A guide for recognition and identification. 

Do you ever feel like you don’t fit in but can’t understand why? 

Does it ever seem like you are feeling the world around you differently to others?

Do you ever find life confusing or chaotic?

Have you ever thought that people don’t understand you? Do you feel that others don’t really understand you? 

Do you ever feel that people don’t seem to like you but you have no idea why?

Have you been rejected in situations where you were trying to help and support others? 

For more information, support, mentoring and in person training, please contact me at 

Feelingtheworlddifferently.co.uk

This is a very simple and surface list of some of the ways that people feel the world differently. This is generalised to aid recognition and identification in the first instance. If you recognise yourself or someone you care about, then you can find lots more material that explores and explains each one of these in more detail. Each one of us has our own personal list of the ways that we feel the world differently.

If you feel alone and confused but recognise any of the things on this list, then please know that you are not alone. You just haven’t been looking in the right places. We are part of a growing, supportive community and we are changing and challenging the way that feeling the world differently is understood and included. 

Do you find chit chat about nothing difficult and meaningless?

Do you dive in and share your thoughts and life experiences on a first meeting? 

Do you remain silent and observe, not really knowing what to say or when?

Do you love lots of bright colours and soft fabrics?

Maybe you only wear one colour and one style every day. 

What about hats? And sparkly things?

Do you feel tired, drained and anxious before, during and after social interactions?

Do your clothes ever hurt you?

Do you cut the labels out? And the silly dangly hoops?

Does temperature and light and sound ever hurt you? Emotionally or physically or both?

Do you need complete silence sometimes?

Would a small shard of light keep you awake even if you close your eyes?

Do you remain silent and unresponsive in stressful situations?

Do you narrate everything out loud, especially if stressed or anxious about the people or the place?

Do your thoughts jump around in time? Do they start at the end, or the middle, and jump backwards and forwards. 

Can you see the end before the beginning?

Do you feel your energy levels dropping suddenly, especially in bright or loud or busy places?

Do you feel overwhelmed emotionally or physically and find it difficult to control?

Do others seem to think that you overreact, or that you are too emotional? Or not emotional enough? 

Do you explain things in a chronological order no matter how long it takes to get to the main point? 

Do you feel that you are wrong or bad but never know why?

Do busy places make you disoriented? Do they trigger a fight or flight response? 

In a new environment, is it difficult to feel calm? Do you feel overwhelmed in busy spaces with too much to see and hear and feel? 

Do you assess the environment before addressing the people there? Does this pause seem to offend them? But you never understand why?

Do you like to plan your day ahead and practice if visiting new locations? 

Have you written lists in your diary weeks in advance? 

Do you plan your day starting at the end and work back? With lists of timings? 

Do you feel comforted when you know what you will be doing and when? Does the unknown affect your mental and physical state?

Do you worry in advance as soon as the event is suggested, even if it is in two years’ time? Do you then plan and prepare? 

Do you like fixed activities or locations to help you feel calmer or safer?

Do you feel ashamed or embarrassed when you are overwhelmed and can’t control physical and emotional reactions?

Do you tell the truth and say what you mean? Do you expect others to do this and to appreciate this? Are you confused and upset when they don’t?

Do you feel strongly about lies and unfairness? Does this affect you emotionally or physically? 

Do you ever need to swing, or sway, or tap in order to try and stay focussed and present?

Do you need your environment to be designed and decided by you? Is it distressing if someone changes it? Does it hurt emotionally or physically when this happens?

Do you view all people equally, without judgment or prejudice?

Does this mean that you are targeted by users and abusers and you never understand what has happened? 

Do you check the facts before showing your emotion or reacting? Do others react badly to this and you don’t understand why?

Are you sensitive to any kind of rejection? Real or perceived. 

Does rejection hurt like a kick or a stab?

Do you feel like you have to run away and hide?

Do you need lots of rest before and after any kind of social activity?

