A very visceral reason why labels can be so important. #ActuallyAutistic
And if there's a lot of other things going on in my life, a lot of other things that are requiring processing power of my brain, that means I'm less equipped for taking that shower, which means, as a result, I lean into this, apparently, of holding my breath. If things are more
Darrain …
@TheBriefOne · 2:32
It's like for certain people with special minds, there are irregularities of thought that manifest, that contradict the typical train of thought required to live in, quote, unquote, typical reality. If you have a special brain, you perceive the world a special way. But the world was generally perceived a certain way by a normal person. You typically don't find a left hand guitar. It's that simple, but it's that profound. Go and try to buy a guitar for your left hand
Thade
@mire_of_musing · 3:17
So while all those other things may be true, I am also autistic, which on its own, is enough to navigate, but add all the other stressors, on top of the fact that my system is being constantly overloaded by our modern day equipment, sounds, sights, just so many voices demanding attention at once. And it's no wonder that the suicide rate is so high among autistics under the age of 37
And I don't like being constrained or somebody else defining the entirety of me by one sentence, one word, one idea, when I'm far more complex than any of that. But anyway, I thank you for your words because you got me to reflect on this paradox, you could say, of appreciating labels and at the same time not wanting to be defined by them
Because they've caused us to internalize ableism to such a degree that we feel like we have to mask in order to be seen, accepted. And often, even with the mask, that doesn't work. I mean, still, I run into people and they're like, you know, you're not really autistic or. Because they have these superficial ideas of what autism looks like and they have no idea the day to day, the minute to minute experience of what it is to be autistic
Thade
@mire_of_musing · 3:21
And it's nice to have that reminder out there because for me, my superpowers are being able to see colors. I can see colors that most people can't. And I think that's part of why I gravitate towards art. Subtle color shifts and things are amazing. And when I found out that not everybody experiences that, my mind was blown. Because when you're little, you just assume that everybody operates the way you do
Shades and nuances of color. Like, it's so amazing. It also always fascinated me of, like, the things that we, as any humans, think is normal, and we think everyone else experiences the same way. And then, you know, as we learn or grow, then we come to find out that people don't experience the same things
J.L. Beasley
@Her_Sisu · 1:24
And I'm curious if now even though it doesn't happen as frequently since you put some things into place to manage the trigger if you will, do you have or do you experience any degree of anxiety when it comes down to showering or how are you managing that even though it's decreased, the amount of episodes have decreased beast for you. Is there some level of trepidation with showering