The grocery store makes me insane!
 

The lights, the shine reflecting off of surfaces, the perfumes, the chatter of little children, and mothers who are not watching them. The bright colors of the packages, the people pushing into you so they can get to whatever item is behind you (doesnt matter where you stand, someone wants to tuck up next to you.) the coupon sorting, and remembering the list in your head.....AAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!! I swear I have such melt downs in the grocery store.

Standing in the middle of the shampoo isle the hubby says "do we need veggies?" Um.....no idea! Blank look on my face, clearly the lights were on but no one was home. DH said "i will get them, just stand here. I will be right back." by the time he came back I was a tiny bit better, but clearly struggling.

Am I going insane? Why cant I shop? Shopping used to be a pleasure. I used to think of all the recipes I would make and try, and think of others that I could adjust. I was a champion at coupons, and knew how to match the sale price to the coupon price, and bla blah....now....I cant figure out how many ounces I need of this product to qualify for the coupon, even tho it says it right there!

I froze, standing near tears clearly lost, ready to start shouting "GET AWAY FROM ME!" to folks that passed by too closely. They are going to lock me up some day.

anyone else get this way? Do I need to go be checked into an insane hospital?

Deijbo-

Yep, there is a definite "grocery store affect." The lights and the cans of soup and the canned music all together plus the walking, even w a cart, on days when I am vulnerable to this, will put me in my bed.

Hang on girl. Get delivery if you can until you are sure you can take it. It is a negative for some of us at least some of the time.

ANN

Before Paxil, Yes. After, enjoyed shopping more. I would have panic attacks and have to leave at once, leaving my sometimes full cart at the door..:eek:

Since I no longer drive I'm limited as to when I can go to the store. If I use a taxi service, which I have a few times, I can go early in the day and it's not too crowded. But......it's way too expensive for me to use it too often. I usually wait for one of my boys to take me.

Sunday morning is the best time.....like between 8-9 AM. I do get easily overwhelmed and can't do too much at once. Like keep track of my coupons, list, recipes......I just can't anymore. I give all my coupons to my son and his girlfriend. They're thrilled to have them. I hardly cook anymore so most of my purchases are frozen foods and fruit.

The lights and piped in music are annoying so I really try to have my list prepared and don't linger looking at stuff. I try to get what I need and get out.

I just cannot do Saturday or Sunday afternoon there anymore. Too many kids and people rushing around. I love kids and have two of my own but I always made them behave and act like human beings......not crazed monkeys at feeding time at the zoo! :eek: Honestly, what are people doing?? :eek:

I'd love it if the grocery store would have delivery. I'd use it exclusively. How do we get them to offer it?

Kitty,

Well, for a start, you could tell them in an email that you want delivery. Maybe they have plans or a sister store that delivers.

ANN

I've heard this referred to as "Walmart Syndrome"--too much going on at once, the sights and sounds and commotion. That happens to me after church, in grocery stores, etc.

I could NEVER shop without a list these days. I used to write some general things, such as "something for dinner" or "dessert for Saturday" or even "lunch meat". No more. Now I have to decide ahead and write it down. I just can't do that thought process amongst all the confusion and activity.

One grocery store bothers me more than the other; I'm not sure why. It isn't busier necessarily, so it must be the lights, the sounds...?? I avoid that store unless I only need three or four items.

The last time I went to a potluck dinner at church, everybody was talking at once, kids were running around (being good, but being kids)...I was like Bambi in the headlights. I realized somebody had just asked me a question, and I couldn't frame a response...the best I could do was think, "I'm supposed to do something now..."

That was my last potluck dinner, and I LOVE potlucks after church. Nuts.

I go to the grocery store website to print out my shopping list from the weekly ad. Saturday mornings before 10 are most easy for me. I used to like late night but afraid to drive in dark. Used to shop on lunch hour but fatigue put a stop to that. Grocery shopping was something I didn't mind but now I would rather go hungry than wind up face down in aisle 7. They do not deliver to home or office. I've tried and refuse to use an expensive service like Seattle Sutton. My kitchen looks like I should be on Doomsday Preppers. I live alone but I have a deep freezer.

