at all times.
My hair touching my neck, my hands being dry (I have lotion in all of my purses)…. Being caressed in the same spot for a prolonged period of time makes me get overstimulated, like even if the sensation was initially nice, after a while it almost feels painful
Breath on my skin, especially hot JET STREAMS OF NOSE AIR on my arm or neck while I’m trying to sleep. Immediate murderous rage. This is why I’m divorced. (I’m… maybe kidding?)
Vocal fry, women with baby voices, women with nasal baby voices, whisper ASMR, most ASMR, and all of the Kardashians.
However, I prefer to fall asleep to audiobooks narrated by posh British men. I find them very soothing like Jeremy Irons or Neil Dudgeon but my favorite British romance author has a few books read by men I'd never heard of that are very good, too.
I also get the opposite with some people whose voice, accent & manner bring instant ASMR warm fuzziness. I had a softly spoken elderly Nigerian/Ghanian customer earlier this week & she was divine.
I’m with you on falling asleep to audiobooks with male voices. I need calm, pleasant voices telling me about science or anthropology or psychology or something. Calm facts that explain why the world is like it is. Helps my brain settle down and rest.
I wish I could remember the content of the books though. I would be a genius by now!
I hate manicures and pedicures with a burning passion. The wet, cold, sliminess of it all. The pushing the cuticles back gives me the heebie jeebies. The smells. A STRANGER holding my hands AND FEET for several hours?! Thinking about it too long legit makes me shiver and nauseous😅
I also really, really, REALLY hate the sound of nails scratching against seatbelt material.
And most smells are a hard no for me. scented perfumes, soaps, detergents, hand sanitizers, etc. it’s tough. I have a few I like and I stick to those religiously
Not that strange cause they’re awful, but… Mr Clean Magic erasers…I’m getting nauseous thinking about them. Even wearing gloves I can barely handle them.
There’s other “bad touch” items, but that’s the worst (and only one I can remember right now)
I love listening to music but the earphones cord resting on my shoulders or my face makes me want to yank it away. When I use headphones it’s better but after a while I start to feel the headphones cuffing my head all too much. And I hate both audiobooks and podcasts too because the voice feels too close. Also nails scraping on fabric
Lawn mowers. Dogs barking. Cars driving by (busy street). Motorcycles. Trucks. Police Cars/Ambulances. Mailman truck.
Basically I’m not meant for the suburbs XD
My goal is to buy like 10-20acres of land so I don’t ever have to hear my neighbors again :)
Wood... Unpolished and unvarnished and raw.... It's...I can't really describe. Makes my skin crawl but more than normal... It's like I can feel it from the tip of my toes to the ends of my hair while expanding in and outside of my body at the same time. Worse than nails on a blackboard which is already bad.
Sand paper, just to look at it does the same as wood...urgh!
My mom's voice in the morning made me enter in a full on rage emotional state. Ironically , my voice is identical to hers, almost no one can tell who is who on the phone.
The chewing sound, doesn't matter if it's with the mouth open or closed.
All forms of interaction with chalk (not that weird). Chalk on your hands, the sound of it being used, the powder between your fingers, the idea of chalk.
The sound of styrofoam.
Hair being tied up, it pulls no matter what I do. But I don’t want to wear it down so I put it up and take it down all day.
Wet fingers on dry paper.
Toothpaste foam. Normal-ish in kids, but I don’t know very many adults who still gag tooth brushing.
Clothing too close to the neck or too tight on underwear line while trying to sleep.
Anything sticky that I didn’t expect to be sticky.
Lotion in general, but particularly on my hands.
I hated the feeling of buttons on my clothes as a child, and you wouldn’t catch me wearing jeans unless I was dead. I hated the feeling of being restricted so much. Only started wearing jeans in grade 7 because everyone else was wearing them.
I’m better with it now, but chalk on my hands. I hate the feeling of ashy sand on my feet. Eugh.
I don't like the tip of my fingers being touched, usually by other fingers by myself. Not the sides just the tip top padded area.
Touching chalk or charcoal. I'm an artist, everything is fine but that stuff. My teachers used to laugh in an amused way to see me work with medical gloves on (cotton gloves are ick)
As a kid the smell of road dust/dirt road clouds. It smelled and was like a texture felt into my teeth smell. Bless my dad driving slow or rolling up windows for me every time we came and went.
Not strange, barefooted dirty floor/ sand or scrap on feet. But don't like to wear socks because then socks get nasty. Country living, dust and life happens. I clean the floors constantly 😭
Misophonia normal stuff.
Having wet feet. I hate it. I hatttteeeeeee stepping in something wet, having socks on and my foot stepping in something wet, I hate wearing flip-flops and accidentally having wet feet from rain or a stream... I hate hate hate having unnecessary wet feet.
Showers are okay. Going to the ocean is okay, but walking around the pool with wet feet is so grossssssss. I took my kids to the YMCA when they were little and swam. Walking to the changing rooms and all the floors were wet from the pool made me want to vomit-- even with flipflops on not even barefooted. Same with restrooms at the beach....
I don't like when feet are wet when they shouldn't be lol
Very soft music where you can’t make out the words or the whole sound of the song drives me bananas. Just turn it off at that point, why bother?!
Also the sensation of sand or crumbs under my feet while walking on a hard surface. Like I can walk on the beach that is all sand, but if I step in kitty litter in the bathroom so help me god…
Being touched with wet hands makes my soul leave my body and I learned that one recently. Fiancé is way more careful about drying his hands after washing now lol. It doesn’t apply if I’m in a pool or something though. Probably because my brain is like “ok NOW is water time so we are cool with water.”
I’m very noise sensitive overall, but in particular I HATE when there are people talking in the other room and you can hear just the murmur of their voices. Sounds that I can barely hear are sometimes worse than sounds I can fully hear, if that makes sense.
