More specifically, do you find that it drains your energy more than most people? That you can't push yourself as hard as others? Or, put another way, that you need more rest and recovery time than most people?
Almost two years ago, I tried Couch to 5K. I made it to week five, then burned out and stopped because it so thoroughly drained every bit of energy I had.
I remember being so puzzled and confused about it. I remember thinking, what's wrong with me? I'm eating well. I'm eating enough. I'm getting enough sleep. I'm resting on my off days. I'm not extraordinarily out of shape and I was keeping up with the program well enough until the fifth week.
In retrospect, I'm wondering if it was an Autistic energy management problem, and I'm curious about others' experiences with C25K and other physical activity programs.
@llPK@dave@actuallyautistic the “autistic energy problem" described in the OP, i believe, is grounded inherently in sensory conditions (or the under-sensitivity of some of our senses) which has us drive towards extremes in multiple respects/ways in order to "feel” the limits that many NT/allistic folks can detect approaching earlier/sooner/with more fidelity.
To that end, i always loved swimming because it was a slower burndown on energy/resources. Disc Golf became a new FavoriteThing too
@independentpen@JeremyMallin@actuallyautistic I'm terrible with learning names. I don't think that's an autism thing, but a poor memory thing exacerbated (at least in the past) by autism
@JeremyMallin@actuallyautistic I dont lie. What I have learned over the years are boundaries. And there’s a whole lot a potential employer doesn’t need to know. Maybe not “never” but they certainly don’t need to know anything beyond what I make public until they’re willing to pay me to be in their employ, when it might help to know to be a better part of the team.
I can tell from interviewing if I might be comfortable on the team and that’s all I can hope to know.
@nddev@JeremyMallin@actuallyautistic One reason to seek a dx, or at least seek a doctor who's willing to vouch for a dx, is in Federal hiring -- there are A LOT of positions on usajobs.gov for citizens and if you qualify for Schedule A hiring (like, say, you have a doctor willing to write a Schedule A letter just saying you qualify for Schedule A hiring)... you can bypass a whole lof of processing because an Agency can hire you directly.
This cut down my interviewing/hiring time SIGNIFICANTLY
good morning once again and welcome to this week's edition of my #BlackFriday music thread! please give me a bit to compile the first few songs i'm gonna post—in the meantime, let's fucken goooooooo~ 🧵👇🏾
@actuallyautistic so is this what a shutdown feels like? I'm exhausted after work, always previously said I was "tired". But importantly, I am feeling disconnected with myself, my inner monologue has all but stopped and I need to do the language equivalent of changing down two gears to make words. I can do the task in front of me but can't prioritise, engage higher brain function, or compare two tasks.
It occurs to me that this may not be how NTs experience "tired after a long day/week".
@Jobob@FrightenedRat@actuallyautistic never stops; ymmv but one can learn to catch the patterns of it. some of those thoughts, for me, turned out to be the by-products of other, more low level needs that, for whatever reason, come out as trauma artifacts: example: I stew on how my partner thinks (x) about me... but what's really happening is I'm hungry, or I'm tired. So then I had to figure out the decision tree to calibrate my sensing better fit to reality
Many autistic people have so much anxiety because, from a young age, we’re taught that our natural differences, as well as innocent things we do for ourselves (and things we can’t do), can anger other people and result in them punishing us, even when they’re not affected by them.
@FrightenedRat arguably, anxiety is the byproduct of the friction between the world as you see it and the world as advertised; as such, it's not inherent as part of autism, but it is unfortunately inherent to the human condition, multiplied by aspects of your austistic experience…. if that makes sense? @ReimanSaara@AutisticAdam@actuallyautistic
@aeveltstra@youronlyone@autistics@actuallyautistic i mean, i can... now... after doing herculean amounts of self-work, mostly during lockdown 2020-2022... because now I better understand some of the early markers and waypoints to a full-blown meltdown, and how left unchecked that will lead to further, long-standing burnout.
Knowing that has helped me cut through flight-or-fight instincts that'd have me shut down instead of work through the feels. Buf f' anyone expecting you to do that
good morning once again and welcome to this week's edition of my #BlackFriday music thread! please give me a bit to compile the first few songs i'm gonna post—in the meantime, let's fucken goooooooo~ 🧵👇🏾
I'm curious… does anyone have good recommendations for sneakers for people who walk/run on their toes?
It seems like all the ones on the market assume everyone walks heel to toe. So they have a lot of cushioning under the heel and very little under the toes. Exactly the opposite of what toe walkers need.
@JeremyMallin@actuallyautistic i picked up a pair of vibram toe shoes, and they've been amazing for self-repair of a nasty bunion on my left foot and other plantar fascia-related, over pronating issues i have.
Especially for hiking/running/jogging on grass and trails... i should've done this years ago.
@kiwired@JeremyMallin@actuallyautistic i hear that. they are not cheap, but being able to shrink a profound bunion so i can wear regular shoes after wearing them for two weeks... it's way cheaper than surgery
@servelan@ratcatcher ^^ @uq is spot-on. Too few of us grew up understanding boundaries -- at least our own boundaries and our individual imperative to assert them.
There are so many times I need to rant and get stuff out. In every instance, history's taught me i need to mind the audience, so if i CHOOSE to rant here on Mastodon, in a thread that catches many of my nd cousins… i'm going to be mindful and respectful bc everyone on the @actuallyautistic list really makes the effort to participate
> #MichaelOher, the former #NFL player who was the subject of The Blind Side, has alleged the story at the heart of the popular book and movie was a lie
@BigAngBlack@BlackMastodon@blackmastodon in terms of propelling headlines towards actual justice? Her disavowing herself of the oscar and the movie would/will be, at least, a publicly visible big first step in healing what must be a terrible wound