Halloween and sensory issues... I have a love/hate relationship with Halloween. I have some strange sensory issues around typical Halloween decorations, masks, etc. I try to avoid going places that have lots of Halloween decorations or that are selling Halloween themed products. I can't eat around any of this stuff, or even for a period after I've encountered it. I have no idea why but it just feels so squicky. I almost feel unclean, but funny enough the idea of showering while feeling this way is almost nauseating, because the idea of touching my skin at all is awful during this. As a kid I generally forced my way through this which was probably not a great idea as it built up a lot of pressure that was released in not-so-great ways. I wanted to love Halloween, and in theory the idea of everything really appealed to me. As an adult I tended to power through with alcohol as my coping tool, which is also bad of course. Finally in the past couple of years I have allowed myself to stop forcing this, and have shared some of this info with close friends, who have really been nice about it. If we're watching Netflix shows and a Halloween episode comes on, I just ask to skip it sometimes, and my friends were even nice enough to relocate an outing when I was having trouble dealing with a grossly decorated bar. This love/hate is mostly sounding like a hate. But there is a specific kind of pleasant and still spooky Halloween that I idealize with none of the stuff that makes me feel squicky. Maybe someday I can make that Halloween a reality for myself, and just ignore everyone else's Halloween! I will say though that I love trick or treaters and think they are adorable. I can't stay mad at Halloween! Anyway, that was just a rambling story of some strange issues I have. How does everyone else do (or not do) Halloween? Is Halloween still a big thing even? Anyone else have sensory issues around costumes, pumpkin guts, or masks? (oh MAN do I have an issue with masks.) Here's a cute pumpkin of the variety I can deal with 🙂

Posted by cinnamonkitty at 2022-10-05 03:23:41 UTC