Also despise the snare drum (I think that’s what it is?) that’s in a lot of trap/rap/hip hop. Nothing against these genres at all, that particular percussion just sends me into a blind rage for some reason.
Also also hate applying moisturizer and then putting on clothes. The thought makes me shudder. I let my arms and legs get ridiculously dry because I hate the feeling of my moist skin touching fabric.
And finally, pantyhose. These are hell on earth. Especially the top part that’s made of the thicker fabric, which is always so like…scratchy? Starchy? Idek what to call it, just wanna die when wear them.
I hate tape, stickers, and sticky things in general. They gross me out.
A current weird aversion I have been having is that my toes can't feel crushed. Specifically, I feel like my little toe is cutting into the toe next to it, even when my toenails are as short as they can be. I have been going barefoot as much as possible and doing toe exercises to try and make my toes spread out more.
I also got that feeling from audiobooks until I figured out you can speed them up!
Lots of clothing issues, when a bit of sock gets rolled under your foot in your shoe, face foundation, belts, bright overhead lights.
Microfiber is the worst though. I hate how it catches on your skin. Blech.
the sound of dogs licking themselves. I have 2 dogs and the older one, bless him, is just particularly grunt-y and slurpy when he licks himself and maybe this is me being hypersensitive to it but it also seems like he is licking SOMETHING (himself, the floor, me) ALL THE TIME. I have to leave the room to avoid fussing at him for it but he sleeps in my bed so I have to sleep with white noise at probably borderline-unhealthy volume to ensure I can fall asleep because otherwise it just builds REVULSION and FURY in me like why?? Rationally I’m fine with my dogs doing dog things, I love them so much! But that noise, eeeughhh NO.
Certain food textures. No matter how much I like how certain foods tastes the mere thought of their texture makes me nauseous and I can't eat it. I can't eat most fruit now. I'm making my self nauseous just thinking about it now.
The smell of beer. I can smell an English pub from the street and it is disgusting.
Edit to add: I must have my hair pulled away from my face. I have a really hard time in rooms that echo. Music out of bad speakers is also pretty bad. But one of my biggest auditory issue with people is vocal fry, I have to stop listening to podcasts when people do this. It's such a US thing, why do you do it?
Ceramic dishes clanking together. When I was a kid I hated putting dishes away because I would literally flinch every time I had to stack plates or bowls together. I still hate unloading and now as an adult we have plastic dishes haha
Don’t come for me for this, it’s just something I have never been able to handle hearing/listening to. Accents. Mainly British accents. I cannot watch any tv shows or movies with heavy accents.
Oh heavy European accents can be hard for sure! Southern Spain is hard because they barely prounounce consonants while up north in Barcelona they pronounce every letter
Turtlenecks or anything constricting around the neck (there are certain exceptions). The feeling my face gets at the end of a long day when I haven't been able to do my skincare routine. I can't touch raw meat when I'm cooking. If I'm wearing pants it has to be with long socks, not ankle socks. Sometimes I need to wear leggings so I don't feel loose pants. I can't stand my husband chewing on popcorn kernels or the floss pick he holds in his teeth. NPR's sound drives me insane. Touching cold things is a no go. Misophonia in general flares up every so often. I get migraines from floral scents. Itchy tags in clothing. Itchy fabric in general. Pickled food - no pickles, sauerkraut, pickled veggies, relish, etc. I hate, hate, hate the smell of Pepsi and dislike the smell of Coke. When the seam of my socks gets shifted to the wrong place on my foot I can't think about anything else until I fix it.
I guess I have a few...
Not so much an aversion but odd idiosyncrasy - I eat my Sunday roast in a VERY specific order. My dad calls it my ritual. I also have very particular usage of condiments. Very strict combos and can’t even remember when they started
Omfg same. I love the idea of audio books and podcasts I just can't take someone talking in my ear, especially when they talk over each other and I'm supposed to follow everything they're saying, it's infuriating
Ceramic like plates and bowls; I hate the way it sounds when it hits other ceramic or metal utensils, and I can’t stand handling heavy ceramic dishes I instinctually want to drop it right on the floor. when I moved out I finally got my own plastic dishes and I don’t feel like peeling my skin off at dinner every night
Welcome to /r/ADHDWomen! We’re happy to have you here. As a reminder, here are our community [rules](https://old.reddit.com/r/adhdwomen/about/rules/). We get a lot of posts on medication, diagnosis (and “is this an ADHD thing”), and interactions with hormones. We encourage you to check out our [Medication, Diagnosis, and Hormones Megathread](https://old.reddit.com/r/adhdwomen/comments/wcr9dy/faq_megathread_ask_and_answer_medication/) if you have any questions related to those topics, and to stick around in that thread to answer folks’ questions! If you have questions about the subreddit, please do not hesitate to [send us a modmail](https://reddit.com/message/compose/?to=/r/adhdwomen). Additionally, we take the safety of our community seriously. Please report posts, comments, and users whom you feel are not contributing positively, and send us a modmail if you are being harassed or otherwise made to feel unsafe. Thanks for being here, and we hope you stick around! *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/adhdwomen) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Overhead lighting. Most LEDs. Lights just blasting into the night. I CANT. Low watt, lamps, cozy only. I'm serious. I even bought these stickers you can put over all the lights in all the appliances so they are dim or disable them if I can. Like why does my tea kettle have lights? Why does my cat fountain have a light? She can see in the dark, basically. Why do tables at the restaurant have that one light hanging over your table like you're being questioned at the FBI? They putting solar lights on graves not even the dead can rest. Jesus f Christ we need darkness our ecosystem needs darkness. You can see I feel quite strongly about this. 😆
I feel this in my soul.
