


I thought this group might like this Substack post of mine
https://darrenquinn.substack.com/p/my-mind-was-my-prison-now-its-my
#actuallyautistic #ActuallyADHD @actuallyautistic @actuallyadhd

I thought this group might like this Substack post of mine
https://darrenquinn.substack.com/p/my-mind-was-my-prison-now-its-my
#actuallyautistic #ActuallyADHD @actuallyautistic @actuallyadhd
@actuallyadhd @actuallyautistic
Waking up & wondering why my bedside lamp is on & why my phone isn't next to it?
Especially as I remember putting phone next to it & switching the lamp off.
Hello, life stresses. What's happening now?
Also, why does my body default to 6 hours sleep? When it clearly needs more? And yet it won't let me install the Nap Time plugin I so desperately need.
Result: permanent dice / spoon deficit
#neurodivergent #actuallyadhd #actuallyautistic
Apologies, I'm sure this has been asked a million times before, but is there a symbol for neurodivergence in general that the community (or various communities) accept?
Had a reflexology session gifted to me with a practitioner I trust implicitly. She started with aroma therapy (which she knows I'm hypersensitive to) that was for hypothalamus support.
The hypothalamus sits at the junction of the autonomic nervous system and the endocrine system (her explanation, I have yet to look it up).
SO, my question is this (beyond wanting to know how muscle testing told her both of those are mucked up in me):
Does a hypersensitivity to smells "know" when a scent may be helpful and back off? Or am I just OK with eucalyptus (the main scent I could identify)?
And, did the session and/or the scent lead to me having what I believe is an MCAS attack this morning?
She did reseat 3 ribs that were tweaked (subluxated) which I *hope will take care of a long-standing nerve issue in my back.
If you haven't tried reflexology and are OK with your feet being touched, I cannot recommend it highly enough.
@actuallyadhd @actuallyautistic
Me & my brain are so out of sync. Part of my brain wants to be creative by writing who knows what (I have no clue) or maybe scribbling some things on large paper to be turned into something arty. It also wants to go out, either on a pub crawl or clubbing as long as it's something social but not boring (anything sedate/mundane).
It wants to turn one room into a place that I can instantly turn into either a space to be creative or where I can shove my Bluetooth headphones on, switch the lights to party-mode & pour myself a drink whilst asking me how my day was as the music plays & gets me moving.
The remainder of my brain, or rather my physical self is too exhausted & out of dice & spoons.
Mentally bouncing off the walls whilst in burnout is … annoying.
What a fantastic book!
Just finished reading this brand new book (released July 31st) and wanted to recommend it here.
Neurodivergent, by Nature. Written by Joe Harkness.
It is all about neurodivergent people and the benefits of nature for many ND people: both adults and children.
Through many, many interviews with people across the UK it covers career paths into nature-based work like conservation, personal connections, work place adjustments, education including forest schools and also broader EDI topics like ethnic diversity (a huge problem in the ecological / environmental sector in the UK), socio-economic backgrounds and other disabilities and prejudices (e.g. based on age). It is a book about all neurotypes, but specifically mentions neurodivergent types of: autism, ADHD, dyslexia, dyspraxia, dyscalculia.
Joe is neurodivergent (ADHD) and his background is working in special needs schools in the UK and he is also a keen bird watcher who wrote about how beneficial this hobby has been on his mental health (depression) in his last book, Bird Therapy. As he writes, he shares how his ADHD shaped his journey writing the book and the finished book.
Contributors are from: Defra, Natural England, Environmental Agency, RSPB, National Trust, Wildlife Trusts, Woodland Trust, small conservation organisations, academics / lecturers, freelance ecological consultants, CIEEM, forest schools, and more.
Has a nice, diverse range of voices. I particularly love how Joe mentions people’s different communication preferences when he interviewed them and the adjustments he and others made for each other.
(If you are a member of CIEEM you can get 20% off now until October.)
#ActuallyAutistic #ActuallyADHD @actuallyautistic @actuallyadhd
Y'all, why didn't anyone tell me about NeeDoh cubes before???
Just holding this thing and letting it...I don't know, snowly form around my hand without needing to be squeezed or anything, is incredibly calming.
And given how deep in burnout I am this week, it's helping immensely.
Hilarious wtf sensory moment: I can listen to the same song and apparently the tempo and pitch will literally change, I think based on my time perception/blindness
I've had this happen before but the song I just put on was like shifted down almost half a note in my head and was noticeably slow, and what the fuuuuuck lmaooooo, I wish I could pass along the feelings at that moment, 10/10 would ADHD again
If you're neurotypical and you think meditating is hard, just ask #actuallyautistic and #actuallyadhd people what it's like for them. Hard mode.
There is *so much* noise to sit with, allow, and not attach to. It's either like the dog in the film "Up" ("Squirrel!") or it's like getting poked constantly but at various rates from various directions. It can be maddening. But when you can sit with that...
Maybe I'm a more effective meditator than I've believed.
Also, sometimes, it seems like the only way to survive that "noise" other than going full sensory deprivation.
