miclgael

dave , 3 months ago to random

@actusllyautistic

Here's another example of masking sensory preferences because they're considered "childish":

One of my comfort foods is PB or Nutella sandwiches. While in Italy, I found a loaf of sliced white bread that has no crust, and I was shocked at the difference in my experience between this and normal bread with crust. It's so much more enjoyable and less stressful to eat a sandwich without crust.

It made me recall, as a kid, forcing myself to eat the crust because I would be mocked and shamed for cutting it off.

Even now, writing this, I feel a little self conscious. Like someone is going to say, c'mon, is the crust really so bad? How can eating crust possibly be stressful? You're being a wimp/making a big deal out of nothing.

In reality, it's a small thing. Yes, I can force myself to eat it. I've been doing that for 30 years. But all of those little small instances of masking add up.

Now that I'm thinking about it, I actually have a very specific way of eating a sandwich to minimize the discomfort of eating the crust.

Well... lesson learned here: find bread without crust back home, or don't feel shamed for cutting off the crust.

#ActuallyAutistic

miclgael , 3 months ago

@dave @actusllyautistic good on you. 🖤 @actuallyautistic