This scent thing is really strange....

[[Fl...]]

I posted awhile back about having some windows where certain scents would trigger happy memories for me.

 

Although I am still experiencing the same kind of "awakening" when these scents hit me, lately they haven't been triggering the memories. This "awakening" is where the scent causes me to instantly stop what I am doing and take notice.

 

Here's the weird thing. The most recent scent that has been trying to reach out and grab my attention is a bottle of hair conditioner. That's right, hair conditioner.

 

I have a bottle of it sitting on a table by my recliner. A few days ago I was sitting in my chair and all of a sudden the scent hit me. At first I didn't know what it was. I had just done some laundry and I thought it might have been the fabric softener, but by the second or third time it tried to get my attention I started walking around the room to try to pinpoint it and realize that it was something else.

 

After about the fourth time I had to get to the bottom of it. The conditioner was sitting there completely sealed and unused, so I didn't even think of it at first, but yep, that's what I was smelling. The REALLY strange thing is that in order for me to be able to smell the scent when I wanted to smell it, I have to either open the bottle or get the top part of the sealed bottle about 1/4 of an inch away from my nose.

 

So what is going on here? It is almost as if for one second I am given some kind of superhuman powers. It just happened again as I was typing that last sentence! Now I can sit here and smell the air all I want....nothing.

 

I was feeling better today and took my bike out. My helmet has a vent that brings a curtain of air right up on my face. A couple of scents hit me while I was riding but what really stood out was the couple of times I smelled perfume as I was riding through the entertainment district downtown.

 

Have my senses really been dulled down that much? I would think they could have been a little, but that much? If that were the case then "bad" smells should have some kind of an effect on me as well but they don't. Come to think of it I went out with some friends a few weeks ago and as we were walking in a stairwell several people in the group commented about a very bad smell, and all I could smell was the scent of a citrus cleaner. Strange.

 

Any thoughts? I'm very curious about this.

[[tr...]]

I had such an experience several days ago. It was a particularly good day. I was on my bike and suddenly this sweet smell caused me to stop my bike. I kept looking around, sniffing the air...trying to locate where this scent was coming from. I parked my bike and began sniffing. I am glad there was no one around because I am sure I looked ridiculous...something akin to a dog who sniffs at the ground, that was marked by another dog.

 

It finally dawned on me; exactly what that sweet perfume was. It was huckleberry and the reason I remember it was because as a child, I would always pass by a huckleberry tree on the way to school. It was soothing because up until now, I was never really aware of my sense of smell or that it might be malfunctioning. In fact, nothing really caught off gaurd like this. It was a bit shocking to say the least.

 

A day or so later, I was off again on my bike. As I made my way towards the huckleberry...I was hoping to catch a whiff of that fragrant plant. Nothing. I stopped. Took a deep breath and still nothing. That day was not so great and I had awoken to this strange smell. It followed me everywhere. Something I can only describe as sulfuric? And until you brought this up...I had not noticed that my sense of smell had gone awry. Funny how sometimes we take certain senses for granted because until now, I realized that at one time my sense of smell was quite acute and today...it ain't so great. I hated gas stations for the sole reason that gasoline is so strong and I just realized that whenever I do go to fill up...I no longer smell gas or anything else for that matter. Almost like everything is bland, neutral or faded.

 

You got me thinking because whenever my mum cooks pasta and makes her homemade sauce...it would fill the house with this delicious, mouth watering scent and I really haven't ever noticed, that I don't ever really smell things the way I used to. Does that mean benzos affect your sense of smell. I know it does affects vision but...could it possibly do this to taste and smell and hearing?  Isn't this just peachy...one more thing to worry about.