Latest / Voices for Voices® / From Vertigo To Victory: Coping With Sensory Triggers And Anxiety | Episode 358

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From Vertigo To Victory: Coping With Sensory Triggers And Anxiety | Episode 358 · Voices for Voices®

• 0:02
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: Hey everyone, it's Justin with Voices for Voices.
• 0:06
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: Welcome to another episode of our show.
• 0:10
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• 0:29
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• 2:32
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• 2:43
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• 2:54
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• 2:56
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: Uh, so you're able to uh listen to our content on your smart device, smart speaker, smart TV, uh, that can also help you find our voices for voices TV show and podcast.
• 3:18
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: And you can find it on our YouTube page as well as our Rumble page.
• 3:26
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: We are uh growing uh as you've seen, as you've heard.
• 3:33
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: Uh so we've we've we've covered that in previous episodes.
• 3:37
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: Uh so we're going to forge our way forward uh a little bit.
• 3:45
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: Um and that's gonna start with way back when 2016, 2017.
• 4:01
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: Uh one of the symptoms that I was having was almost like vertigo, uh, where I you know would feel dizzy.
• 4:16
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: Uh a lot of it around lights at grocery stores, traffic lights, concert lights, you know, strobe lights and that TV, uh, you know, there's movement on the screen or screens.
• 4:40
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: Uh, that was really bothersome for me.
• 4:46
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: And in one way, I was able to augment that or augment um that I was able to help myself in situations like that.
• 5:02
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: Uh, there are uh I'm sure you've probably seen you know, blue block, blue light blocking uh glasses, and so they block that uh that that blue light that comes from screens that uh helps the screen keep our attention, and in some instances, you know, causes us to be more addicted to our screen than what's actually going on in the moment.
• 5:35
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: And and so feeling dizzy, feeling uh you know, like I'm gonna pass out, those were those are real things that I was dealing with.
• 5:48
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: And so I purchased, you know, a few inexpensive pairs of these blue blue light blocking glasses.
• 6:03
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: It doesn't block all the blue light, but it blocks a high percentage of it, or so that's what the gimmick is.
• 6:13
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: Fast forward to this year, 2025, uh, so we're just we're we're just about up on uh eight years from from the time that that occurrence was.
• 6:29
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: And recently I found myself where I didn't take blue light blocking glasses with me, and I was in a uh in a setting in a location where there were lights, where there were sounds.
• 6:56
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: If any of you have ever heard of like a planetarium where you can where you sit, you know, the screen is you're basically immersed in what is being shown.
• 7:20
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: So in a planetarium, you know, you're seeing stars, you're seeing galaxies, planets, and depending on what the actual uh what the actual I guess what's actually the the point of the the show of of you and I being at at the planetarium.
• 7:53
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: Uh you know, they could you could see like shooting stars, you could see maybe a fast forward of where planets where they're aligned, or uh where there's uh you know you know the solar eclipse, like uh all those things.
• 8:21
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: And so there's movement that's going on on the screen, and again, sometimes it is accompanied by music, sounds, and and so recently I found myself in a planetarium setting, and I didn't have I didn't I didn't bring my blue light blocking glasses, and and so again, there's movement going on in especially when you're in one of these planetarium or imax settings or you know 12k or or more, where again you're just feeling you're just totally in the scene of what's going on, and there's there's movement, and so I I had a I had a concern that that was going to bother me, and so you would you would think that I would have planned ahead to be sure that I had a pair of my blue light blocking glasses uh on so that the movements uh and in the light would not bother me very much, if if at all.
• 10:00
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: But I didn't so I'm a human, and so sometimes as a human, because none of us are perfect, we uh we actually um forget things, we know that we should bring things to help us, and it and and that was an area where I didn't, and so again, it was a big concern that I had it's like oh my gosh, I'm turning to the back the clock in my mind to 2015, 2016, early 2017, that I was gonna go through a spell at that point.
• 10:51
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: Uh not a hocus pocus spell, but uh go through a period of time where I was gonna experience kind of this uh this vertigo sensation of the moving, and I was gonna get just super dizzy, and uh that I was gonna have to leave leave that particular setting and location.
• 11:20
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: But I didn't, and I don't I don't I don't know what to really attribute all that to.
• 11:31
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: I mean, some of it could be some coping mechanisms, uh some of it could be medication therapy, uh getting more comfortable in settings like like the one that I I was in.
• 12:02
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: And so I don't I don't I don't know where to put my finger on and say, aha, if I do this, this, this, and this, then this thing.
• 12:17
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: So it's kind of called the like um you know, when if or if what if then so if I go to therapy, I won't experience this vertigo feeling when I'm in in those moments, something like that.
• 12:46
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: Um, but I don't know.
• 12:48
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: I I I can't put my finger on exactly what it is to be able to say, well, here's what I did.
• 12:57
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: Uh I mean, I am sharing what what I what I do with therapy and uh in medication and having you know that mental health team with me that uh kind of accompanies me.
• 13:17
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: Yeah, so I don't I don't I don't know.
