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I’ve been a massage therapist for almost 30 years. So, my brain has actually allocated more real estate towards the sense of touch! I have a few mental health challenges for which touch is often the main thing that can help calm me, and doing things with my hands can also help me to focus. So, yep, touch is my jam.
Edit: I’m not sure if that is a personality type, or some other kind of “type”.
 
I think you are correct but the reasonings could be slightly different. I think that there are a ton of us who use the soap bar directly on their skin and do not use a washcloth. I do. That is why I like silk in soap and am always noting the glide against my skin. I used to think I was odd but when selling I am always surprised at how many of my customers do the same.
 
My eyes work well enough, but touch is my way of really seeing. I'm always reaching out to touch things or run my hands over them. Can't pass a feather plant without brushing my hands across it. Any time I go to a museum, I end up being followed by the security guys because I can't "see" a sculpture without running my hands over it.
 
:eek: you monster! 🤣
🤣 🤣 🤣 🤣

On weighted blankets. So fantastic. I must have something heavy on me when I sleep. But, I think this is more of a childhood nurture thing as my grandmother, who raised me my first 3+years, always covered my top and mid-sections with a really heavy quilt she'd made. I remember I could hardly move under the thing. When I'd visit later and through adulthood she'd go and dig out a different but oddly heavy blanket for me. I can't describe the weight of this thing. You were glad when you got to the bed and were able to plop it down. I don't think weighted blankets were a thing in the 60s and 70s, but sleep at Grandma's was always so delicious.
 
@lucycat that makes so much sense! I definitely love smooth things, and will unconsciously stroke my smooth fingernails if they've recently been buffed (don't do polish due to the smell).

@Tara_H big YES to the weighted blanket!! My daughter got one about a year ago, and now it is on my wish list. :)
 
I go crazy with wood on moist hands. Also paper. If I take a shower or bath I CANNOT touch paper or wood chopping boards until I am fully un-damp
 
Yes, but I'm also undiagnosed on the spectrum and have diagnosed PTSD, so I have a lot of sensory issues to begin with. I can't do noisy crowds without a lot of preparation (lots of alone and silent time before and after the event), I have spacial issues (not a hugger unless it's my hubs, and most of the time I spend hugging him is because I'm pulling energy from him to refuel myself), I can't do heavy bass - there's a car with a souped up sound system that drives by my office every day, when it comes by I very literally can't breathe and curl up into a ball, clothing is a struggle... there's a funky material I'm not even sure what it is but it seems to be common in many women's blouses, it's super smooth, stiff, and "crinkly", I liken it to the decorative crepe paper, and I can't stand wearing it. "swishy" pants drive me nuts even if other people are wearing them - I think it's the sound they make. Socks. I only wear them with shoes or if my feet are extremely cold. My daughter does this too, although for her it's more a "that's what mom does too" thing. There's almost always a pile [of socks] by the back door where we come in from work/school that haven't made it to the hamper yet. My hair is long, but I rarely wear it down because I can't stand the way it feels on my face. I have large tattoos on my lower arms because I couldn't stand having my arms "bare" when wearing short sleeves - I'm working on my lower legs so maybe I can wear something other than capris during the summer without feeling naked.
 
Like some other members here, I enjoy making different things (I have been making jewelry for years, and mosaics...and experimented with concrete, ceramic, drawing/painting, sewing, candle-making) and considered myself very visual. However my sense of smell is what allured me into soap-making.
When it comes to things touching your skin: I can’t stand wool on my skin! I feel itchy just looking at a picture of someone wearing a wool sweater on naked skin! And I have a displeasure towards thighs: it’s one of the reasons I avoid wearing skirts in Winter.
 
I can't do heavy bass
Argh, can totally relate to this one - most parades are a problem, and worst was notting hill carnival, I could feel all of the music from the floats through my chest and I felt like I was going to throw up or pass out... Kind of ruined the day but I couldn't get past the sensation.
 
So there we were...and we heard the tell-tale "bump. bump." that makes both of us feel ill much like @Tara_H. I didn't want to look up (hubs has a PriusC, so everything is "up" LOL), but I had to. It was a group of teens jivin' and boppin' and lookin' around at everyone like they were cool (as we've all done)...In.A.Mini.Van. I blurted out, "Dudes! You're in a mini-van!" and we both busted out laughing so hard there wasn't any laughter sounds. 🤣 🤣 🤣 🤣
 
This is a fascinating thread! I'm getting to know pretty intimate details here about my homies! I have never really thought of myself being tactile but I love to play piano, I love digging in dirt, and my wife says my love language is touch. I also will say that even after several years of soaping and obsessively washing my hands because of 'rona, it is a simple pleasure every time I wash my hands with my soap (not bragging). I'll have to think more about this. Oh! I LOVE having a real skin-tight stocking cap on!

Scent to me is powerful. I can smell something and get transported back in time to specific places and times.

I have tinnitus (playing only the cicada song on an endless loop) that has drastically worsened in recent months. In bed, what helps me is to focus on a sound like the ceiling fan hum which helps me a great deal. That hum is saving me. I've also been doing more centering mini-meditation things throughout the day and I try to listen for the sound furthest away from me.

My boys are grown men now. Our first born was a dream and my wife and I felt like incredible parents and knew exactly what we were doing. Then came our youngest, Noah (they are 23 months apart). First the colic when I thought why are there not headlines like "Baby actually survives the night and was not thrown out the window despite his parents' complete and utter breakdowns." Sorry, that's really dark humor but man, those were some dark nights.

