Increased sensitivity to emotional content: TV, news, movies, music, conversations

[coldturkmama]

One strange sensation or feeling I have been getting during my c/t paxil withdrawal just started a few weeks ago. If there is something disturbing on the news or my mom is telling something upsetting, etc it feels like my brain just cannot process it, like I'm going to be overwhelmed etc, anyone know what I mean? For example I used to love watching dateline or 48 hours but now can't.

[Fresh]

Hi CTM , do you think you should add this to your other thread?

[coldturkmama]

Yup & I did right after I realized but then didn't know how to delete this?? lol 

[Petunia]

This is actually a good topic, many people find they can no longer watch their favorite TV show, violent movies or tolerate being around certain kinds of people.  In withdrawal, our nervous system can become hyper-sensitive to any kind of stimulation, including our own emotions.

 

I can't watch TV and have to be careful what movies I watch.  I remember in early withdrawal, trying to listen to 'The Hobbit' as an audiobook, even that was too much for me, I could handle it now though.

 

What emotionally arousing activities do others have to avoid?

[dalsaan]

I have to avoid some TV but also some music if it's sad or has distressing lyrics

[Muddles]

One strange sensation or feeling I have been getting during my c/t paxil withdrawal just started a few weeks ago. If there is something disturbing on the news or my mom is telling something upsetting, etc it feels like my brain just cannot process it, like I'm going to be overwhelmed etc, anyone know what I mean? For example I used to love watching dateline or 48 hours but now can't.

I totally get this. Its very odd. I find I am the same with stress - it's kind of like it is stuck in my head and there is no release. I can't watch the news or anything disturbing because I can't cope with it.

[Muddles]

This is actually a good topic, many people find they can no longer watch their favorite TV show, violent movies or tolerate being around certain kinds of people. In withdrawal, our nervous system can become hyper-sensitive to any kind of stimulation, including our own emotions.

 

I can't watch TV and have to be careful what movies I watch. I remember in early withdrawal, trying to listen to 'The Hobbit' as an audiobook, even that was too much for me, I could handle it now though.

 

What emotionally arousing activities do others have to avoid?

Don't you watch any TV? I have to be careful but most of the time nothing interests me anyway...stinking apathy! Never have the TV on when I'm on my own, it scares me!!!

[LoveandLight]

In a bad wave cannot stand noise..can't stand anything..in less bad times..still have like a grief reaction when listening to the radio, tv or just engaging in normal life as I no longer feel part of it. Songs which come on the radio which remind me of the past, good or bad are triggers.

[sunflower]

This a good topic and one which I was thinking about the other day. I find that during wd I lose my interest in watching TV. I also can't deal with the violence or news during this time.

 

Sunflower

[Muddles]

It like a grief reaction isn't it! I heard our wedding song playing earlier and I would usually get all soppy and cry. I cried - but I was crying because I had no emotional response to it no matter how hard I tried. This is the worst for me and it makes me feel that everything I was born with and everything I have lived through has been took away...vanished! So bloody sad.

[LoveandLight]

Yes xx

[Muddles]

Driving is becoming problematic for me too. I had to go out today as I haven't been able to do much this past week and ended up in an argument with some random lady over a parking space. I have developed terrible road rage and can't handle busy roads - too stimulating. I have also just received a letter stating my recent 'driving through a red light' incident is being dealt with through the courts.

I don't think I'm safe to be driving - I'm either going to end up dead or spending some time in prison if I'm not careful. Never had any of these issues before.

[WiggleIt]

I totally relate to this.  As a former literature and film student and prof, I often engaged with thematically dense, emotional, and often disturbing—as art is wont to be—content, which I can no longer handle.  If something isn't as lighthearted as "Saved by the Bell," I can't seem to handle it anymore.  Additionally, my enjoyment of reading creative fiction has dissipated.  Non-fiction mainly appeals to me now, when I used to derive SUCH pleasure from creative fiction.

 

I will need to retrain myself to enjoy it, because I will be d***** if I lose my skill of literary analysis, which is literally what I built my whole career on. 

[Petunia]

 

I can't watch TV and have to be careful what movies I watch.

Don't you watch any TV?

 

No, every few months I try, but so far, I've found myself feeling worse each time.  I can sometimes find a nature show or documentary which interests me for a while, but then I will get upset by the commercials because I see them as nothing but manipulation playing on our fears and desires, making us buy things we don't need, and can't afford, adding to the growing problems on this planet.  I get worried and angry.

