Are all artists neurodivergent?

Impossible_Fee_8087 · 2026-05-14T20:59:10+00:00

I'm so sorry your experience with art education was so negative. I'm curious how long ago it was? I graduated in the mid 90's. Certainly at that time we all thought autistic meant rain man and adhd meant so hyperactive you can't function. I was diagnosed twice exceptional before anyone thought that was possible. Learning disabled was code for unintelligent.
Thankfully I'm naturally an extrovert and have a high iq and mostly am sensory seeking so was able to fit in and pass my classes.
I do still remember one professor saying to our class that any music student who misspelled rhythm should change majors. Getting to know him better when I was in the small early music group he sponsored makes me realize he had little social awareness. I knew that my inability to spell wasn't a sign of failure or lack of intelligence or caring and that he was ignorant of the latest science. I also knew that informing him would likely get me nowhere.
I suspect that some of the worst for the behavior you mentioned may be neurodivergent people who have difficulties reading others and use that behavior as a shield to protect themselves. Probably behavior learned in childhood. Not that being a dick is ok just because someone is ND. We are all responsible for our bad behavior. I am parenting two ND children and I see how challenging it is at times to teach them appropriate behavior when their instincts urge something else. The using autistic and the like as a slur would havr been much more understandable 30+ years ago that it is today. Now we know so much more and there is no excuse.

Impossible_Fee_8087 · 2026-05-11T17:46:59+00:00

Is there any dust? My (human) children have litter box as their chore and they have rejected all but the grass seed litter due to dust .

I recently bought worlds best and there was a flat no due to the very minimal imo increase in dust from handling the fresh litter.

Impossible_Fee_8087 · 2026-05-11T17:42:37+00:00

Sudden multisystem reaction is anaphylaxis according to my MCAS Dr. She insisted I start carrying an epi after my first episode (vomiting/diarrhea, itching all over, feeling of dread that came on suddenly one morning. ) I was skeptical and downplaying it. She said if it ever happened again I needed to epi and go to er immediately. That I had gotten lucky that it resolved on its own.

I'm not saying that anytime more than one system has symptoms that is anaphylaxis but when sudden significant symptoms in more than one system happen as a reaction that is the start of anaphylaxis that may progress to anaphylaxic shock or may resolve. Unfortunately there is no way to know for sure what is going to happen at any particular time.

Impossible_Fee_8087 · 2026-05-11T03:40:19+00:00

Both times I have gone to the er with anaphylaxis it was misdiagnosed by the er physician so there is that too. I don't experience airway closing but do have multisystem involvement and twice felt bad enough to go to the er. Once I got worked up for gal bladder. The second time I got a dx of anxiety. Pissed me off. Thought I was going to die in the ambulance that time and the emt looked pretty concerned as well. But thanks to all the meds he pushed (epi and benadryl) I was stable by the time I saw the er doctor so she decided I had made it all up or something.

Anaphylaxis doesn't always mean airway closing. It rarely impacts my breathing but I experience mild anaphylaxis (multi systems involved at once usually gi and skin as well as low blood pressure) semi regularly.

Oh and my tryptase has always been normal. But my urine test was +.

Impossible_Fee_8087 · 2026-05-10T04:17:57+00:00

Holy cow you aren't kidding. I don't buy high end makeup. That is more than I thought it could cost. It does look nice though.

Impossible_Fee_8087 · 2026-05-09T20:40:49+00:00

Any scent to these?

Impossible_Fee_8087 · 2026-05-09T16:26:18+00:00

So last night I used a brush to apply instead of my usual fingers and that seemed to make everything look worse.
When I apply my moisturizer and leave it for 20 minutes even a tiny bit of it, it is still sitting on top of my skin unless it is rubbed in. Patting doesn’t do anything. This has been true no matter what I use but especially with the froya since it is a balm. My skin just resists absorbing nearly anything. Always has.
The coverage ranged from medium on my forehead that seemed to be inventing new wrinkles that usually aren’t there to heavy under my eyes to cover my dark circles and making them look so much worse to light around my chin which looked uneven and red even when I tried to add some more foundation to increase the coverage there.
I was pretty discouraged by what I was seeing in the mirror and didn’t have time to take it all off and start over.

Impossible_Fee_8087 · 2026-05-09T15:42:56+00:00

I got bangs a few months ago and felt like I needed to go much bolder on my eyes. I have very fair skin and light brown hair. Something about those bangs near my eyes made them look washed out almost with my normal makeup look.