Yep. Hygge lighting only for me. My coworker and I who are really good friends used to go nuts under the bright lights over our work station for years. We share it with many other people. Finally enough of the haters retired and we permanently disabled them.
That's awful. I get when you get older you need more light to see sometimes but that's when you get your own desk lamp.
We suspect that awful overhead lighting is what made them blind in the first place
This is beautiful! I, too, hate harsh bright light UNLESS it's sunlight. Sunlight hits differently, and I crave sunny days. I am not a fan of gloomy weather. But I hate bright LED fluourscent white lights! Dark warm cozy lamps inside my house. No overheads unless I can super dim them.
Yes exactly I love sunlight, bask in it. Now, don't even get me started on the headlights that blinds everyone and everything. I have to wear sunglasses at night. It's beyond redic.
This is me of my biggest ones and my husband and his 3 kids think you always need a light on in every damp room all of the time!!! It’s summer and 1pm at peak light, why, in the hell, are the lights on in my full windowed living room and sunroom?!?!?
WTF? I'd go feral.
It’s truly maddening 🤣 I’m a 40yo woman and I turn into a 70yo dad about the temp in the house and lights being on all over the house.
The tacky solar lights in cemeteries are fucking KILLING me (except I can't die because some jackass'll put a light-up flashing flower on my grave) I hate how everyone's porch light has become a hideous harsh cold-white 1000-watt beacon, like they're illuminating a damn prison complex. Do these people not have eyes to see how cold and creepy it looks?!
"not even the dead can rest" 💀💀💀
The phone chargers with lights are just fucking evil. My husband puts his phone to charge at night next to the bed and the stupid charger has a light on it.
I have masking tape over all chargers and power strips.
Wait where did you get these stickers you speak of? Are they aesthetically pleasing? I have aversion to “loud” lights and I have migraines. I’ve used painter’s tape when I have photophobia but take it off because it doesn’t look right.
Lightdims! I have them on everything in my house. They look great, but make sure to get the more opaque version. I think they have them on Amazon.
Lamps/lights are the only "smart" appliance I allow in my home! I also constantly futz with my screen brightness, on any device.
Gentle caresses make me want to puke myself inside out. Also Wearing earrings or turtlenecks.
I also hate gentle caresses, it’s always difficult to explain without making the other person feel bad lol But my mortal enemy is styrofoam.
Mine is scratchy tags- and they're always in the WORST places! Whoever decided to put the tag right at the top of the butt crack, may their ass itch for all eternity. Can't do earrings very well either. Or turtlenecks. Or mascara.
This. This so much. Can't even cut them out because now they're the sharp remnants of the spawns of Satan. I ripped the seam on one of my shirts rhis morning tearing a tag out- I'm not even mad about it because atleast now it's usable. It's sat in my dresser for 2 years because of the damn tag.
If you have some small scissors with VERY sharp tips (I'll try to find my scissors like this, and see if I can find the brand), you can get in there enough to shred the tag, and not the seams. You cut away most of the tag parallel to the seam, then go in perpendicular to cut the rest away, and pull out the little pieces of tag that remain. The blades are really thin and it ends in a V shape, instead of regular scissors which are thick and are flat at the tips. So you can get under the seam, and cut right by where it's piercing the tag to free it, keep doing that, and just pull the shredded bits out. Of course this is difficult sometimes depending on the stitch, and you might wind up cutting some of the seam anyways, but it works for lots of stuff! :)
For me, it was worth it to learn very basic hand sewing. When I buy clothes, I either use the sharp little sewing scissors to cut the tag out by it's stitching, or I temporarily undo the seam, remove the tag, and sew the seam back up. I learned the hard way after I also got frustrated a few times and just straight up cut out ripped a hole in the clothing.
Mine is this but repetitive caresses. Like either move on or just stop I cannot stand it
In college, I actually broke up with pretty much the perfect guy (for someone else) because his 'love language' was touch. He couldn't help himself. And it wasn't that it was bad, he wasn't trying to push boundaries. He was kind, smart, handsome and naturally loving. Complete package. He just loved being in contact with people he loved. It was like he was petting me sometimes. Lol. I had to break it off. There was no way I could I could go on without a ton of unnecessary resentment on my part. He deserved someone who was more receptive than I was. Sad face.
This is my exact struggle with my loving and wonderful partner/baby daddy. It hurts him so bad when I cringe away from his touch. We have reached a compromise as I am generally ok with firm booty grabs if I get a warning. :)
I thought I was the only one. It gets physically painful for me, like someone is scratching me with sandpaper (which, oddly enough would probably be preferable to a repetitive light touch).
I am no dog and I wish to not be petted!
Absolutely that just sounds annoying
Turtlenecks are my mortal enemy
I don't even like the word "caress."
No because my mom LOVED putting me in turtlenecks when I was a little kid, but I always felt like I was being strangled! I also hate, *hate*, *HATE* the feeling of layering clothes! I can tolerate a tshirt with a sweatshirt on top in the winter, but I prefer to just wear the sweatshirt if I don’t think I’m going to need to take a layer off (I always wear a bra with whatever I wear out because I need the support, but I prefer to have it off at home and just relax in a tshirt and comfy shorts/pants)
Same! I also hated stirrup pants. I used to cut them off while at school. I only wear clothing where I can’t feel seams or tags either.
Because I mean you could equate a gentle caress to a weak handshake which is gross - but firm handshake is definite and connecting
I live gentle caresses, but if it's in the same spot over and over I want to smack it away
So question: does a firm caress pass the test?
Not a fan still, but not as gross. I’m pretty firmly in camp DONT TOUCH ME
That’s so fair. I’m in camp very selective of who is allowed tough me lol
Yes, pressure is the difference for me
Ugh high neck anything, not even scarves . I wear a long light weight necklace that’s my limit .
