

{"id":28960,"date":"2018-10-25T09:33:27","date_gmt":"2018-10-25T09:33:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.marriage.com\/advice\/?p=28960"},"modified":"2025-11-26T11:05:43","modified_gmt":"2025-11-26T11:05:43","slug":"spouse-suffering-from-sensory-processing-disorder","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.marriage.com\/advice\/relationship\/spouse-suffering-from-sensory-processing-disorder\/","title":{"rendered":"Managing the Spouse Suffering from Sensory Processing Disorder"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-49595 size-full\" title=\"Managing the Spouse Suffering from Sensory Processing Disorder\" src=\"https:\/\/image.marriage.com\/advice\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/managing-the-spouse-suffering-from-sensory-processing-disorder.jpg\" alt=\"Young Women Seizing ILL\" width=\"804\" height=\"350\"><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Does your partner find ways to &ldquo;ruin&rdquo; important events?<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Do they complain about the brightness of the lights in the local movie theatre, the uncomfortable texture of your bedsheets, the annoying and unpleasant scent of your perfume, and the sweat on their neck, which prevents them from going to the gym?<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It may seem that they are purposefully trying to create drama and take pleasure in negatively experiencing events that should be enjoyable and pleasing. <\/span><\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You may hear that they can&rsquo;t go to a baseball game because the seats are too cold, the crowds too loud, and the smell of beer too pungent. You may find that you often argue about this and resent including them in experiences that are pleasurable and meaningful for you.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You may feel lonely and frustrated by their lack of ability to meet your needs or share in the things that seem normal and exciting to most people.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When confronted, your spouse may seem defensive and unable to articulate why these experiences are so overwhelming for them and instead externalize blame; to the ballpark owner for not having comfortable chairs, to the airlines for not reducing noise and air quality on the plane or even to the restaurant owner for not knowing how to appropriately dim the lights.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If these challenges occur on a regular basis, your spouse may have Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD). <\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For adults with SPD, small and sometimes not so small irritants feel unbearable and intolerable.<\/span><\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-28967 size-full\" title=\"For adults with SPD, small irritants sometimes feel unbearable and intolerable.\" src=\"https:\/\/image.marriage.com\/advice\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/For-adults-with-SPD-small-irritants-sometimes-feel-unbearable-and-intolerable..jpg\" alt=\"For adults with SPD, small irritants sometimes feel unbearable and intolerable.\" width=\"804\" height=\"350\"><\/p>\n<p>It makes it difficult to enjoy everyday things, like the smell of a new TV, the scratchiness of a beautiful new sweater, or even the sound of a high-speed train headed to Paris.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sensory Processing Disorder is a challenging neurological condition which impairs one&rsquo;s ability to process sensory information efficiently. <\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">SPD affects how the brain absorbs information from our body&rsquo;s receptors; our skin, joints, eyes, ears, nose. <\/span><\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">People with SPD experience over-reactive processing, which can amplify the senses and create over-sensitivity to stimuli, resulting in sensory overload. To a person without SPD, a train is loud but tolerable, but to a person with SPD, that sound can be stifling, intolerable and even painful, creating anger and avoidance.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>Common triggers for someone with SPD include:<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul><li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Scratchy labels and clothes<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Unwashed hair<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sweating Spicy or bitter foods (think blue cheese)<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Strong odors&nbsp;<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Loud noises<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Textured food<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">High-wattage lights<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Intense sunshine or heat<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Loud music<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Dark tunnels<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Crowded elevators<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Condos or apartments with loud neighbors<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">These disruptions and escalations often make relationships highly conflictual and\/or create detachment and greater separation. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If you think your spouse has Sensory Processing Disorder, it is important to seek medical\/psychological help.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.marriage.com\/experts\/jenni-jacobsen\">Dr. Jennifer Schulz<\/a>, PhD in Psychology, states, <\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sensory processing disorder tends to occur alongside other conditions, such as ADHD, autism spectrum disorder, or obsessive-compulsive disorder. This means that seeking treatment can help your partner get to the root of the problem, leading to a higher quality of life.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Physicians, occupational therapists, and psychotherapists trained in assessing for PSD can help. Once a diagnosis is made, working through the challenges of being married to a partner with SPD can begin. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Know that there are many effective strategies to manage SPD and that your relationship can improve with an accurate diagnosis and targeted treatment.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.marriage.com\/experts\/jenni-jacobsen\">Dr. Schulz<\/a> offers, <\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Your partner may benefit from therapy to help them cope with co-occurring symptoms like anxiety, and couples counseling can help you learn tools to manage the symptoms together.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false,"raw":""},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Does your partner find ways to &ldquo;ruin&rdquo; important events? Do they complain about the brightness of the lights in the local movie theatre, the uncomfortable texture of your bedsheets, the annoying and unpleasant scent of your perfume, and the sweat on their neck, which prevents them from going to the gym? It may seem that they are purposefully trying to create drama and take pleasure in negatively experiencing events that should be enjoyable and pleasing. You may hear that they can&rsquo;t go to a baseball game because the seats are too cold, the crowds too loud, and the smell of <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":497,"featured_media":49595,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[2502],"tags":[2609],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.marriage.com\/advice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28960"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.marriage.com\/advice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.marriage.com\/advice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.marriage.com\/advice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/497"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.marriage.com\/advice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=28960"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.marriage.com\/advice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28960\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":114307,"href":"https:\/\/www.marriage.com\/advice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28960\/revisions\/114307"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.marriage.com\/advice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/49595"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.marriage.com\/advice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28960"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.marriage.com\/advice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28960"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.marriage.com\/advice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28960"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}