• 13:21
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: I don't know if it's a magical number of years of therapy, a magical number of or a magic number of years taking a particular medication.
• 13:37
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: I don't I don't know.
• 13:40
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: But the reason I'm bringing this up is to hopefully in inspire to some degree that we can we can keep trying and maybe you're not ready.
• 14:06
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: Maybe I wasn't ready and maybe today was just a fluke, like it it it happened to be okay, or when I when I when I did that.
• 14:28
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: Uh but maybe the next time maybe it's totally different.
• 14:33
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: I don't know.
• 14:34
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: Maybe it's where the seat was positioned, the angle that I was looking at, the volume of the different sounds.
• 14:49
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: I don't I don't know.
• 14:52
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: So I can't take it for granted that oh well this time everything was good because again the next time it might not be.
• 15:14
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: And that's been a big fear of mine of staying away from concerts uh because of the use of the different lights, the strobe lights, and obviously if you're at live a live music show, live concert, you know, where there's first people really singing, even if they're not, there's maybe backing tracks.
• 15:53
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: Uh if there's people playing, you know, guitars or drums or the bass or piano, uh harp, you name it, uh all those things can can affect us differently.
• 16:15
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: And and and so I don't I don't want to take that for granted that because this this one opportunity that I had worked out because trust me, I I was in my mind kind of turning back the clock.
• 16:42
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: Like, okay, Justin, what's gonna happen?
• 16:52
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: Are we gonna end up where we're gonna have to leave abruptly?
• 16:57
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: Or is it gonna be okay?
• 17:04
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: Or am I gonna be able to make it halfway through and then and and and then the sensations are gonna over overcome and overtake me?
• 17:23
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: Um I don't know.
• 17:26
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: But I do know is if I didn't try it, I wouldn't know.
• 17:33
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: And so maybe there's something that you've been wanting to do, play an instrument, sing, hum to a song that you like.
• 17:51
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: Um write a letter, draw a picture, write a song.
• 18:02
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: I I don't know that that's for you to that's for you to decide.
• 18:11
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: And I'm just here to say from time to time things may be a little bit different.
• 18:24
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: We're gonna handle ourselves maybe better or a little bit of a confused way the next time or the time after that.
• 18:44
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: And so we should if we're up to it, so I don't I don't want you to do something if you're very scared and uh fearful, don't don't do it.
• 19:01
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: Don't push yourself.
• 19:03
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: If you want to try, try for a short amount of time.
• 19:17
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: Who cares if you're not there the whole time?
• 19:21
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: You don't have to explain it to anybody.
• 19:25
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: Maybe it'll work out or you'll be able to be there or do the whole do the thing all the way through, or maybe not.
• 19:38
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: That's okay.
• 19:41
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: So, what are some things that I can recommend if you know we're talking about like attending, I don't know, attending a movie, uh planetarium experience, a concert.
• 19:57
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: One one thing that I like to do, if possible, is to have an end seat.
• 20:09
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: So, right, let's just say there's five seats and they're name named, they're numbered one, two, three, four, five.
• 20:20
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: And then there's a row in front, and there's five seats.
• 20:26
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: One, two, three, four, five, and behind us, there's five seats.
• 20:32
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: One, two, three, four, five.
• 20:34
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: So seat numbers one would be an aisle seat, and seat number five in this hypothetical would be a numbered seat.
• 20:49
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: And so even up till now, that's one thing that I I I look for, if possible.
• 21:02
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: Sometimes it's not possible, sometimes it is.
• 21:08
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: If it is possible, I kind of scope that out.
• 21:17
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: Or if I need help, I'll ask somebody.
• 21:23
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: Sometimes you go to these planetariums and and some of these concerts, so there's not a whole lot of light.
• 21:33
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: So you know, asking an usher or somebody to help you, or when you're maybe buying tickets and purchasing whoever's helping you, or if you're doing it yourself, you're able to see where the aisle seats are.
• 21:54
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: And that way, if you have to get up for any reason, it's less of a distraction.
• 22:01
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: You don't have to worry about it.
• 22:03
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: You don't have to worry about, anyways.
• 22:06
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: But this just makes it a little easier for you and I to get up and go out if we need to get a get some fresh air.
• 22:17
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: If we have to stay out in the lobby, the hallway for the remainder of whatever we're there for, so be it.
• 22:27
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: There'll be another chance, another time.
• 22:32
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: And you can also sit on an aisle towards the back, too.
• 22:44
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: So then that makes the distraction of all these people are looking at me and they're gonna see me, and they're gonna they're gonna know exactly that my anxiety or whatever we're we're thinking.
• 23:03
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: Don't worry about that.
• 23:05
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: It's easier said than done.
• 23:08
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: I know, trust me, been there, done that, and I still gotta I still gotta work through it.
• 23:17
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: But people get up for for a variety of reasons, and so I'm I'm I'm just sharing a couple things I do that in case I need to get up and get out of that situation.
• 23:48
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: Not that it's dangerous, just that it's affecting affecting us.