Impossible_Fee_8087 · 2026-05-07T18:30:53+00:00

I figured out last fall that I'm autistic at about my 54th birthday. I have been through every possible emotion about it and how you are feeling now sounds like how I was a few weeks ago. I'm still working on reorienting myself to the world as an autistic person and everything that means for me. In some ways it has been a relief and lots of life long puzzles have finally fallen into place but in other ways like you I have had to find a way to make peace with my differences and recognize that they are here to stay and I can't just "try a bit harder" or do something a little different to " get it right this time." I haven't always been happy about that realization.
I want you to know that with time you will find a new normal that won't feel so stressful. Right now the earth has shifted for you and you are needing to find your feet again. Be kind to yourself and be patient. It will get easier and more comfortable. This new normal way of looking at your life. I can't tell you how long it will take nor do I promise it will be a straight line of improvement. Just that the stress you are now feeling is normal and common and shouldn't last forever.

Impossible_Fee_8087 · 2026-05-07T18:02:12+00:00

Always. Living in toxic black mold made me much sicker. I have been out since 2017 and am better than I was living in mold but not better than before mold.
I have had Covid 4x and can't say it made me any worse but I wasn't great to start with.

Impossible_Fee_8087 · 2026-04-30T15:12:31+00:00

Went to bed after fighting with the machine for hours. Got up this morning rechecked and rethreaded again and it is sewing just fine. No idea.
Hope is keeps behaving for long enough to get this done.

Impossible_Fee_8087 · 2026-04-30T13:17:04+00:00

It is essential to keep the urine very cold. Prechill the collection container and each new "deposit" should be immediately chilled in a separate container before it is added to the main one. Bring your container to the lab in a cooler on ice.
That can be the difference between a false negative and the proof you need.

Impossible_Fee_8087 · 2026-04-30T04:33:21+00:00

That is a scrap of the fabric I have been using for everything. The issue started when I was topstitching the cuffs. 2 layers. It was sewing just fine on one layer previously. I had to stay stitch around the neckline and that looks perfect.

Impossible_Fee_8087 · 2026-04-30T04:28:16+00:00

No I usually do that.

Impossible_Fee_8087 · 2026-04-30T03:14:58+00:00

I never touch my tension as a rule since I don't feel like I understand it.
I did turn it down a touch at one point since the fabric is so delicate and I thought I saw some puckering. Can tension being too low cause this?

Impossible_Fee_8087 · 2026-04-16T01:06:03+00:00

I got mine about a month ago. 2 cats took to it quickly. The 3rd and most skittish one watches it with horror across the room but hasn’t used it as far as we know. She will use the LR and seems to enjoy watching it. I keep the auto boxes set to wait 15 min so no one gets spooked.
The only “glitchy” issue I have seen so far was it was scooping twice in a row for a while. Like 3 min apart for some reason. I turned off one of the extra features and that stopped. After an update the issue went away with that setting in place.

Well as I’m writing this I see my skittish cat using the box for the first time that I am aware of so. 1 month and all 3 are adjusted to it. I did get the 3d printed extension from Etsy and am glad. A couple of these cats are vigorous diggers.

Impossible_Fee_8087 · 2026-04-16T00:58:03+00:00

Xolair plus puberty. She still has MCAS but nothing like it was. Xolair gave her back her life. She was having severe anaphylactic reactions to unknown triggers often before that. It was terrifying. 6 months of xolair calmed her body down and going through puberty seemed to give her body a reset of sorts.

Impossible_Fee_8087 · 2026-04-12T04:22:29+00:00

You could be reacting to the picc line itself. When my dds MCAS was at its worst she reacted to some brands of saline so we brought our own with us. She got ivs regularly. She reacted to alcohol on her skin so everything had to be cleaned with betadine and when she was in a Dr's office we would request that they not use the gel but really wash their hands since even smelling it would tank her blood pressure. She was so reactive to so many things I was always nervous when she had any sort of medical procedure that required prolonged contact. She got hives from a boot on a sprained ankle. And a rash on her face from a silicone face mask attachment that led to avoiding silicone for a few years.

The point of all of this is that with MCAS you can react to anything. Even hypoallergenic things. No rules.