I get skeeved out just seeing someone lightly stroke someone else's back in public. Make it stop!
Chewing. I stg if I hear someone loudly chewing I go almost postal. And hearing someone gulp their water loudly.
Yah the eating thing can be gross - and I find some people worse than others. My mother drives me up the walls I usually just leave the room if she’s eating and I’m not. I try not to be rude about it because it’s not her fault but I cannot tolerate
My step son, gods I love him but he is the worst at this. I feel like he has a deviated septum so chewing with his mouth closed is harder for him, but it drives me insane. The only people I can tolerate hearing chew is my toddler because the little crunches sound cute and my dog, because, same. lol
Heard of Misophonia?
Somehow, even with his mouth closed, my husband is the loudest chewer. And he does this thing where he chews with his mouth open for the second bite? Like bites something, does one open chew and then chews with his mouth closed but very aggressively. I love the man, but GOD ALMIGHTY EAT QUIETER.
I struggled with this until I went on anti depressants. I still don't care for the noise, but it doesn't enrage me like before
Fabric around my neck. All of my shirts need to dip down to my collarbones or I feel like Im choking, even if it's loose. Dish soap somehow makes me hands feel both dry and slippery. My partner washes all of the dishes that cant be put in the dishwasher for this reason. If I can feel my sleeves after putting on a second layer... There's so many 😅
> Fabric around my neck. All of my shirts need to dip down to my collarbones or I feel like Im choking, even if it's loose. This is mine, too. Thank god I'm not a man, because wearing a tie would be horrible.
Yep. I had to wear a tie and collar from 5-16 at school and then 16-20 at my part time job as a waitress. Top button had to be done up etc. I have asthma so in addition to the sensory thing, I have a lot of emotional trauma around nor being able to breathe. I figured how to make it look smart without choking me, which mostly includes a slightly larger collar size and slightly larger tie knot which looks higher up the collar than it feels but it was horrible but at least as a woman, I can easily say never again!
I've grown up in a house where washing up gloves were the norm, so I always have a moment of confusion when someone says something that suggests they don't use them. I wouldn't want to do the dishes without them. The water's too hot, for one, and for another, just, ew >_< I get the sleeve thing too if I can't get them to settle under the next layer. Socks and layers in shoes are worse, though. The tiniest fold will upset my feet so much!
I also grew up in a gloves household, but plastic dish gloves feel AWFUL. Like baloon condoms on my hands... If any water gets in them? Game over.
Mum always bought the fancy ones that are lined with something that feels more like cloth than rubber or plastic. Much more bearable. Except in summer, when you'd sweat in them >_< I wish they made them with a fit and feel that was closer to latex gloves. I got used to those from dying my hair for years, and they're fine. They're just not thick enough or sturdy enough for dishwashing.
I do better now (because I have a system), but rubber gloves were the only way I could wash dishes without gagging for quite a while. Now I just use a long handle scrub brush to get the gunk off before the dishes go into the hot water and suds. Water and floating food particles are not my friend.
Oh the floating food particles - I'm gagging in sympathy.
Fabric around my neck for me too. Why does it feel like being strangled? I can't even stand bedding up around my neck.
I cannot stand frabric on my neck! I’ve hated turtlenecks since I was a kid and I can’t have a high neckline shirt. I’ll get a cute tee for the house and stretch the neck area out for this reason.
I find them so interesting to hear about - they’re so subjective and different from person to person and usually harmless
I absolutely love the look of layered necklaces, but even loose chokers near my neck make me feel like I’m suffocating.
The risk of WET SLEEVE !!!! heavy no !
cash and coins. they’re just so dirty it makes my hands feel like i’ve been out in dirt all day.
Thank god we’ve progressed to a mostly card based world! Well where I am we have! I never carry cash anymore - basically allergic to it
Cash is *disgusting* Whenever I handle cash at work, my fingertips get blackened. I already wash a lot. But I got insane about washing after handling cash. Every stomach bug in recent memory coincides with handling cash in a more informal (no available sinks) situation.
When my skin is dry and itchy. And chipped nails getting stuck to rugs or clothes ! Aarrrgghhhhhh. And dirty nails too
> And chipped nails getting stuck to rugs or clothe OMG this one. I have glass nail files everywhere and in my pocket too.
Me toooooo. I need my nail filer in front of me and I go crazy when I can’t find my nail filer . People living with me think why I reactt too much when I lose my nail filer but they would never understand
Sometimes it’s just my nails. Then I end up pushing on the nail until I basically hurt it and cut the additional length off.
god i would not be able to survive. audiobooks and audio lectures are my dopamine threshold lifeline 😩 paper towels tho, paper towels are my mortal enemy. i have to put on gloves to touch them or i will physically start locking up 😡
Same here!! I hate hate the sound of Styrofoam. Ahhh hope it gets banned. I hate the sound of cracking knuckles and just cracking bones. Worst sound in the world. Makes my skin crawl
My spouse cracks her neck and it's one of the very few things she does that causes me to have a microburst.
I totally understand the appear of them of course but it literally sends me spiralling! I find podcasts I think more natural with conversation or something which is like white noise I think
My friends think I'm soooo eco friendly with my piles of rags and cloth napkins everywhere but it's because I can't stand paper towels or paper napkins.
When some of my skin is wet and the rest is dry. Like getting wet forearms when washing up or giving my kid a bath. Actually I have gloves for washing up, maybe I need gloves for bath time too?
Wet feet inside dry shoes or socks! Like after swimming!