• 23:54
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: Um we just don't feel comfortable with getting dizzy, it's too loud, it it's just uncomfortable.
• 24:07
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: It's okay.
• 24:09
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: So look for an aisles seat if you're buying tickets at home.
• 24:18
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: If it's a general mission type of setting where there's no reserve seats, maybe maybe arrive a little bit earlier than when it lists when the doors open to the venue.
• 24:41
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: So let's say the doors open at 6 p.m.
• 24:45
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: Maybe we get there at 5 30 or 5 15.
• 24:53
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: I don't know, you just have to judge on what you're what you're going to and what you're how many people are going to be there.
• 25:00
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: And so you need to judge a little bit on that because right, you have to judge you have to look you have to look at the traffic and how many other people is this venue hold a hundred thousand people or a hundred people, those types of things will let you will give you a little bit of an idea.
• 25:20
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: Um, and then you can go to map quest or any number of apps that'll it'll tell you how long of a of a uh commute, whether you're driving in a car, whether it's by train, whether it's by airplane.
• 25:40
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: Um by airplane, you can always request an ILC in case you have anxiety like I do.
• 25:56
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: And if you have to go to the bathroom, and you don't want to be like me, and if it's a longer flight, and I have to wake the people up next to me to get through to go to the bathroom, one way to kind of alleviate that a little bit is to have an aisle seat, seems very minor, it really does.
• 26:25
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: Seems like something so very small, but you'd be surprised on how big that helps.
• 26:36
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: So for me, if I'm able to have have an ILC and I have my blue light blocking glasses, and maybe a hat on that will block some of the light, right?
• 26:53
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: Because if you're you're at an event, maybe there's some different colored lights above, like if you're going to a concert for a band, you know, and then the lights change colors and they move, and and so that's also a thing you could do that I've done.
• 27:19
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: A hat, whatever makes you comfortable.
• 27:31
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: You know, gone are the days where I mean people are gonna judge no matter what.
• 27:42
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: People are gonna gossip no matter what.
• 27:46
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: So whether it bothers them or not, they're gonna gossip it just the way it is.
• 27:58
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: So why not be more concerned about yourself and myself and putting ourselves in safe positions and places where if we do have to get up and move around, it makes it a lot easier.
• 28:21
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: Because again, we're not gonna be we're not gonna be able to stop every single person from chit-chatting.
• 28:33
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: That's just the human-raced human beings, we're social beings.
• 28:41
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: Um people are they're gonna just naturally chit-chat and talk and gossip.
• 28:51
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: So try try the best that you can to not let that bother you.
• 28:59
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: Still bothers me.
• 29:01
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: Don't get me wrong.
• 29:03
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: I I number one, I'm not perfect.
• 29:08
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: Number two, I'm no, I'm nowhere close to mastering this.
• 29:13
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: These are just things that I try I I try.
• 29:18
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: Sometimes they work, sometimes they don't, sometimes a little bit, sometimes not a little bit.
• 29:26
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: Maybe watch a show on if you're able to on TV or listen to to the music to get an idea of what instruments are gonna be played.
• 29:59
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: and how loud the the the music's gonna be played just to familiarize yourself a little bit ahead of time again these are all little things but they're little things that have the potential to really help and again as somebody has mental illnesses and uh these situations do bother me sometimes a lot even if I plan every little thing that I can sometimes it still bothers me and it still makes me uncomfortable and that's okay the more we're okay with ourselves and we're we're just confident that if I need to go to an exit I know where the exit's at I need to go to the bathroom I know where it's at if I need help my guardian my parent teacher that I know where they're at so I if I need to get their attention I can get their attention and then have an idea of where the bathroom is at um where the exit door is exit doors are just good to know no matter what where those are at in case there's an emergency but even more so if your anxiety is like mine is because when if you're like me and you go through anxiety and a panic attack our minds don't really work very well when we're going through those panic attacks suddenly when we're in the moment of a panic attack people say go to the exit or you know go if you got to go to the bathroom or get fresh air you go over here that's why it's important to to practice while we're not anxious while we're not so uh yeah we're not so anxious and in a panic attack so that if we are in a panic attack we know exactly like even if our minds only working at kind of half capacity which is may mean that 50% of it is just taken care of the panic attack but that other 50% may go oh yeah it's to the left so let me look to the left and let me look for the exit sign and and go that direction so these these tips that I'm sharing they're not rocket signs you can probably find a book on everything I've I've shared for me to share like actual real things that happen to a real person myself and they continue to happen sometimes it still overwhelms me and I have panic attacks that very much overwhelm me and yet there's sometimes that they don't so find what works for you if you have to write it down write it down put it on a note card put in your phone put it on a sticky note put it in your purse put it in your wallet start there so thank you for joining us on this episode give us a big thumbs up smash that subscribe button share follow uh give us a comment reach out let us know what you like let us know how we can improve let us know if you'd like to be a guest on a future episode of the show and let's celebrate the voices in all of us until next time this is Justin Voices for Voices and like always be a voice for you or somebody in need we'll see you next time