I went to see Godspell Saturday night, and overall I really enjoyed the music and the play. But I thought I was going to lose it for the first five minutes. They had the whole cast walk out individually, and they all started talking about different things. Chaos! I guess that was the point that none of us are listening to each other. I took some deep breaths and closed my eyes and was okay. But I really understand the sensory overload thing. I still go to movies, but sometimes the sound effects and music are overwhelming. I stay away from malls, and just go to a few individual stores that are accessed from the outside. I stay from Wal Mart as much as possible.

No wonder everyone who frequents Walmart dresses/undresses funny. They are all nuts and are there to drive us nuts!!!:Crazy 2: :Help:

It's a conspiracy I tell Ya..

That's the one thing I love about Walmart......I could show up in my pajamas and running shoes and nobody would give me a second look!! :D:o:p

Oh but they do. Have you ever seen those pictures of WalMart customers? They go around the Internet. Oh my. :eek: They truly are something else. It makes you not want to touch your computer to get to the next picture. No kidding. I can't believe people come to the store like that.

That doesn't mean that you have to be all dolled up. I'm talking about some really raunchy people on there. Awful. :icon_rolleyes: :vomit2:

:yikes: I've seen more than one of these going around the net.

Would it help if you wore sunglasses and earplugs to cancel out some of the sights and sounds? :hug:

I was talking to one of my friends I used to work with today. She told me that her father wears one of those bluetooth ear pieces so it appears he's talking on the phone. He's not.......he's just "voicing" his frustrations with all the people in the store that are in his way, not moving quick enough, moving too quickly, etc........ :p He says nobody listens to him because they assume he's talking to someone on the phone....and he can tell people what he really thinks because nobody thinks he's talking to them! ;):D

BTW.....he's 81 years old! :cool:

No worries, Kitt!! I haven't set foot in a WalMart in years! ;)

Has anyone been to a store and rode one of those electric carts? Or maybe used a wheelchair? I have as I use the electric cart all the time. I can't walk that far around a store.

At any rate, what I'm getting at is how people think you can't hear, see or talk. :deadhorse: When they do acknowledge you, they talk down to you. It is so frustrating. :( And then to try and get anything from a shelf that is farther up. My husband has to help do that. The carts aren't that comfortable but at least I can get around the store. I never was one to shop and look for hours like my Mom. I am more like my Dad was. Get in, get what you want and get out. :ROTFLMAO:

I walk around sometimes with my hiking pole. I've never encountered a rude person, because of it, and in fact everyone is very polite and helpful to me. The only place with poor help is Costco IMO. I struggled with a very heavy thing once there and employees walked past me like I was invisible.

Also I don't see strange people in WalMart. The most unusual thing I did see was in a rural WalMart upNorth, where people from long distances come to, including Canada.
One day there was a woman with an impaired teenager, who screamed endlessly like he was injured or whatever. He had some neuro disease I guess, this alarmed the shoppers to the extent, that management had to ask them to leave. We heard him thru the whole store! It was alarming and intense.

Back when Kmart, started, there used to be jokes about the patrons there, but I haven't seen that in a LONG time.

I worked with the public for 40+ yrs... I've had some doozies.
I think it depends on where the store is located as to the customer base. One Kmart I went to had a disturbed person who
visited there daily and smeared feces all over the bathroom. I walked in and WHEW.... backed right out, and went to the courtesy desk... they shrugged and called for clean up and wanted to know if I saw who did it... as they were trying to catch the culprit, and said it happened EVERY day.

I have far more Kmart stories than WalMart! :rolleyes:

I will say... that the most unusual people I have seen recently... were at IKEA. I had to sit out some of the shopping on a bench there recently while my son was zorching around looking for lighting ideas for his house. I was just spent, after doing the kitchen department, and found a rare bench to sit on. I think my spirit guides actually put it there for me, because IKEA is just a painful place for me to visit, but I am drawn to it anyway...LOL Anyway I sat there and watched the people. It was a busy Sunday afternoon. IKEA here is a "destination" store, people coming from long distances. Most of them were just eclectic types, but I was very surprised at women wearing the new 6in high heels and tight jeans... shopping with toddlers and a hubby! MAN that looked so painful to me! My poor feet were hurting in sympathy! LOL

:grouphug: You all made me feel better. thank you. :hug:

My wal-mart could easily be in one of those videos. We live in the back boonies and on the vermont border and whoa! I cant believe my eyes! The one good thing is that if I am breaking into tears in the electronics department no one gives me a second glance. They just let me go.