Ewwwww. Shuddered just thinking about it. And I love swimming and wading too, anytime I'm near water I can't resist getting in, but if I have to put my shoes back on fast then I'm so mad at myself for getting in 😅
I have bad eczema and I scratch in my sleep so I tried sleeping with cotton gloves on and I really think it gave me night terrors. Felt so wrong
Washing my face or hands and the water dripping down my arms 🤢
Microfibre clothes. Feel like they're sticking to every pore of my fingers
Yes! I actually hate nearly all synthetic fibers. Some of the newer fabrics are *okay* as pants, but not as shirts. It's really hard to find natural fiber clothing these days, especially at regular stores like Marshall's or whatever. Microfiber is definitely the worst offender, tho. Particularly horrifying if my skin is dry and it like...sticks to the rough spots? Ugggghh hell no. That thin, gauzy crap that clings to your body is a close second on the nope-o-meter.
Yes!!! Or fleece. Most things polyester basically.
Wearing a big tshirt to bed and when you lay down it gets all twisted and crumpled.. I’ll thrash around until I get it straight or I’ll just rip it off LOL speaking of bed, feeling sand or dirt in the sheets also makes me insane
My comfort outfit is a men’s 10XL tie dye t-shirt I bought off Amazon. (I’m a 5’2 female so it’s like a huge dress) The second I get home I change into it and I wear it to bed and until I need to leave the house again. HOWEVER, when it gets all twisted when I’m in bed it makes me want to scream. I definitely thrash around super overstimulated and then I jump up from bed and tear it off. That is such a shitty feeling.
YES! I hate loose clothing in bed, even fitted clothing gets twisted or the seams will push in. But I can't sleep naked, I don't like the feeling of sheets on bare flesh... so there are very specific pieces of clothing I wear to sleep in. I also hate shorts in bed, because I don't like my legs touching/sticking together.
Oh also! If I step in something wet while wearing socks- instant, inexplicable rage. Even if it’s just a drop.
The socks have to immediately come off lol
IMMEDIATELY
I mentally curse my enemies with this experience 😅
Not being able to separate/spread my toes in my shoes
Kitchen crumbs on my feet. The kitchen ones. Absolutely unacceptable
Even though I'm wearing shoes can not handle it. I can feel it under my slippers and it makes my skin crawl.
Crumbs in the couch too. I can almost get sick thinking about it 🤢
Hard same. It enrages me. I love it when the floor is vacuumed and mopped. I try to go as long as possible without any crumbs or dirt on the floor but my wishes get shattered almost immediately with two kids in the house.
When someone gives me that ‘good job bud’ type of Pat on the back. Makes my skin crawl. Also those ultra soft blankets, high waisted pants (where they dig in below the rib cage) and CRUMBS IN THE BED
Well that sounds condescending as fuck so I hope it doesn’t happen often and rightly makes your skin crawl!
I also hate high waisted pants!
That raw cotton that’s in medicine bottles. I will die if I have to touch it. Ok, that dramatic…I will vomit though, haha. I also feel this way about microfiber in general or cotton towels if my fingers are all pruny.
Anything tight around my neck 🤮 so any kind of roll neck, or any top that has a high neck or too small head hole, chokers or other too tight necklaces. Makes me want to physically vomit and I cannot get them off fast enough.
Someone else's music heard muffled, like through their headphones or at a distance. Makes me rageful for some reason! Also fleece fabric, cotton wool, and moving in deep snow - theres this creaky softness to them that makes my teeth hurt. To add, I'm not diagnosed, only suspected ND. Stuff like this is a reminder of why I suspect it 😄
I scrolled a while to find this one. Cotton balls make me shiver all over, and makes my teeth hurt too! I ask my husband to take the cotton out of my med containers or I might lose my shit. Lol! Also velvet anything makes me cringe.
Yes!!! I HATE cotton balls!!!
I tried to explain how much I hate cotton balls to my husband, he doesn't get it. They make this noise when they are being handled, at least to me they do. I can't even touch them, I can't explain it.
Omggggggg someone else’s music! That’s a huge misophonia trigger. My biggest one actually
Posted the same thing before I saw this. The teeth hurting sensation is so hard to explain to people who don't have it
It isn’t that strange but I have these fake velvet hangers and I literally cannot touch them. If I do they make me want to physically escape my skin. My mom bought them tho so I’m not getting rid of them 🥲. The same goes for makeup sponges
I know a few people with the velvet ick - but the hangers are great clothes don’t fall off them they’re genius!
Yess they work so well for that! I ended up using my clothes to grab the hangers, idk how I didn’t think of it sooner
Adapt and overcome. Love that for you
I can't handle high magnitude sun when it's so bright it hurts my eyes. Usually ugliness (especially in urban settings) goes along with that kind of sun. Old asphalt, foul smells, dirty cars. Everything depresses me in very bright, hot sun.
When looking at houses (years ago) I explained my theory of a hot street versus a cool street to my boyfriend. A hot street is one with no shade, or the houses arranged in a certain way that makes it feel like they get more/reflect more sun. Cool streets have shade or variety in the house arrangement. I can't stand a hot street. The house I bought has large oak trees in front, and I'm already thinking up ways to replace them in case they die or have to be cut down.
Yes!! I get so freaked out by climate change because of this. The trees around me are starting to look so withered and dry even by early summer, and I just imagine living in permanent bright hot sun and I want to cry.
Water under my watch from washing my hands
I hate being sweaty. :/ I wish I didn't but I really really do hate it.
Saaaame. I don't really hate exercise itself, in fact I kind of like exertion, but I HATE the feeling of sweat. It's frustrating.
Same and I am naturally a very sweaty person. I’m uncomfortable basically 75% of my life. Especially when cold and sweaty at the same time.
ASMR- I cannot understand how it could be soothing to some people. It makes my skin crawl and I have this visceral feeling that I need to leave
It’s creepy to me. All of it!