 

Then there are the news headlines, or news previews, making sure we remain in a constant state of anxiety and apprehension about whatever bad stuff is currently being reported as 'the news'.

 

I've tried watching cartoons, but then I start thinking about the messages and values being programmed into children today and it makes me shudder to imagine what kind of future for our planet this is creating.  I can't seem to mindlessly watch TV any more, I'm seeing too much now, and most of it is disturbing.

[UnfoldingSky]

Reading here it really hits me how severe my sensitivities were in the worst part of withdrawal.

 

I couldn't listen to any music at all except one CD of spiritual music and live accoustic music.

 

I could only tolerate three TV shows, two older ones and one recent one that is filmed outdoors.  The rest were either too violent, too disturbing, too bright, had too many abrupt volume changes, too many rapidly changing screens, didn't hold my interest or the messages/content I found to be too manipulative.  I couldn't tolerate commercials either.  I wasn't really into TV before this as I had issues with the messages a lot of TV puts out but this was on a whole different level, just catching a glimpse of an even slightly disturbing show was enough to make me very, very upset for quite a while (read like days.)  It was horrendous how bad it was. 

 

Oddly though the two older shows could be a bit violent and I had no trouble with them. 

 

I also had a lot of difficulty with books.  This was for a bunch of different reasons, part of it had to do with difficulty concentrating, and a really severe inabililty to focus my eyes.  However, the content of so many books became so disturbing that even if I was able to concentrate I couldn't handle them.  I also couldn't connect at all to some books--fiction was a big problem, I still don't understand why.  I did force myself to read some more upsetting non-fiction, I used to read a lot and I was really quite devastated not to be able to do this, so I pushed myself regardless of how I felt with some books i really wanted to read.  But overall there were only a very few that were not upsetting--books about nature and a book about the true story of a psychologist who lived in various parts of the world including with a really interesting tribe of people in Malaysia.  Some books on spirituality also were okay too. 

 

I also couldn't tolerate news really at all though online I did read about political issues sometimes or stuff to do with mental health of course.  Even before withdrawal I really disliked the news so this has just made it worse, much of it is so, so manipulative and so fear-provoking that quite honestly if I could never hear the news again I'd be so thrilled.  When you think about what the world was like before mass media and then compare it to now, the number of utterly awful stories we hear (or stories that are played up to be awful that might not even be that bad) is so far in excess of what we would have heard before that I can't help but wonder what kind of emotional impact this is having on people. 

 

Since recovering partly I now can watch pretty well any TV show if I want to but I still won't watch the news. 

 

I can listen to music now too, though I am realizing I still have to be a bit careful as if the lyrics to a song are meaningful to me in some way they can sometimes provoke emotional responses that are still a bit too over the top.  Nothing like before, but still I can't afford to divert myself from being in a better mood because I heard one song (which is something that happened to me recently, I foolishly looked up an old song and then spent the rest of my night feeling awful because of the memories it provoked.) 

 

Reading is a bit of a different issue.  This one bothers me, I can now usually tolerate the content of a book, but I either can't connect that well to it or the remaining cog issues get in my way (they are improved over where they were though.)  The odd book is too upsetting too if it deals with something to do with drugs.

[Hudgens]

When I was in the worst of It I specifically remember, for example, getting overly emotional about King Kong (the original) falling from the Empire State Building. This kind of thing eventually stops.

[mammaP]

I had to stop watching anything with violence. I used to watch cop shows like CSI before tapering and it didn't affect me, I didn't have much emotion but since emotion came back I can't watch anything remotely violent or loud. I can't have music on, even my favourite has to go off after a few minutes. I can't stand arguments and get upset  if I see or hear arguments. I believe this is as much because of my past traumas though and not just withdrawal but the noise part is withdrawal I think. It isn't a problem really and I don't think about it much because I can control it with the remote! 

 

I can't drive when in a wave, I just can't cope with the traffic and almost jumped a red light, it didn't register until I was past it but realised when I was over the line and the light behind me. felt a real numpty sitting there in the box you aren't supposed to be in! 

[LoveandLight]

Lol mammap loads of people sit in that box x

[mycatzara]

I've definitely noticed this. Any remotely sad song lyrics or emotionally charged tv shows make me cry, which is embarrassing more than distressing. Even happy things can sometimes be upsetting, because it makes me feel jealous and left out. Physical violence on tv or in books becomes very upsetting, but even more so any form of psychological intimidation, mind games, bullying. These bring up feelings which are overwhelming and extremely distressing, as if it is happening to me personally. I normally love crime shows and books, but have to cut all of that out and just read/watch fairly bland material until I feel less fragile.

