Hi everyone I’m back again with a lil’ illustration…’Why shops can cause sensory overload’ 👀 I (secretly) struggle quite a lot in shops and supermarkets (when I say secretly I mean I’ve perfected the art of ‘masking’ my struggles!). There’s always SO much sensory input to deal with in shops and I wanted to try and mention a few of the things that can be overwhelming. Bigger supermarkets especially can be quite disorientating when so much is being thrown at me sensory-wise.
Every sense is sort of attacked all at once?! This means it can be very difficult to find the things you need as you have to visually wade through colourful shelves, deal with all sorts of noise, queues and crowds, smelly food counters…the list goes on!
I know there’s lots of good tips and tricks to helping with these busy environments such as using ear defenders or headphones, wearing a sunflower lanyard (UK initiative – to subtly let staff know you might need some extra help / consideration), using distractions like stim toys, etc…but do you have any other tips for surviving shops? Comment down below!
21andsensory 
I would go when there is less chance of it being too busy! And I’d bring something sootheing for comfort!
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I find that always shopping in the same 2 supermarkets and a few other shops help. If I go into an unfamiliar supermarket or shop (even if it is the same chain I usually use, e.g. Aldi) then the sensory overload is much worse than when it is a place I’m already familiar with, probably because there I already know exactly where everything is and can just follow a routine, so I don’t need to “scan” the surroundings.
Also: deciding in advance what to buy, again so I don’t need to “scan” or “browse” the surroundings, but can just navigate directly to the things I need, pick them up, and get out.
Other than that, my go-to sensory protection tools for shopping are ear plugs or sensgards, and sunglasses.
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