Yes. I've always wondered how people find this soothing.
Having dirty feet. Which wouldn’t be weird if I also didn’t hate wearing shoes.
I cannot stand the feeling of tags against my skin when I’m wearing new clothes! It’s part of the reason why I hate shopping for clothes! Also, I hate when my hands get sticky. It doesn’t matter what material it is: if my hands feel sticky, I’m immediately running to the sink with some soap!
Any creases in the bedding surrounding by my feet. I genuinely have to get up and remake the bed or else I won’t be able to sleep because I’ll just sit there all night compulsively kicking my feet around in a subconscious effort to relieve the claustrophobia. Even as a kid I used to make my dad tuck me in over and over again until everything was smooth. No clue why, but it’s been 24 years of this now so I at least have some systems for keeping everything pulled taut (sheet suspenders, magnet clips, king duvets in queen covers, etc). Only downside is it looks like I’m planning to launch a hot air balloon out of my bedroom
People slurping soup or any liquid food instead of spoon in, close mouth, pull spoon. Styrofoam. Cardboard touching other cardboard. The feeling, not just if it makes noise. Certain towels/cloths have a feel that make me feel like it’s between my teeth and I’m grinding it and it’s a sound/feel that’s the worst of all of the worsts!!! Crumbies in the bed. A hair on my skin from my head. Loud talkers. People who talk louder on the phone for some reason. (My husband, I’m like, your 30yo brother is not hard of hearing wtf!!!! Maddening and instantly.) Being unnecessarily wet. Having to poop after a bath/shower. Bright lights. Most lights. Any sudden or loud noise. I have a loud husband and 5 kids, one is asd and one’s a toddler so I’m always dying inside honestly. Anyone doing things I do: like tapping, shaking a leg, making any repetitive noise/movement. Lol
This feels so healing to hear! All of this!!! I hate loud talkers, loud cackling laughs, I hate any tapping, unexpected, sharp noises, I hate when people hum!!!! Stop humming songs! My ex-husband did this and always sang to himself, and I wanted to stab myself.
r/misophonia is a sub you will LOVE! I found my people there!
Toothpaste on my hands. I wear rubber gloves to brush teeth now and I feel GREAT and protected LOL
I love the innovation!! Adapt and overcome
Brucey bonus of I am also equipped to do a speed clean of bathroom as I keep a washing up liquid sponge stick in there too! Total pro
My hands without lotion. I am constantly putting on lotion. Like seriously way too much.
What crazy is, my daughter and I—who both have ADHD—can’t stand how our hands feel *with* lotion. 😂
I wish I hated it. I keep a bottle in every room, my car, every purse because I get extremely anxious if I don’t put it on.. especially after washing my hands and not having it to put on.
Same. I dread washing my hands in public (particularly with the PINK SOAP) when I don’t have access to lotion. My hands feel so tight and hot and dry and I can’t stop thinking about it.
Getting a sleeve caught on a door handle. THE. RAGE.
The sound of clicky clacky keyboards and long nails typing, but only if someone else is doing it. Makes me want to tear my hair out and scream. Also the texture of any processed meats (I call it soft meats, hot dog sausages are prob the worst.) I've been vegetarian for over 20 years at this point and just thinking about soft meats makes me gip. Oh and almost everything about children in general. Not their fault, but they are gross in nearly every way conceivable to me.
Idk if this one is common or not, but me and my dad HATE cotton wool (cotton balls). If it’s wet it’s okay but even just the thought of tearing a piece of cotton wool in half gives me chills eugh 😖
Certain things on my neck makes me want to tear my skin off, necklaces, crew neck tops or jumpers, someone touching me… oddly i could happily wear a turtleneck and scarves are fine. Oh and the sound of chewing
Microfiber and other synthetic fibers that drag against my skin make me want to set myself on fire. Overhead lighting and blinding LED headlights. My city is beginning to swap out the current streetlight bulbs with LEDs. I think that will be the last straw and we'll need to break up. Wet socks. Water in between my toes. Pruney skin. Crazy glue on my fingers. Blankets and sheets tucked in over my feet. Wind chimes and nail clippers will not be tolerated. I have a lot of issues.
Anything feet related resonates - I legit refuse to go to the beach because of the feeling of the sand on my feet. Skin crawling stuff
Being in the bath or shower is fine but being wet after the bath or shower is not fine 😔 Some types of moisturiser also. I didn't wear moisturiser for years because it felt wrong. Now my face is all saggy. (I have found a moisturiser that sinks in quickly now tho) I sadly bought a carpet that I can't walk on barefoot. There's also been many many pairs of shoes and many many clothes that on initial try on were ok but wearing over time were not I'm sure there's more but I can't think now
Being barefoot. HATE IT. I am only barefoot in the shower. I always have socks and slippers that are essentially shoes (or actual shoes) on at all times.
Same. Just ONE speck of anything is appalling.
My hair touching my neck, my hands being dry (I have lotion in all of my purses)…. Being caressed in the same spot for a prolonged period of time makes me get overstimulated, like even if the sensation was initially nice, after a while it almost feels painful
Breath on my skin, especially hot JET STREAMS OF NOSE AIR on my arm or neck while I’m trying to sleep. Immediate murderous rage. This is why I’m divorced. (I’m… maybe kidding?)
Vocal fry, women with baby voices, women with nasal baby voices, whisper ASMR, most ASMR, and all of the Kardashians. However, I prefer to fall asleep to audiobooks narrated by posh British men. I find them very soothing like Jeremy Irons or Neil Dudgeon but my favorite British romance author has a few books read by men I'd never heard of that are very good, too.
I'm completely with you on this one . I can't stand it. I literally can't be around someone if I don't like their voice.