[drummerseve]

Ive been going through this for the last three months. I cant watch horror movies, which are my favorite, scenes in movies or games with blood or guts really mess with me, even being at a butcher like for instance say a head of something behind the counter. Also, talk or news of suicide or mental illness really effects me in a negative way. It gives me anxiety and the thought of "will i end up this way?" Causes even more hopelessness and anxiety. What a mess.

[Dina]

i have to avoid even Facebook because sometimes someone just posts one of those things that are violent, or beyond sad, or threatening, or disappointing. WTH. A nervous system that is not able to deal with the world of today and yesterday (the historical stuff is all negative too in my book). sigh. I won't even complain about what has upset me yesterday in Facebook, because it would upset everybody here too. I am defo not going back there.

[prairierose]

Titled:  Reading materials and TV

 

hey yall. i wanted to come on with a piece of advice. i know when sonething awful is happening to you we instantly want to go to the internet and that is just fne. however in wd our brains are sponges and are looking to hold on to any reason this could be happening. this opens us up to a world of hurt as much as a world of knowledge. please guard yourself against articles about violence and stories of tragedy. your sweet little brain does not need it. positive videos and funny stories only. nothing overly sad bc in this state even finding dory can make you sad. i did all the wrong things in this regard amd i am paying for it. please guard yourself and fill your head with good things. 

Edited November 6, 2020 by manymoretodays
merged with similiar topic

[manymoretodays]

Thanks prairie. (and edited in, moved to similar topic, @prairierose)

 

I'm thinking we might have a topic somewhere here, in Symptoms and Self care too.........about recommended movies, t.v., etc. that we could add your post to. 

 

I need to run now though, but will look when I return.

(and still looking for the topic, with members suggests around stuff that they don't find triggering)

 

Yes, fill our heads with good things!  ❤️

Edited November 6, 2020 by manymoretodays
none, @ for move/merge notification, additional

[SertralineAnxiety]

Thank you, I make the same mistake. It would be nice to have a thread with recommendations for things to watch and read that are "safe" for the sensitive people in withdrawal. Although ideally we should avoid information overload even when it is positive material.. Hard to find the balance between soothing ourselves (by distracting from withdrawal symptoms) and triggering more symptoms caused by excessive screen time.

[manymoretodays]

And okay, I'm working on finding the threads with the members' recommends, or what they have found to be safe items, to watch and read for those sensitized in WD.

So far, just this find.

Movie squirrels

( FYI: need to be signed in to go to Off-topic posts)

[hayduke]

Just chiming in with the general theme of this thread.  I like to keep the entertainment pretty mellow.  If there's going to be violence or unpleasantness, simulated or not, it can stay outside the house for the most part.  I noticed this while I was on steady doses of risperidone and olanzapine, and it's heightened in withdrawal.

 

Same with music, but once in a while when frustrated or angry at things, old school punk rock can really cut to the core of the social issues and tell it how it is.  I find that a really good way to let it out.

[manymoretodays]

I like to put the narrator's voice from "Call the Midwife" into my thought narrative sometimes.

I think it might be Vanessa Redgrave, not sure.......a really calming voice. 

 

(I think that there IS a members list of what works for them, watching, or listening to, in Off Topic......still looking for it, from time to time)

 

Yes, once in awhile......some of that slam poetry works for me, hayduke, or milder punk rock too.

[SertralineAnxiety]

Hi mmt,

Have you had any luck finding that thread?

I am having difficulty with finding positive emotions and would like to watch or read funny or positive things with no violence in them. I watch some stand up comedy and impractical jokers to laugh, but could do with some recommendations. 

[UnfoldingSky]

Here's another video in same vein as movie squirrels...videos for cats are soothing for sensitized nervous system humans too...

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rkxOTwu3Tuk

 

The man who made the above video also makes some which are just scenes from England, they're lovely too.  Like this one:

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V2T90KeQG4A

 

 

I find these sorts of videos soothing too, this video is old songs playing in another room with rain and thunder in the background...
 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8WhUkxMKhrI

[ThatOneGirlStitch]

I am emotionally overwhelmed by everything. It scares me and takes away all my energy. Anyone find it hard to leave the house?