Hello to you 👋

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Hello to you – I’ve recently had an influx of lovely new followers here on my blog and on my Instagram page! So I thought why not give everyone a little intro (or refresh!) on who I am and why I blog about sensory stuff. To me there is no better way then a good old-fashioned drawing to explain a bit about myself!

Summary of my drawings in text:

1. I’m Emily, I am 23 years old and I work as a Creative Designer.
2. I have Sensory Processing Disorder: a neurological disorder that (put simply) makes it hard to receive information to my brain. SPD is a neurological traffic jam and info I receive through my 5 senses doesn’t get organised or detected properly. This means my 5 senses are constantly overwhelmed and overworked so the world is a sensory place for me. SPD creates challenges in my everyday living and performing tasks. I was assessed / diagnosed with SPD aged 8 by an Occupational Therapist (OT).
3. SPD described in a sentence: It’s like receiving every sense all at once: touch, taste, sight, smell and sound!
4. I was 21 when I began blogging – hence the name ’21andsensory’. I decided to start documenting my sensory life right here on this very blog. I share tips, tricks, experiences, reviews and much more!
5. I also experience/have/suffer from: anxiety, dyslexia, mild OCD and hyperhydrosis (excessive sweating and flushing)
6. I even have my own sensory podcast…! You can have a listen here if you like. Also available through Apple Podcasts and Google Play.

So yup that’s me in a nutshell.

Blogging as a sensory-being in a super-sensory world!

What’s in my bag? 🎒

So on my little podcast I record I did a new feature called: ‘What’s in my bag’. Above is a photo of my backpack and I’ve listed the contents below:

• Medication: Paracetamol, Ibuprofen and Cocodamal – pain relief on the go!
• In ear phones – just standard Apple ones
• Noise cancelling ear buds – bought from Amazon, they come in a little zip-up case
• Nivea Essential Care lip balm
• Rimmel Lasting Perfection Concealer – because spots can appear at any time!
• 2 x Packets of Cous Cous – handy for lunch at work if I want to eat something I know and tastes quite neutral/not spicy!
• My card holder with bank cards, ID and loyalty cards
• Nivea wet wipes – handy if I get sweaty during the day and for cleaning my desk if it’s dusty!
• Glasses Lens cleaning wipes – these are epic, they come in individual packets and I throw them in my bag to use to clean my glasses and great for cleaning screens too!
• Glasses case
• Pencil case: fineliners, mini ruler,
• Tangle Teezer compact hair brush – literal lifesaver and I tend to use the Tangle Teezer as my main hairbrush as sensory-wise it’s nowhere near as painful as a normal hairbrush,
• Phone charger – standard Apple lightning cable

Listen to the ‘What’s in my bag’ episode here: 21andsensory Podcast or search for ’21andsensory’ on the Apple Podcast app / Google Play music app.

An Insight: The Fluorescent Jacket…

Why on earth am I writing a blog post about a Fluorescent jacket I hear you ask…just bear with me and read on:

Picture the scene: I am working away at my desk and at around 9.05am one of the company directors get into work. All normal and well so far. He then proceeds to hang up his fluorescent bike jacket on the hook by his desk. Now this jacket is visually brighter than the sun to a sensory being like me…(I realise this sounds utterly ridiculous but stick with me).

This jacket is in view just behind my laptop screen and is immediately screaming at me visually. It is so loud almost like a noise to me and is instantly distracting and grates on my mood.

I think back sometimes on how I feel when things like this affect me. They seem so big at the time and engulf me, taking up all my thoughts and feelings. How crazy is that? A bright neon jacket can affect me that much! In hindsight it’s a teeny tiny small insignificant part of my life – it affects me but I learn to cope and move on (through distracting myself and repositioning to face away from the indoor sun…!)

How do you feel about bright coloured objects, clothing and environments? Comment below with any stories and coping mechanisms!

And for more of my ramblings why not check out my podcasts? Links below!

anchor.fm/21andsensory

Apple Podcasts

Google Play Podcasts

21andsensory Podcasts!

So I went and bit the bullet as you can probably tell by the title…and my brand new podcast is live! My podcasts are on a site/app called Anchor – it’s a free podcast and audio platform. Feel free to sign up and create an account and you can download the mobile app and listen on the go (you can also listen without signing up!).

The Anchor app will allow me to record on the go (without a computer) so I can create podcasts anytime anywhere and add new content regularly! I’m hoping to use it as almost a form of an audio diary and share my sensory experiences as and when they happen! Tips and advice will definitely feature so watch this space…

You can search for my username on Anchor which is simply: 21andsensory.

Or listen here: Anchor FM: 21andsensory

Update: You can now also listen and subscribe to my podcasts on the Apple Podcast app here and on the Google Play store, just search for 21andsensory.