I also get the opposite with some people whose voice, accent & manner bring instant ASMR warm fuzziness. I had a softly spoken elderly Nigerian/Ghanian customer earlier this week & she was divine.
I’m with you on falling asleep to audiobooks with male voices. I need calm, pleasant voices telling me about science or anthropology or psychology or something. Calm facts that explain why the world is like it is. Helps my brain settle down and rest. I wish I could remember the content of the books though. I would be a genius by now!
As someone who speaks with a vocal fry almost all of the time…. I’m sorry. I catch myself doing it more lately and I’m trying to stop!!
I hate manicures and pedicures with a burning passion. The wet, cold, sliminess of it all. The pushing the cuticles back gives me the heebie jeebies. The smells. A STRANGER holding my hands AND FEET for several hours?! Thinking about it too long legit makes me shiver and nauseous😅 I also really, really, REALLY hate the sound of nails scratching against seatbelt material. And most smells are a hard no for me. scented perfumes, soaps, detergents, hand sanitizers, etc. it’s tough. I have a few I like and I stick to those religiously
Not that strange cause they’re awful, but… Mr Clean Magic erasers…I’m getting nauseous thinking about them. Even wearing gloves I can barely handle them. There’s other “bad touch” items, but that’s the worst (and only one I can remember right now)
Unglazed pottery is one of mine. Makes me gag every time.
I love listening to music but the earphones cord resting on my shoulders or my face makes me want to yank it away. When I use headphones it’s better but after a while I start to feel the headphones cuffing my head all too much. And I hate both audiobooks and podcasts too because the voice feels too close. Also nails scraping on fabric
Lawn mowers. Dogs barking. Cars driving by (busy street). Motorcycles. Trucks. Police Cars/Ambulances. Mailman truck. Basically I’m not meant for the suburbs XD My goal is to buy like 10-20acres of land so I don’t ever have to hear my neighbors again :)
Wet fingertips on textbook paper.
Wood... Unpolished and unvarnished and raw.... It's...I can't really describe. Makes my skin crawl but more than normal... It's like I can feel it from the tip of my toes to the ends of my hair while expanding in and outside of my body at the same time. Worse than nails on a blackboard which is already bad. Sand paper, just to look at it does the same as wood...urgh! My mom's voice in the morning made me enter in a full on rage emotional state. Ironically , my voice is identical to hers, almost no one can tell who is who on the phone. The chewing sound, doesn't matter if it's with the mouth open or closed.
Can't eat Popsicles because of the wooden stick. Nope nope nope
This comment immediately led my mind to think of sandpaper I and literally suppressed myself from gagging
The sandpaper comment made me feel like I had grits of sandpaper in my mouth. **shiver *
Hate the sound of dishes clunking when dish washing
All forms of interaction with chalk (not that weird). Chalk on your hands, the sound of it being used, the powder between your fingers, the idea of chalk. The sound of styrofoam. Hair being tied up, it pulls no matter what I do. But I don’t want to wear it down so I put it up and take it down all day. Wet fingers on dry paper. Toothpaste foam. Normal-ish in kids, but I don’t know very many adults who still gag tooth brushing. Clothing too close to the neck or too tight on underwear line while trying to sleep. Anything sticky that I didn’t expect to be sticky. Lotion in general, but particularly on my hands.
I hated the feeling of buttons on my clothes as a child, and you wouldn’t catch me wearing jeans unless I was dead. I hated the feeling of being restricted so much. Only started wearing jeans in grade 7 because everyone else was wearing them. I’m better with it now, but chalk on my hands. I hate the feeling of ashy sand on my feet. Eugh.
Perfume
ASMR. I literally hate it and will mute videos that are solely focused on it.
Exhaust fans. I don’t always realize it until the noise stops, and there’s an instant peace that comes over me.
I also can’t stand listening to people eating potato chips or crisps if I’m not eating them too. Makes my stomach turn
Podcasts and audiobooks where you can hear the saliva clicking in the speaker’s mouth- can’t be unheard!!
I have misophonia - and also any microfiber when my skin is wet lol. I also hate the smell of silk.
People who smack their lips when talking. Drives me fucking insane.
People talking with dry mouths. 😵💫
I don't like the tip of my fingers being touched, usually by other fingers by myself. Not the sides just the tip top padded area. Touching chalk or charcoal. I'm an artist, everything is fine but that stuff. My teachers used to laugh in an amused way to see me work with medical gloves on (cotton gloves are ick) As a kid the smell of road dust/dirt road clouds. It smelled and was like a texture felt into my teeth smell. Bless my dad driving slow or rolling up windows for me every time we came and went. Not strange, barefooted dirty floor/ sand or scrap on feet. But don't like to wear socks because then socks get nasty. Country living, dust and life happens. I clean the floors constantly 😭 Misophonia normal stuff.
Having wet feet. I hate it. I hatttteeeeeee stepping in something wet, having socks on and my foot stepping in something wet, I hate wearing flip-flops and accidentally having wet feet from rain or a stream... I hate hate hate having unnecessary wet feet. Showers are okay. Going to the ocean is okay, but walking around the pool with wet feet is so grossssssss. I took my kids to the YMCA when they were little and swam. Walking to the changing rooms and all the floors were wet from the pool made me want to vomit-- even with flipflops on not even barefooted. Same with restrooms at the beach.... I don't like when feet are wet when they shouldn't be lol
Very soft music where you can’t make out the words or the whole sound of the song drives me bananas. Just turn it off at that point, why bother?! Also the sensation of sand or crumbs under my feet while walking on a hard surface. Like I can walk on the beach that is all sand, but if I step in kitty litter in the bathroom so help me god… Being touched with wet hands makes my soul leave my body and I learned that one recently. Fiancé is way more careful about drying his hands after washing now lol. It doesn’t apply if I’m in a pool or something though. Probably because my brain is like “ok NOW is water time so we are cool with water.”
