markusl

eo , 11 months ago to actuallyautistic

@actuallyautistic
Does this happen to you:
I often have trouble focusing while my hearing fades in and out at about 1 second intervals. It's like there's some muscle or something pulsing behind my ears at the back of my nasal cavity.
I used to think it was an anxiety thing, before it was diagnosed with autism (but after I was dx GAD and CPTSD). But I have never heard of a similar experience in anyone else.

markusl , 11 months ago

@eo

How's your sleep? I'm an insomniac. When I'm very tired and I close my eyes to concentrate on something, I'll sometimes drift in and out of moments of deep, dreamless sleep. As I drift off, my concentration fails (obviously) and everything goes quiet.

Is it possible that that's what you're experiencing?

@actuallyautistic

markusl , 11 months ago

@EternalOutsider

Thanks for pitching in. I appreciate it. 🙂

Getting to sleep in the first place isn't the problem: I'm permanently sleep-deprived, so I can fall asleep within a couple of minutes (sometimes even less). The problem is that, after about 5½ hours, I wake up, and I can't usually get back to sleep.

Lots of autists are short of melatonin, and I suspect that's my problem. If we could buy melatonin over the counter here, I'd certainly try it.

@eo @actuallyautistic

markusl , 11 months ago

@AutisticAdam

For me, bright light, even immediately before bed, isn't a problem. Seeing any kind of daylight early in the morning is much worse, because it almost guarantees I won't sleep again. For that reason, we have lined curtains and blackout blinds and I roll a beanie hat over my eyes when I go to bed.

Late-night screens seem not to be a problem for me unless they keep me up late or I watch something that's too exciting.

@EternalOutsider @eo @actuallyautistic

markusl , 11 months ago

@EternalOutsider

As I say, I roll a beanie hat down over my eyes. It works like a sleep mask, but it provides better coverage and it doesn't come off or move round while I'm asleep.

@AutisticAdam @eo @actuallyautistic

markusl , 11 months ago

@Finch

And that works? They ship it? And it doesn't get impounded by Customs? Certainly worth a try! Thanks for the tip.

@EternalOutsider @eo @actuallyautistic

markusl , 11 months ago

@n69n

Oh, wow, you're a real morning person. It's 12:30am here, and I'm thinking about getting an early night! 😄

Just because of the rhythm of our week, I couldn't set a regular bedtime that was much before midnight. Mrs Wife comes in at 10pm on a Sunday, and then I serve up a roast dinner.

@ScottSoCal @AutisticAdam @EternalOutsider @eo @actuallyautistic

markusl , 11 months ago

@ScottSoCal

I do something similarish, most nights: spend some time alone to unwind, and then creep quietly into bed.

@AutisticAdam @EternalOutsider @eo @actuallyautistic

markusl , 11 months ago

@Finch

Thanks for this!

I've been contemplating asking for an official autism diagnosis just so that I can ask my GP to let me try melatonin on the NHS. But, as the political situation in the West worsens almost daily, there are reasons to keep my autism under the radar. So perhaps the safest course would be to bring in some melatonin and try it and, if it doesn't help, then just forget the idea. If it does help, I have a decision to make.

@EternalOutsider @eo @actuallyautistic

markusl , 11 months ago

@foo

Good tip. Thanks!

@Finch @EternalOutsider @eo @actuallyautistic

markusl , 11 months ago

@Finch

Wow -- that looks good! It has a Wikipedia page that goes into more detail (some of which I understand, much of which I don't):

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daridorexant

This is the first sleeping pill I've seen that's recommended for long-term use and doesn't cause dependency or rebound insomnia. That's a big thing.

Thanks again.

@foo @EternalOutsider @eo @actuallyautistic

markusl , 11 months ago

@yourautisticlife

A decent bed definitely helps, yes. We paid extra, and it makes a difference.

I find exercise improves the odds of good sleep, but doesn't guarantee it.

Melatonin is prescribed for sleep problems in the UK:

https://www.nhs.uk/medicines/melatonin/how-and-when-to-take-melatonin/

I've read everything I can find about good sleep hygiene, and I've done everything that works. One other useful thing: sleep is better on dry days than drinking days.
@caocancio @EternalOutsider @eo @actuallyautistic

markusl , 11 months ago

@EternalOutsider

We went for a mattress with a memory gel layer, but only you know what suits your body, bedroom and budget, so try lots, and be prepared to pay.

If you share a bed with a partner, use two single duvets, not one double. That way, you don't have to agree on how warm a duvet to use and, when one of you rolls over and tugs the duvet, the other is less likely to wake up.
@yourautisticlife @caocancio @eo @actuallyautistic

foo , 11 months ago to actuallyautistic

People think I'm intolerant to smells (because they are only mildly irritated by them, or don't notice them at all) but I suspect my sensitivity to smell is dialled up to the max

If I am downwind of someone smoking a cigarette outside, I can detect it over 100yds away. "How can you smell it from that far away?" They say skeptically. Well, I just can. And it still offends my nostrils at that distance.

Some particular smells really provoke a strong reaction (like get it away from me Now)

I suspect I have a stronger than usual reaction to the obvious stuff that NT people also don't like (body odour, bad breath, public toilets, rotten food, bin juice, poo) but I also have a particular aversion to the smell of cigarettes, cannabis, and a particular Hugo boss aftershave (if someone is wearing this on a packed train full of smells, my brain isolates it and tells me).

Other smells turn my stomach in the morning in particular, as the "wrong smell for the time of day". Walking past a fish market, or if someone starts eating a sandwich on the train at 9am, it nauseates me more than if they did it at 1pm.

@actuallyautistic

markusl , 11 months ago

@ratcatcher

Sensitivity to cigarette smoke makes sense for everyone, not just autists. Until we tamed fire (which, in evolutionary terms, was recent), smoke was always a threat, and the sooner we noticed it, the more likely we were to get ourselves and our families to safety.

I suspect that this innate sensitivity was battered unconscious when indoor smoking was the norm, but will gradually reawaken as we all get used to breathing cleaner air.

@foo @actuallyautistic

markusl , 11 months ago

@ratcatcher

I thought that was just me! 😄

I grew up with a difficult person who smoked continually, and I knew that secondhand smoke was dangerous, so it's possible that I subconsciously learnt to hate it.

@foo @actuallyautistic

CynAq , 11 months ago to actuallyautistic

I'm finding that as I'm becoming more accepting of my own neurotype, I'm having an easier time differentiating what is more difficult for me vs what is easier. Similarly, I can now be increasingly confident in my coping strategies against burnout.

One thing I'm having more difficulty with is the sense of safety. Each day, I'm feeling more and more unsure of my safety within the world.

Accepting that I'm #ActuallyAutistic helps with my self acceptance, therefore with my self-care but it also drives home the fact that I'm fundamentally different, and certain problems I keep having with life are still insurmountable, even though they are not "my fault" anymore.

I don't know exactly where I'm going with this. I guess I'm trying to ask how do people of the autistic community handle the vulnerable position the acknowledgement of one's neurodivergence puts them in.

@actuallyautistic

markusl , 11 months ago

@Gtmlosangeles

I know this was posted with the best of intentions, and it's an important piece of research, but I couldn't get past the first few lines. Big trigger warning for my autistic friends!

I'll come back and read this when I feel better prepared.

@actuallyautistic @CynAq