Article image

12 Quotes for When You’re Feeling Overstimulated

Bright lights. Strong perfumes. Intense music or loud conversations. Any of these, or any combination of them, can make us feel overstimulated.

But what does overstimulation look like? We might become irritable or restless, lose our focus, or sleep less. Though overstimulation is a symptom of several different conditions, any of us can experience it in passing in everyday life. In fact, one 2022 study of Americans showed a stunning 82% of respondents had experienced at least one kind of sensory overload in their lives.

As William Wordsworth wrote in an 1807 poem, sometimes it just feels as though “the world is too much with us.” And when we find ourselves overloaded, we might feel lost or ready to lash out. But there are ways to counter the excessive stimulation.

For someone sensitive to sounds, for example, using noise-canceling headphones or finding a quieter space may help; if texture is a problem, trying clothes in different fabrics could do the trick. Getting proper rest and hydration and making ourselves comfortable with asking for adjustments when we can are also crucial to avoid that point of overflow.

But most of all, it’s important to remember that feeling overstimulated isn’t a shortcoming or a weakness. Feeling a lot is a very normal reaction to our loud, bright, intense world. So, if you’re feeling overstimulated or if you’ve ever experienced that overwhelming sensation, we hope these quotes will help you feel less alone.

Life [is] messy and complicated when you [are] in the middle of it, while [it’s] rushing toward you from all angles, close-up and in full color.
Terry Miles

Share Quote

If I'm overwhelmed, I slow down. It's more effective.
Kirsten Gillibrand

Share Quote

[Life] can be overwhelming and magnificent — therein is all its tragedy. Without beauty, love and danger, it would be almost easy to live.
Albert Camus

Share Quote

Almost everything will work again if you unplug it for a few minutes, including you.
Anne Lamott

Share Quote

And now have I not told you that what you mistake for madness is but over-acuteness of the senses?
Edgar Allan Poe

Share Quote

Find your balance between the world’s noise and your voice — between the clatter and clamor of everyday life and the peace and quiet of your own place (wherever that may be).
Emily Graybill

Share Quote

The world is a loud talker but a very poor thinker … It does not understand that solitude is the home of great thoughts and aspirations.
Abram Joseph Ryan

Share Quote

When feelings go on overload, / I pause and breathe / And all is … slowed.
Jolene Gutiérrez

Share Quote

I can’t stand chaos. I hate loud environments. Art makes me cry. Bright lights hurt my eyes. No, I am not a frigid, unsociable, boring buzzkill … I’m a textbook example of a highly sensitive person.
Anne Marie Crosthwaite

Share Quote

I do not understand people who like to make noise; consequently I fear them … It is a vicious emotional cycle.
Patricia Highsmith

Share Quote

It's all too much for me to see / … / The more I learn, the less I know / But what I do is all too much.
George Harrison

Share Quote

If you feel too much, there’s still a place for you here. If you feel too much, don’t go. If this world is too painful, stop and rest. It’s OK to stop and rest. If you need a break, it’s OK to say you need a break.
Jamie Tworkowski

Share Quote

Featured image credit: Sophie Bassouls/ Sygma via Getty Images

Author image
About the Author
Paola Bennet
Paola Bennet is a writer based in Brooklyn, NY. She writes a fortnightly newsletter that treasures the mundane, called Small Histories. Find her on Instagram @paolafbennet.
Play more header background
Play more icon
Daily Question
Fill in the blank: "Ultimately, ___ is trying to see things that other people don't see." - Trevor Paglen

More Inspiration

happiness theme icon

Travel is the traveler. What we see isn't what we see but what we are.

separator icon
Fernando Pessoa
motivation theme icon

There is no gate, no lock, no bolt that you can set upon the freedom of my mind.

separator icon
Virginia Woolf
hope theme icon

The shoe that fits one person pinches another; there is no recipe for living that suits all cases.

separator icon
Carl Jung
love theme icon

Optimism is a happiness magnet.

separator icon
Mary Lou Retton
wisdom theme icon

Art is a spiritual function of man, which aims at freeing him from life's chaos.

separator icon
Kurt Schwitters
happiness theme icon

To have courage for whatever comes in life — everything lies in that.

separator icon
Teresa of Ávila
motivation theme icon

Inaction breeds doubt and fear. Action breeds confidence and courage.

separator icon
Dale Carnegie
hope theme icon

"Enough" is a feast.

separator icon
Buddhist proverb
love theme icon

If you are distressed by anything external, the pain is not due to the thing itself, but to your estimate of it.

separator icon
Marcus Aurelius
wisdom theme icon

The most common way people give up their power is by thinking they don't have any.

separator icon
Alice Walker
happiness theme icon

We turn not older with years, but newer every day.

separator icon
Emily Dickinson