There is a local grocery here, but most of their items are expired, and you have to be careful. its a much quieter, darker store, so I may use it till I get past whatever this is.

They have no order at home unless I use amazon.

There is one girl who will shop for you, prep meals and plop them in your freezer, but she is pricey at best. She does make the meals home made from scratch and that is what I prefer. Perhaps I will speak to DH about taking her on for one week and seeing how that goes. She menu plans out either one or two weeks in advance, then each day you pull a dinner out of the freezer and nuke it. I hear her food is really good.

about pretending to be on a cell phone, I cant form a response. my brain shuts down. I cant think, react, or defend myself. I am lost and wandering, and have no clue what I am supposed to be doing other than screaming in my head.

This must stop! I need to shop to live. :(

Yup!

Sensory overload - I started to get it bad after I was walking up the aisles and couldn't read any of the labels during a nasty bout of ON. Then I had brain surgery and I was a shot duck. It has only been the last year or two that I have been able to keep it together when I shop.....sad really, shopping has always been a great love of mine (not groceries though).

Cheers

Lyn

http://mashable.com/2008/06/05/online-grocery-shopping/

Here's a listing of 50+ online grocery sites. Some of them are location specific. A little pricey but sometimes it's worth it.

Kelly, Schwans is first on the list...yeaaaaaa!!:)

Schwan's is the most affordable of them all. I just wish they could deliver more often. My next delivery date is 5/9.....and I'd love to get some things sooner than that.

I like every 2 weeks, but there are times I could use something before my scheduled delivery too. I try to plan but you know what the say about the best laid plans..:rolleyes:

Hello all
 

Just thought to make a quick comment about shopping. I hate it :eek:. I now live in a high tourist area, use to be a sleepy little place, not so anymore. Now the stores are packed, packed with there grubby little germy hands too. Sneezing, sputtering, nose blowing in many locations. I am becoming a germophobic!:eek: I use the wipes and get out of the store quick. It is a floating petri dish around here!:eek: ginnie

Insane, confusion!!!!!
 

Back to the first posting. This is a very disturbing ordeal. Yes walking into Wal- Mart can scamble my brain, but Home Depot or Lowes is even tougher. I can barely shop for anything.
I made a trip to the city last year alone to catch a flight, and the airport freaked me out. all the people moving in every direction, and all that noise over the intercom. I had my first panic attack ever, had to call my wife to calm me down.

WHAT IS GOING ON WITH OUR BRAINS??????????????

P.S. My occupation was an entertainer for 40 yrs. I had no problem with crowds and noise until recent 3 or 4 years!

"Freaked out" is an excellent way to describe it, Dewtwo. I react in two different ways (sometimes simultaneously) to this "Walmart syndrome". Sometimes it's a typical panic attack: feel trapped, hard to breathe, people's faces are too close/big, let me out!! More often it's confusion, overload, and my brain locks up like a ten-year-old computer. Sometimes they overlap, or one leads to another.

To add insult to injury, this is one of the harder symptoms for me to explain to non-MSrs. No, I don't have agoraphobia. No, it doesn't change anything if I go with someone as opposed to by myself. No, you probably don't know exactly what I mean.

Recently someone suggested, as a treat, a trip to Boston for a Red Sox game. Are you KIDDING me? If Price Chopper overwhelms me, Fenway Park would kill me.

My issue is that I ran a medical department for the prisons for 20 plus years. I KNOW what confusion is. I know what chaos is, I know how to handle a crowd, and I know how to keep my cool, but in the last year, I get spun, confused, disoriented, my protective space around me gets minuscule and yet the folks who are banging into me with their carts dont seem to know what a boundary or personal space is! They reach over you to get soap or cheese. They open products and then put them back! They turn their children loose or let them swing like monkeys from the carriage and I just know that I am about to witness a child plummeting to their death.