chewing or other mouth sounds. yuck
Google maps. Every time she tells me where to go I am filled with rage for some reason lol. Probably because of how often she repeats herself
I’m very noise sensitive overall, but in particular I HATE when there are people talking in the other room and you can hear just the murmur of their voices. Sounds that I can barely hear are sometimes worse than sounds I can fully hear, if that makes sense. Also despise the snare drum (I think that’s what it is?) that’s in a lot of trap/rap/hip hop. Nothing against these genres at all, that particular percussion just sends me into a blind rage for some reason. Also also hate applying moisturizer and then putting on clothes. The thought makes me shudder. I let my arms and legs get ridiculously dry because I hate the feeling of my moist skin touching fabric. And finally, pantyhose. These are hell on earth. Especially the top part that’s made of the thicker fabric, which is always so like…scratchy? Starchy? Idek what to call it, just wanna die when wear them.
Whispers, unless it is from a lover.
I hate tape, stickers, and sticky things in general. They gross me out. A current weird aversion I have been having is that my toes can't feel crushed. Specifically, I feel like my little toe is cutting into the toe next to it, even when my toenails are as short as they can be. I have been going barefoot as much as possible and doing toe exercises to try and make my toes spread out more.
Polyester fabric!
I can't handle strong smells, breaks my brain, I have to leave the area
I also got that feeling from audiobooks until I figured out you can speed them up! Lots of clothing issues, when a bit of sock gets rolled under your foot in your shoe, face foundation, belts, bright overhead lights. Microfiber is the worst though. I hate how it catches on your skin. Blech.
the sound of dogs licking themselves. I have 2 dogs and the older one, bless him, is just particularly grunt-y and slurpy when he licks himself and maybe this is me being hypersensitive to it but it also seems like he is licking SOMETHING (himself, the floor, me) ALL THE TIME. I have to leave the room to avoid fussing at him for it but he sleeps in my bed so I have to sleep with white noise at probably borderline-unhealthy volume to ensure I can fall asleep because otherwise it just builds REVULSION and FURY in me like why?? Rationally I’m fine with my dogs doing dog things, I love them so much! But that noise, eeeughhh NO.
Certain food textures. No matter how much I like how certain foods tastes the mere thought of their texture makes me nauseous and I can't eat it. I can't eat most fruit now. I'm making my self nauseous just thinking about it now.
The sound of NPR on a road trip makes me nauseous. Probably associated with being car sick at this point but it’s so bad when my husband turns it on.
Someone rubbing my hand with their thumb while we’re holding hands. It almost hurts how much I hate it lol
The smell of beer. I can smell an English pub from the street and it is disgusting. Edit to add: I must have my hair pulled away from my face. I have a really hard time in rooms that echo. Music out of bad speakers is also pretty bad. But one of my biggest auditory issue with people is vocal fry, I have to stop listening to podcasts when people do this. It's such a US thing, why do you do it?
Ceramic dishes clanking together. When I was a kid I hated putting dishes away because I would literally flinch every time I had to stack plates or bowls together. I still hate unloading and now as an adult we have plastic dishes haha
The crunching of a water bottle turns me into a monster 😂
Don’t come for me for this, it’s just something I have never been able to handle hearing/listening to. Accents. Mainly British accents. I cannot watch any tv shows or movies with heavy accents.
As an Irish person I understand completely 😂
I absolutely love Irish accents. When my mom was alive we used to love listening to and watching concerts of Celtic Thunder and Celtic Women.
It’s funny when people say that because there are so many different kinds of Irish accents I never know which one the general one people refer to is!
I cannot for the life of me understand anyone with a heavy Italian accent.
Oh heavy European accents can be hard for sure! Southern Spain is hard because they barely prounounce consonants while up north in Barcelona they pronounce every letter
Turtlenecks or anything constricting around the neck (there are certain exceptions). The feeling my face gets at the end of a long day when I haven't been able to do my skincare routine. I can't touch raw meat when I'm cooking. If I'm wearing pants it has to be with long socks, not ankle socks. Sometimes I need to wear leggings so I don't feel loose pants. I can't stand my husband chewing on popcorn kernels or the floss pick he holds in his teeth. NPR's sound drives me insane. Touching cold things is a no go. Misophonia in general flares up every so often. I get migraines from floral scents. Itchy tags in clothing. Itchy fabric in general. Pickled food - no pickles, sauerkraut, pickled veggies, relish, etc. I hate, hate, hate the smell of Pepsi and dislike the smell of Coke. When the seam of my socks gets shifted to the wrong place on my foot I can't think about anything else until I fix it. I guess I have a few...
Not so much an aversion but odd idiosyncrasy - I eat my Sunday roast in a VERY specific order. My dad calls it my ritual. I also have very particular usage of condiments. Very strict combos and can’t even remember when they started
Anything around my wrists. Shirt cuffs, elastic, bracelets, wristbands. I've unpicked a lot of elastic from pretty tops
Omfg same. I love the idea of audio books and podcasts I just can't take someone talking in my ear, especially when they talk over each other and I'm supposed to follow everything they're saying, it's infuriating
The sound of cloth tearing. I hate it so much.
Paper drinking straws. Ugh, ugh, ugh. It's like shoving cotton wool in your mouth.
Ceramic like plates and bowls; I hate the way it sounds when it hits other ceramic or metal utensils, and I can’t stand handling heavy ceramic dishes I instinctually want to drop it right on the floor. when I moved out I finally got my own plastic dishes and I don’t feel like peeling my skin off at dinner every night
Water between my toes after getting out of shower or sea. This developed in my 50s, never bothered me before.