@PatternChaser@mas.to Perhaps there is misunderstanding with "intolerance of uncertainty" in association with autism. It comes under the mental disorder banner, and is a part of anxiety and PTSD. Autistic (and ADHD) people are much more prone to mental illness, with a study finding that at least 80% of autistic people suffer from PTSD.
There are of course very real reasons why, when it comes to autism / ADHD, with having to process information in real time at every moment, as opposed to neurotypicals making hard / quick associations. It is easy to see how an autistic person can get overwhelmed, and why this causes anxiety, and eventually PTSD.
So the 'certainty' part, associated with autism, is more so mitigating 'uncertainty', in the sense that an autistic person can function better in an environment that they don't have to process as much information in. Hence, all of the general over preparedness, and going through multiple possible scenarios in ones mind beforehand. It is about being able to function in a way that appears normal to others, more so than a general fear, or intolerance, and is more so rooted in biology.
However, When it comes to "intolerance to uncertainty", it is a psychological disorder caused by irrational fears, going side by side with "predicting" - e.g expecting a bad experience in the past to happen again in the future. Then from this moving into "avoidance strategy", or being over controlling of the environment.
So, because of how the autistic brain processes information, it is susceptible to psychological disorder. However, I feel it is important to distinguish the two in the context of 'uncertainty', that autistic traits are born with, and anxiety traits are 'learnt' / developed. BUT, autistic people can have both.
Therefore, the bottom line here, for me at least, is that philosophical debates around the existence of 'certainty' in it's intellectual sense, has no significance - considering that what is perceived as 'intolerance of uncertainty' in autism, is a mechanism of processing understanding of the present.
Although it may be more significant when considering it in the psychology sense, we are still talking about distorted thoughts based on fear, that themselves are not necessarily rooted in reality - hence actual certainty. So, it doesn't matter in both circumstances if certainty is actually really possible or not, as it's about functioning and survival.
That's my random response anyway, but I'm not an expert and don't claim to actually know anything or be correct.
Take care though, and thank you for giving me something to think about.
@actuallyautistic@a.gup.pe #actuallyautistic #actuallyadhd
Ever get that #ADHD thing where you get in panic-motivated productivity mode so hard that when you get the thing that was panicking you done you just roll that over to the rest of your tasks and accidentally use up all your spoons while getting stuff done? Feels like I have a productivity hangover today. But nothing motivates like an impending deadline, eh?
#ActuallyADHD
My brother, texting me this morning: "Can I call you tomorrow morning?"
Me: "Today or tomorrow?"
Him: "Tomorrow!"
Me: "Yes, I'm available until 10am."
Him: "Okay! I'll call around 9. Talk to you then!"
My head: "What does he want? What did I do wrong? Did something happen? Why doesn't he just call now? Why didn't he tell me what he wants? Should I just ask him?"
Hey there.
I know the world is on fire.
But you’re still here. Doing life stuff.
And you’re doing great.
And frankly, you’re looking great doing it.
@Tarrenvane I can so relate. I think it's such a common struggle for artists, writers, musicians, creatives.
And I think there's an added layer of complexity for #neurodivergent #ActuallyAutistic #ActuallyADHD people...we also have all the "voices" and pressures of passing/masking to contend with.
I've masked and passed so much of my life that I sometimes feel I don't even know who I REALLY am anymore. So trying to write and create from an authentic place becomes....challenging.
I see posts like the one I published today as part of my practice in un-masking...(which is scary!)
Thank you for taking the time to share this with me
@BrambleBearWhuffling Oh wow. This really made my day/week/month/+++
The fact that what I wrote makes you feel a little more brave is SO profoundly rewarding in a way I cannot even put into words!
It's quite terrifying putting things out into this world. But I still push through the terror because I *hope* that what I write/make will connect with at least one other person and help them in some way—even if it's a "yes! Me too!"
The pain of being misunderstood or misinterpreted runs deep for a lot of us #ActuallyAutistic / #ActuallyADHD / #neurodivergent peeps I think. So putting something like this out there and having you say (paraphrasing) "yes, it makes sense, yes, I see you, and yes, me too!" is so encouraging.
(I also REALLY appreciate that you enjoy the "multidimensional thoughts exploding out of my mind onto the screen"...so often I feel just overwhelming to people...too much to follow. So this is delightful to hear!)
Thank you for taking the time to share this with me. It truly is beyond meaningful!
I'm trying something scary.
I've been stuck in my #writing (again).
I've been stuck in my #art (again).
I've been creatively backed up (again).
I've gotten too deep into my head (again and always and forever, amen).
So I'm trying something: I'm releasing this weird #creative experiment into the world. To challenge myself. To (hopefully? maybe?) help others get "unstuck."
I'd love if anyone out there gave it a look. And I’d be utterly thrilled if you told me about it.
Ritaline phase je sais plus combien :
Je pense que je m'étais dit : ah ! Ça va aller maintenant, je vais pouvoir tout faire comme tout le monde.
Bah non, je suis toujours autiste, et TDAH. Rita aide BEAUCOUP, mais je reste handicapée.
Et ça me fait suer, voilà.
Pour l'acceptance, veuillez repasser en quatrième semaine.
other people on vyvanse, how long did it take before you started to notice positive effects?
for reference, i'm currently on 20mg a day (as a starting dose)