Why is it that one year ago I could balance my coupons, recipes, and crowds, without hassle and now i panic, lose it, and cant think for hours sometimes days after? What about my brain shuts down?

Its just not fair!

I guess it's just disease progression.....as much as I hate to think it. :( Like Dej, I used to be able to organize my list, coupons, etc. and do a good job getting a good deal at the grocery store. Now, I feel like it's a successful trip if I make it out without crying. I used to love grocery shopping. Now....well, it's just another chore.

I now take the coupon inserts out of the paper and don't even look at them. I give them to my son and his girlfriend who are thrilled to get them. I really don't even look at what's on sale. I need what I need and saving 25 cents isn't going to sway my decision.

I miss the challenge of getting a great deal, though.

Dewtwo, Yes, I hear you and welcome to you.:)

Blessings, funny you should mention agoraphobia. I think I had that for a few years, before taking Paxil. After having many panic attacks, I was actually afraid to leave the house.

DH would get me out with him and we would go to the VFW, which I enjoyed. But I would panic and tell him i had to leave. He did all my grocery shopping for awhile.

Kelly, yes I miss the planning of meals, the shopping with coupons, the feeling of accomplishment and the fun of it all.:(

I just placed an order with Alice.com for paper products, dry grocery goods and non perishables. Just placed an order with Petco.com for cat food and litter. I get free shipping with both places and their prices are very good. Comparible to Publix. Once you figure in the price of gas, the time and effort it takes just to go to the store and the emotional price we pay just to organize such a trip the delivery is well worth it. I think I'd do it even if I didn't feel I had to. Plus, I don't get suckered into the spur of the moment "impulse buys" at the store. :o These two websites are a life saver (and money saver) for me. :)

Ya know, shopping online gives me a feeling of accomplishment too and you can take your time. On some days you can even multitask....like eat a pineapple in lime jello cup, at the same time..:yahoo:

And shop in your jammies! I love to have a cup of coffee while "surfing" and placing my orders. I save more $$ shopping online than I ever did actually physically going to the stores. :)

??? Re: Alice.com

It looks like you have to "create a free account" to even look around. I can't find any other way in. Is that right?

ANN

I can't remember if I had to create an account first or not. But all you have to do is make a username and password. You don't have to give any financial info until you check out (if you purchase anything). But it's a very reputable site with great customer service. I love it and they have some great stuff.

The BEST thing about Wal-Mart...I can do the above & go shopping at 1 a.m. Then half the problem doesn't exist...all the little kids, the women & men with too much perfume, sweat, stale smoke & colone are either in bed or working.

Get a cart & do wheelies...security won't even care. :D

I tried the 1 am walmart shoppimg before about 6 years ago and it was as if it was 1pm. What are you doing with little 7&8 year olds out. I try early mornings to try and avoid email picture types.

:I-Agree:Thank you! I am laughing so hard right now! I need to have good belly laughs now and then and that filled the bill! :I-Agree:

I don't think Walmartians work..:D:p:D

Our nearest WalMart is only open from 7am to midnight.
I go around 8am and it is deserted. Very pleasant.

The Super WalMart however, North of us, is a 20 min trip each way, and 24 hrs.

I've noticed that the Super WalMarts tend to have the more eccentric patrons, compared to our typical WalMart near me.
And they are FAR busier too.

I hit the jackpot!! :D I found an online grocery delivery service and I just placed my first order! http://www.atlantahomedelivery.com/index.html

I called them and found out where they shop (Kroger) and if they will look for things that aren't listed on their website. Very nice people and I was told to just list what it is I want in the comments section and they'll find it.

Yes, they're more expensive than you'd pay if you went to the store yourself but it's worth it to me not to have to worry about going.

Just $12.99 for delivery next day! Anything you'd buy at Kroger they will deliver to your home. No minimum order, either. I hope they stay in business!

I'm getting my groceries delivered today! They called me to confirm my order and said since I was a new customer I could have same day delivery for no extra charge....so I said sure! I'll let ya'll know how it went.