Do you pause before answering while you remember what was said and worry about the response that is wanted? Are you confused about what to say, or upset when your delayed reaction seems to cause offense?

Do you offer unsolicited advice to help people? 

Do you correct people if they are wrong because you care about them and their knowledge? Do they seem offended by this?

Do you give advice to the boss or colleagues if you see ways things can improve? Even if you are totally right, do they seem offended and tell you that you cannot speak that way? Are you confused and upset about what exactly you have done wrong? 

Are you confused about how much to say and when to stop?

Are telephone conversations difficult to follow?

Are you scared to leave the house? Do you procrastinate to avoid activities?

Do you find a reason to leave a social event even if it means causing a row or telling a lie?

Do you like an exchange of information on topics but find that not immediately agreeing is deemed offensive? Is this confusing?

Do labels feel like a shard of glass?

Do you find that you can super focus on something that you care about? 

Do you find it difficult or impossible to focus on something that you don’t care about?

Do you find that you are suddenly engaged in a totally different activity than you started? 

Do you find it difficult to sleep because your thoughts just never stop?

Are your thoughts often about being rejected or misunderstood? 

Do you dream about running away or living somewhere far away?

Does the question – how are you – fill you with dread? Should you tell the truth or not? 

Do you feel physically or emotionally distressed if something is changed without you knowing? A seat on the train? The venue for a meeting? A new person is invited? 

Do fabrics and fixtures affect the way that you feel emotionally or physically? 

Do you like clean lines because clutter makes you feel under attack? Or do you like all of your things visible and around you? 

Do you need to be in a space where there is light and fresh air? Do you feel like you are drowning if there is no light or way to the fresh air? 

Do you feel that you can chat for short periods but then need to lie down and sleep, or cry, or both? 

Do you constantly worry and repeat everything that you said and didn’t say? Do you worry over and over about how your words were received? 

Do you explain your emotions with words and expect that to be enough even if your body and face don’t seem to match? Do others misjudge this? Especially medical professionals who ought to know better. 

Do people seem to misjudge you and you don’t understand why?

Do people seem to sense that you are different and isolate you, or criticise you, or even persuade others to ignore and ostracise you ? 

Have you been subjected to abuse or smear campaigns that are totally untrue?

Do you stick up for the underdog and try to help anyone who needs it?

Do you find the nuances of conversation hard to follow?

Are words more important than body language?

If the topic is interesting to you, do you find it easier to talk about it?

Do the words that you have written become you and represent you? Does criticism of them feel like a personal attack?

Do certain foods and textures make you feel physically or emotionally sick?

Do you see things in pictures?

Does a word create an image for you?

Do you see and feel and hear colours and shapes and sounds from words or music?

Have you started withdrawing for fear of rejection?

Do you find it difficult to understand the emotions of others? Do they seem to misjudge yours?

Do you pause before reacting or responding? 

Do you care about everyone and everything no matter the impact on yourself?

Do you stay away from people because you are unsure of what to say or do?

Do you presume that people want an honest answer? Are you upset and confused when honesty seems to offend the person that asked?

Does honesty show that you care about someone?

Do you say what you mean and mean what you say? 

Does your body rock or shake in environments that are uncomfortable?

Is it hard to concentrate in a group conversation? Is it painful to sit still and try to stay focussed on the words?

When one sense is overloaded, do you lose the others?

If the restaurant is loud or bright do you feel unwell, unable to taste or eat? 

If a place is loud and bright and busy does it make you feel emotionally and physically unwell? Do you want to run away?

Do people tell you that you are too much, too loud, too quiet, share too much, are not emotional enough, or something similar and negative? Does this upset and confuse you? 

Do people ever say that you are cold and withdrawn and use that as an excuse to exclude you?

Do you need consistency and be able to trust people and places?

When you ask a question, is it exactly that? You ask because you want to know something and not because you want to insinuate or suggest something else. Do others seem to  see hidden criticism in this? 

Do other people seem to have a guidebook of rules for life that you don’t have?