@autisticadvocacy @actuallyautistic @actuallyaudhd @autisticadvocacy
#actuallyautistic #actuallyaudhd #AuDHD #memoryfoaming
"it takes a long time afterwards to understand what was “me” and what was “them.”
...
.Anyone can memory-foam,…but I feel it is especially common for autistics. And I have a few ideas why.
https://medium.com/@attleehall/autistic-memory-foaming-2cfecfcb9e8c
@Ilovechai @autisticadvocacy @actuallyautistic @actuallyaudhd This seems like it might have something to do with something I was posting about a few days ago, how I feel like I'm expected to assert my desires and I start doubting if I even really have any and if I'm really an authentic person.
@foolishowl @Ilovechai @autisticadvocacy @actuallyautistic @actuallyaudhd I don’t really know what I want either. Lifetime of masking makes is weird. Who am I? How the hell do I know? I know I am a good kind person, but I don’t know what I want. I only know what I don’t like.
@littlescraps @foolishowl @Ilovechai @autisticadvocacy @actuallyautistic @actuallyaudhd
That are the questions I am asking myself these days. Who am I under all those masks I had to put on? What likes did I suppress because I tried to fit in? Which things did I not allow myself to do anymore because they weren’t seen as appropriate? What is my authentic self?
And I just really don’t know.
The best thing I ever did for myself was get dogs and a parrot, and let myself interact with them, however they and I wanted.
Making weird noises? Parrots love that. Crawling around on the floor playing? Dogs love that. Want unfiltered, unfettered feedback? Dogs and parrots both give that. At home, with my companions, I'm 100% me, whatever that is at the time.
@littlescraps @foolishowl @Ilovechai @autisticadvocacy @actuallyautistic @actuallyaudhd
@Lotta @ScottSoCal @littlescraps @foolishowl @Ilovechai @autisticadvocacy @actuallyautistic @actuallyaudhd sounds amazing! I’ve never heard of a safe space like it before
@ScottSoCal @Lotta @littlescraps @foolishowl @Ilovechai @autisticadvocacy @actuallyautistic @actuallyaudhd Gosh, that’s heartwarming. So glad the pets have helped you be yourself. Our cats and dog are the same us. Especially my youngest, who is selective mute and withdrawn. She tells one of the cats everything and is never judged. She can be as silly as she likes with the dog and gets nothing but love back
@ScottSoCal @Lotta @foolishowl @Ilovechai @autisticadvocacy @actuallyautistic @actuallyaudhd Yes I agree. I love my 4 dogs & 2 cats… just the right amount of totally interested in you & a healthy dose of seriously? You have to pet me the way I like & I will let you kiss my head & talk to the butt, unless you have squishy food… up to you all to determine which species is which. But safe space!
@ScottSoCal
I have a dog. :) And kids. (Probably would not if I had known all the things much earlier but well, here we are)
So I can be weird with them too (until they become teenagers, then I will be cringey for them anyway, probably).
And I found a very safe space, a conscious dance event, where everything and everyone is welcome, just as they are, any movement, lying on the floor, making noises, whatever comes to mind or from the body. I go there every week and can explore and try out. Dancing barefoot (or with socks), as much contact one wants with others, or not. When I remember how I began there last year I made quite some progress. :)
@littlescraps @foolishowl @Ilovechai @autisticadvocacy @actuallyautistic @actuallyaudhd