For the most part, my daily life and my environment are set up to minimize overwhelm and feel safe. I built my lifestyle over the years subconsciously, just intuiting what felt right without really knowing why. Being Autistic filled in the why.
That also means that I don't see certain Autistic traits very often, which makes certain experiences unrelatable. While I recognize it's a spectrum of traits, each at varying strengths, it still led to doubts in the past about being Autistic.
But then I have days like today. I had to drop off my vehicle for warranty work and sat in a noisy Starbucks working while I waited. The truck was done 2 hours earlier than planned.
Running errands afterward... sensory experiences were more intense than usual. Being in the grocery store was stressful. Too noisy, the lights were too bright, etc. I usually don't have problems with the grocery store, but my day being thrown off completely and being out of my element made everything worse.
Now I'm laying in bed at home, with a comfort show (TNG of course) on TV, and I'm trying to fi
... Show more...For the most part, my daily life and my environment are set up to minimize overwhelm and feel safe. I built my lifestyle over the years subconsciously, just intuiting what felt right without really knowing why. Being Autistic filled in the why.
That also means that I don't see certain Autistic traits very often, which makes certain experiences unrelatable. While I recognize it's a spectrum of traits, each at varying strengths, it still led to doubts in the past about being Autistic.
But then I have days like today. I had to drop off my vehicle for warranty work and sat in a noisy Starbucks working while I waited. The truck was done 2 hours earlier than planned.
Running errands afterward... sensory experiences were more intense than usual. Being in the grocery store was stressful. Too noisy, the lights were too bright, etc. I usually don't have problems with the grocery store, but my day being thrown off completely and being out of my element made everything worse.
Now I'm laying in bed at home, with a comfort show (TNG of course) on TV, and I'm trying to figure out how to down-regulate back to calm.
#ActuallyAutistic #AuDHD #Neurodivergent