Oh man, I have all of these! Pain in the head behind the eyes when the alarm goes off, prolonged squinting with certain kinds of bright lights, I get physical pain in my head from specific outdoor sounds like a very loud motorcycle exhaust.
But most striking of all, I have the pain response to tickling. If someone tries tickling me anywhere on my body my back spasms and my diaphragm contracts, my vision goes black and I have to concentrate to stop myself from yelling and screaming. It’s not the same as regular pain like a cut or bruise or a burn, is more like someone tasering me.
I’ve always been pretty sensitive to tickling since I was a kid, but it got way worse after I got a pinched nerve in my back about 10 years ago.
I was also very mildly on the autism spectrum when I was a kid, then I was neurotypical from puberty until my early 30s, now nearly 40 I’m back deep into the spectrum.
Wait, you’re telling me it isn’t painful for everyone?
It’s generally not, though certain types of stimuli can cause pain through their own merit either directly or indirectly.
Bright lights that cause prolonged squinting, loud sounds (obviously), etc.
I recently learned that touch can also cause pain. Like just general touching that results in overstimulation that feels like pain. That’s not common.
I imagine it’s kind of overloading the tickle and itchy pathways or something, which feels painful?..
Oh man, I have all of these! Pain in the head behind the eyes when the alarm goes off, prolonged squinting with certain kinds of bright lights, I get physical pain in my head from specific outdoor sounds like a very loud motorcycle exhaust.
But most striking of all, I have the pain response to tickling. If someone tries tickling me anywhere on my body my back spasms and my diaphragm contracts, my vision goes black and I have to concentrate to stop myself from yelling and screaming. It’s not the same as regular pain like a cut or bruise or a burn, is more like someone tasering me.
I’ve always been pretty sensitive to tickling since I was a kid, but it got way worse after I got a pinched nerve in my back about 10 years ago.
I was also very mildly on the autism spectrum when I was a kid, then I was neurotypical from puberty until my early 30s, now nearly 40 I’m back deep into the spectrum.
So you’re telling me that you can use smth like a drill/angle grinder or go to a concert without ear protection and not feel pain?
No, loud volumes are one of the things I mentioned explicitly that cause pain inherently.
You should be using hearing protection when using loud tools or attending concerts.