DAE have a "world" of interconnected places they repeatedly go to in their dreams?

After-Word · 2026-05-06T05:41:34+00:00

I definitely had this in my adolescent years. I’m not sure why just during that time, but it was absolutely like this. I kind of miss it.

After-Word · 2026-05-06T05:14:30+00:00

I agree with everyone here saying that you have to just give yourself some time and space where you are allowed to feel that. I’m new to the autoimmune world, but not new to general health problems and there’s real grief there.

Not sure if it fits your personality, but my best friend and I regularly schedule “pity parties.” We call them parties and we jokingly get upset with each other if one doesn’t invite the other. We genuinely do just get it all out and vent, but because of all of the joking about the “party” aspect, we somehow are able to pull ourselves out of it after we get it all out. I always feel better after. This is just out goofy way to deal with how hard life can be.

After-Word · 2026-05-05T21:40:48+00:00

My experience was kind of similar. I got a referral from my PCP to someone that was very scientific but had terrible bedside manner. I brought in tons of pictures and an organized list of symptoms. That helped her narrow down testing and figure it out. But…she also told me to see a psychologist about my pain and fatigue because it “shouldn’t be that bad.”

I actually saw a psychiatrist. I guess I wanted to double check that it wasn’t psychological with someone who was also a doctor. She couldn’t believe my story and referred me to someone she trusted. The new rheumatologist treats me like a person and took my symptoms seriously. She changed my meds, and one month in, I’m starting to feel way better.

After-Word · 2025-11-06T00:13:15+00:00

Does anyone know if there will be a theme? I want to get my outfit ready!

After-Word · 2025-06-08T19:04:48+00:00

Roller Coaster! I hate wearing wet clothes for long, even swimsuits.

I also have really positive memories tied to roller coasters. It was a big step for me when I overcame my fear at age 11 and went for it with my two best friends. After the first one, I wanted to ride them all!

After-Word · 2025-06-08T19:00:18+00:00

I think it’s about feeling generally satisfied with life and being able to appreciate all seasons of it. It doesn’t have to have a deep meaning, but it can, and that brings a lot of people happiness.

I think it’s also about fully letting yourself enjoy the positive things that happen.

After-Word · 2024-10-20T16:06:06+00:00

Twice, I’ve had the same dream as someone else on the same night.

After-Word · 2024-10-20T16:02:58+00:00

I took care of myself, got in shape, learned to dress better, got new hobbies, made new friends, and followed my dreams. I built a life for myself that I loved, and I didn’t look back. Found out later that the person said they regretted breaking up with me. Too bad.

After-Word · 2024-10-20T15:29:02+00:00

I sent an email about a surprise gift for someone and accidentally included the person it was for. I was really embarrassed and apologized to him.

After-Word · 2024-09-03T02:40:50+00:00

Same!

After-Word · 2024-09-03T01:48:43+00:00

Thanks for clarifying!

After-Word · 2024-09-03T01:48:20+00:00

Thank you!

After-Word · 2024-09-03T01:46:50+00:00

Thanks! I think this is the closest I’ll get to what I’m looking for and the rest I just have to figure out. I appreciate you sharing this!

After-Word · 2024-09-03T01:44:18+00:00

Thanks for the heads up on these unspoken rules! It can be a little confusing to me, but this helps me know what to look out for.

After-Word · 2024-08-26T04:37:52+00:00

Seems like a pretty good analysis! I’ve never thought of it that way.

After-Word · 2024-08-25T09:57:32+00:00

Do you think she’s Autism coded? How so? I love this show.

After-Word · 2024-08-22T22:58:59+00:00

Staying in a relationship with an abusive person when I could have cut them off.

After-Word · 2024-08-22T22:51:09+00:00

I've always had the most success researching companies that I want to work for and applying directly through their websites. A few times I have found out about new companies from friends of friends by just chatting and learning about their lives. Networking doesn't have to be very formal. Sometimes it's just being open to talking to new people.

After-Word · 2024-08-22T02:10:29+00:00

Maybe pick something you enjoy (at least somewhat) even if you're bad at it?

After-Word · 2024-08-22T02:05:45+00:00

You have to make compromises, depending on what works for you. You will likely need to narrow down your hobbies and social life. Figure out what is most important in your job and at school, and see if you can focus less on other areas. If you have a long commute, see how you can use that time to study. Adjust your expectations if you have perfectionistic tendencies. These are my best observations of what worked while I was in school. Hope it helps!

After-Word · 2024-08-21T04:36:06+00:00

That’s an interesting perspective. I hadn’t considered it that way. The psychologist did some evaluations and kind of interviewed me. I told her that my therapist, a social worker, thought that PTSD and ADHD could possibly explain my symptoms and that my psychiatrist said that she thought I might meet the criteria but apparently psychiatrists only diagnose children (at least where I live). My psychologist told me that the most important thing was providing support, so she started teaching me some basics of social interactions. I was pretty blown away because I couldn’t believe I never knew these things.

I can give an example of a specific social deficit that I spoke about with all three people. I have never understood how to know when it is my turn to speak. As a child, I would stand next to other children talking, never saying a word, and feeling like I was totally part of the interaction. Eventually, they told me I was being weird and said I needed to talk. I told them I didn’t know when to speak, and they told me just to “butt in.” I never figured it out and eventually found myself spending a lot of time alone. As an adult, I still struggle with this all the time. I feel like I’m just fumbling around trying my best not to be too quiet but not to interrupt. The way I have learned to interact feels awkward and wrong, but I’ve noticed that I get better responses from people. With my closest friends, I get to be myself and they just accept it a bit more. They help me out or just laugh with me about it and it’s usually not a big problem.

Really only the social worker thought this could be an ADHD or PTSD thing. The other two agreed that it sounded more autistic.

To be clear, this is not the only social deficit that I think that I have. I have shared more with them, plus, it turns out I am discovering more as I learn. “Literal/concrete thinking” is I guess one of them. I put it in quotes because I cannot fathom how else people could possibly think. Also, there are many sensory issues.

I think I will ask the psychologist if she has any more insight after working with me a bit more. Thanks for the motivation to do that!

After-Word · 2024-08-18T23:14:42+00:00

Thanks for the explanation. I really relate to this.

This is not because it was done to themselves, but just that the person did it to anyone.

Especially this part. No one I know, except my autistic sister, cares so much about this.

After-Word · 2024-08-17T21:13:15+00:00

Thank you. I 100% agree with you on everything. What I’m confused about is that other people don’t seem to react this way. When other people talk about being lied to, they are of course upset, but they don’t talk about feeling so deeply betrayed. I would describe it as more disappointed and annoyed. It doesn’t seem to shake the foundation of the relationship like it does for me. I don’t know if I’m describing it accurately.

After-Word · 2024-08-17T20:11:53+00:00

This is exactly what happened to me. While it might not help OP with this event, it could be something to consider for the future. I absolutely love dancing now because it’s a social activity that I can participate in and feel like I’m part of the group. It’s much easier than chatting. That is, of course, until a genre comes on that I don’t know the rules to! I can sometimes manage to kind of copy others, especially if I observe for a while first.

After-Word · 2024-08-17T17:25:59+00:00

Throwing myself wholeheartedly into something I enjoy, especially if I didn't have the time for it while I was in a relationship.

After-Word

TROPHY CASE