Discover Your Sensory Preference and Why It’s Not Your Fault
Updated: Apr 10
Written by Anele Griessel, Occupational Therapist
Anele Griessel is an expert occupational therapist, well-known when it comes to sensory preferences, overwhelm, and how simple adjustments in daily activities can nurture the sensory system, reduce overwhelm, and build resilience. She is the author of the Sensory Journal, published in 2020.
“I am exhausted, overwhelmed, or underperforming, and I don’t know why.” I hear this all the time. And what often sits underneath it is not a lack of effort, motivation, or resilience. It is a nervous system that is working incredibly hard, in an environment that simply doesn’t match it. When we don’t understand our sensory preferences, we start to turn that mismatch inward. We tell ourselves to push through, to cope better, to try harder. But what if nothing is wrong with you? What if your nervous system just needs something different?
Let’s make this simple: Your nervous system as a cup
I often explain this using a very simple image. Imagine your nervous system as a cup that fills up throughout the day with sensory input. Sound, light, movement, touch, effort, people, everything pours in. The size of your cup reflects how much input you need to notice things. What you do as it fills reflects how you respond.
This idea comes from the work of Winnie Dunn, and it gives us a really practical way to understand ourselves. From this, four patterns tend to show up. And most of us will recognise ourselves in more than one.
Sensory sensitive
A small cup, with no lid: This cup fills quickly. You notice everything. But instead of adjusting early, you often carry on until it becomes too much. You might look calm on the outside, but inside your system is working overtime.
What this can feel like: You lose your sense of calm quickly. You might feel irritable, tired, or overwhelmed without fully understanding why.
What helps: Gently lowering the background load makes a big difference. Softer lighting, less noise, and simpler spaces allow your system to settle before it becomes flooded. Building in small pauses during your day helps your system reset before it tips over. And most importantly, noticing the early signs, those subtle shifts in your body, means you can respond before everything escalates.
Sensory avoider
A small cup, with a lid: This cup also fills quickly, but you’ve learned to manage it. You move away, reduce input, or create structure to stay in control. This is not about being difficult. It is about protecting your nervous system.
What this can feel like: You need predictability. You feel more settled when you can control your environment. Without that, you may withdraw or step back.
What helps: Planning ahead creates a sense of safety, knowing where you can go, what to expect, and how to step out when needed. Making small adjustments early, before things build up, keeps your system steady. And allowing yourself short breaks, rather than completely withdrawing, helps you stay connected without becoming overwhelmed.
Low sensory registration
A large cup, with a slow drip: This cup takes a long time to fill. Things don’t always register straight away. You might not notice cues, your energy may feel low, or getting started can feel harder than it should.
What this can feel like: It can look like being slow to respond, missing things, or feeling a bit “foggy.” Often, your needs, like hunger or fatigue, show up late.
What helps: Your system benefits from clearer, stronger input. Movement, contrast, and sensory anchors can help you feel more alert and present. External supports, like reminders, timers, and structure, take the pressure off needing to “just notice.” And building in regular points of activation throughout your day helps prevent that drift into low energy.
Sensory seeking
A large cup that keeps needing more: This cup is big, and it often feels underfilled. So, you go looking for input, movement, sound, interaction, to feel regulated. This is not restlessness for the sake of it. It is your system trying to wake itself up.
What this can feel like: You may feel fidgety, distracted, or unable to settle unless there is enough happening around you.
What helps: Starting your day or a task with movement can completely change your focus. Choosing input that is organising, like deep pressure or rhythm, helps your system settle rather than scatter. And working in cycles, where you move and then return to focus, allows your energy to work for you, not against you.
This is where everything shifts
When you begin to understand your sensory preferences, something important happens. You stop asking, “What is wrong with me?” and start asking, “What does my system need right now?” You begin to notice patterns. You start to adjust your environment. You respond earlier, rather than pushing through. And slowly, things begin to feel easier. Not because life has changed, but because your relationship with it has.
A final thought
Sensory profiles are not labels. They are not boxes. They are a way of understanding how your nervous system works, so that you can support it, rather than fight it.
Because when your system is supported, you don’t just cope better. You think more clearly. You feel steadier. You engage more fully. You live more easily. And that matters.
To find out more about your sensory preference, complete the Sensory Preferences Quiz.
Read more from Anele Griessel
Anele Griessel, Occupational Therapist
Anele Griessel is a leading occupational therapist specialising in sensory integration and overwhelm. As the author of the Sensory Journal, Anele distills more than two decades of knowledge and experience into actionable steps to help reduce overwhelm, build resilience, and enable individuals to thrive personally, with others, at work, and at home. She is the owner of Estemoa-OT. Her mission: Joy is a choice.