For Noah, clothes were too itchy, certain foods were too itchy, everything was itchy itchy itchy. We got a book about sensitive children that was a game changer. Our parenting techniques that de-escalated Levi escalated Noah (like hugging and pulling him onto our laps). Once we figured out to give Noah space and time alone to recharge, he had a complete turnaround. And once he learned English, he could choose and articulate his clothing preferences.
 
My eyes work well enough, but touch is my way of really seeing. I'm always reaching out to touch things or run my hands over them. Can't pass a feather plant without brushing my hands across it. Any time I go to a museum, I end up being followed by the security guys because I can't "see" a sculpture without running my hands over it.
I'm with you. My husband laughs any time we go through a store and turns around to find me petting something... a towel, a curtain, a scarf, a rug. And he always says "I just knew you were going to touch that"

Any of my cotton loathing buddies notice that cotton has a squeak to it? I make my kids pull the cotton balls out of medicine bottles and If I get a gift with styrofoam in the box, I leave the room and they remove it from the box. So not only tactilly but auditory as well.
I agree with you it's not just the feel but the sound!!!

I think you are correct but the reasonings could be slightly different. I think that there are a ton of us who use the soap bar directly on their skin and do not use a washcloth. I do. That is why I like silk in soap and am always noting the glide against my skin. I used to think I was odd but when selling I am always surprised at how many of my customers do the same.
Forgive my ignorance here. But soap with actual silk in it? Like fibers?
 
This is blowing me away! Comparing cotton fabric and microfibers to fingernails on a chalkboard?! Fascinating.
I get audio overwhelmed. Like why must there be a screen absolutely everywhere? I'm at the gas station and there's a screen playing at the same time someone next to me has a different screen playing and the other guy is watching a tv show on his device. Erg!! Bars with many varied screens -- especially in airports -- just make me want to crawl into the floor (bars are, ahem, for medicinal purposes only. Fear of flying is a whole other thread).
 
This is blowing me away! Comparing cotton fabric and microfibers to fingernails on a chalkboard?! Fascinating.
I get audio overwhelmed. Like why must there be a screen absolutely everywhere? I'm at the gas station and there's a screen playing at the same time someone next to me has a different screen playing and the other guy is watching a tv show on his device. Erg!! Bars with many varied screens -- especially in airports -- just make me want to crawl into the floor (bars are, ahem, for medicinal purposes only. Fear of flying is a whole other thread).
Fear of flying, yep, sounds like a good thread. Did I mention I am the queen of phobias and quirkiness?
 
Crowds. I get claustrophobic. I have to prepare prior to entering, which was a right pain living in DC because that place is just one big crowd fest. It doesn't have to be a big crowd. Just closeness of any number of people for which I'm not prepared. They put me in as hooker in rugby once. This is a position where during certain phases of play you're not only in the middle and surrounded by more than half of all players on the field, you're what's called "bound in". Hard to explain but this is when everyone wraps their arms around the waist or shoulder of the person next to them and then grabs a handful of the other person's shorts or shirt. Ain't nobody going nowhere. I thought I was prepared. I was not. I literally screamed like a girl. The first and only time I ever screamed and the first and only time I played hooker in a game. So much breathing and touching and squeezing and crushing and grunting, and all you can see is grass and boots and disheveled hair and the sweat and blood dripping off everyone, and on and on. EEEWWWWEEEEE.
See front row. The hookers are the middle person in each front row of three people.
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Here's a good shot of a women's team. Hooker is just to the left of the gal who looks as though she's raised above everyone else. Some things wrong will be noticed by a rugby player, but, ANYWHO, even if you've never played rugby, I think you get the idea. Butts and ponytails people, butts and ponytails. LOLOL ETA: This is not meant as a crass statement. Our coach would say this as we took to play to remind us of the proper safe and power position for contact: Rear-end up and head down. Sorry if this offends anyone.
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Tactile...yeah...I'm infamous for not feeling or noticing injuries. I assured hubs I would take it easy my first few practices after ACL surgery. I came home from the first practice and hubs says, "Is that blood?!" I looked down and without thinking I said, "Oh. Yeah, but it's OK, it's not mine." He was NOT impressed. 🤣🤣

@Zing - I feel for you and can minimally relate. Had a friend with tinnitus and it seems just awful. I don't have tinnitus, but from childhood I've always had what I call "hearing my brain hum". It's a really high pitched whine, like the electric hum of the old television sets, that's ever present. I'd liken it to what I've heard described as the ringing in your ears after a noggin' knockin'. Sometimes it gets really loud but thankfully it usually only bothers me when everything is stone silent. Even with this constant hum, USAF hearing test was all zeros except for two 2s (in the bass range of course!). Zero means your hearing is better than can be tested. I hear freakin' everything. Everything. Hubs pours a soda while I'm downstairs and when I come back upstairs I'm walking around trying to find "that noise", which is his soda fizzing. Poke.my.ears.out.
 
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This is blowing me away! Comparing cotton fabric and microfibers to fingernails on a chalkboard?! Fascinating.
I get audio overwhelmed. Like why must there be a screen absolutely everywhere? I'm at the gas station and there's a screen playing at the same time someone next to me has a different screen playing and the other guy is watching a tv show on his device. Erg!! Bars with many varied screens -- especially in airports -- just make me want to crawl into the floor (bars are, ahem, for medicinal purposes only. Fear of flying is a whole other thread).
YES! Those stupid talking and rolling menus at fast food joints! Why? How does this work? And, yes, I'm always looking for the silly "off" switch at the talking gas pumps. It must be there somewhere! Why do I need to hear something playing everywhere I go? Muzac does NOT enhance my shopping experience. LOLOL
 

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