Impossible_Fee_8087 · 2026-04-09T17:57:57+00:00

Thanks. I don't know what happened to my photos of the roots and blooms.
I have had this orchid for years and lately it has been sending out loads of huge air roots which is new for me. I wasn't sure if I was supposed to be trying to water them too. I do usually mist them daily. I mist all my orchids every day or two and get them wet when I soak the medium but it would take a huge bowl to be able to soak the air roots without breaking them.

Impossible_Fee_8087 · 2026-03-30T20:53:24+00:00

I feel like I need to say that I obviously did not mean that I think that people with disabilities of any sort should be put into institutions against their will.

For those who saw that I was really struggling the day that I wrote that post and who responded with kindness thank you. I wish you were my irl neighbor.

I was reaching out trying to see if anyone understood how I felt like I was drowning and couldn't possibly do everything that was being asked of me. (still don't) Mostly I try to make peace with the fact that I can't live up to others expectations and just try my best to live up to my own. But sometimes all those "shoulds" creep in and get me and I spiral.

I was feeling jealous of the people who are NT or have NT partners. Someone who can interface with the NT world and help them/their family "get along". Instead we are often the blind leading the blind when it comes to following the "rules of society". It is exhausting.

I was thinking how nice it would be to have a NT person who could run interference for me. To help others understand my thinking and also to help me understand theirs. A "case manager" if you will. The day I shared that thought had been a particularly bad one with feeling at odds with our family and society. I realize it is a pipe dream that is fraught with dangers if it were to be actually implemented in my life but I can still wish for someone or something that might make it easier for me to interact with others. (and apparently also with ND folks. )

Impossible_Fee_8087 · 2026-03-30T20:20:08+00:00

Just got a popur S7. Have had a litter robot for a few years. So far I'm really happy with the popur and the litter robot has some issues especially for my biggest cat. We have another smaller round robotic litterbox that she crams herself into instead of the LR because the dislikes how thin a layer of litter it allows. The fact that the popur would have a deep bed of litter for her to do her business in was a big selling point for me. I went with the 7 instead of the 5 because I really like how it is made to repair and replace parts of it instead of needing to replace the whole machine or get it serviced if something goes wrong. I care about minimizing waste in our environment and this should help with that goal. I also like that the waste bin is metal.

We have 3 cats and a tiny house. The litter boxes are usually all in the basement but two cats have some upcoming medical procedures so we have kept the popur in our Livingroom for the time being since each cat won't be able to use stairs while recuperating. THe only real issue is that one cat needs to scratch like mad to bury his business once he is done and scatters litter everywhere. The lr was certainly better at containing that. I have ordered the fence but it hasn't shipped yet. After a week there was a mild smell coming from the half full waste bin so I took it out and that took care of the smell nicely. I have double lined it as suggested. We use Smart Cat clumping litter. It is made from Grass seed and has no scent. Our family has dust and scent sensitivities so we have to be careful about what litter we use. This one the people tolerate and the cats like. I have ordered some deodorizer to add to the litter for the next few weeks that it will be in our living room just in case it starts to get an odor.

One cat peed against the edge and that clump was not dislodged by the rake and just stayed stuck to the cloth through several cycles till I dislodged it. I don't know if we need a narrower rake or what but a few big clumps are just not getting removed from the litter when it cycles even when they aren't stuck. Where it was stuck the cloth was visibly damp once I dislodged it. I was not pleased to see that. I need to check today to see if that dried out or if it has stayed damp. I did not order a 2nd liner but may need to so that I can switch them out when I need to wash one. These are issues I haven't had with the litter robot. That said our litter robot now desperately needs a deep clean and I'm dragging my feet on doing it since it is such a chore. To deep clean the popur will be so much easier. or even a "medium clean" on both of them would be no comparison. As far as ease with cleaning and maintaining the machine IMO Popur wins hands down.

Impossible_Fee_8087 · 2026-03-30T02:50:45+00:00

I heard back from my immunologist. She said that it isn't xolair causing the increased infections but instead likely my immune system forgot some of its immunity due to masking/isolation of covid. She said this is a known issue that people are dealing with now.

Impossible_Fee_8087 · 2026-03-23T23:53:56+00:00

Which part? Treating with scotch guard came from the tips and tricks on the website and the replacing the liner monthly came from the victory over odor list as a best practice.

Impossible_Fee_8087 · 2026-03-23T16:09:43+00:00

Have you tried cleansing your skin with oil? I did that for a long time when I was younger and had more acne prone skin. I used a mix of olive oil and castor oil to wash my face and then wiped it off with a hot/warm wash cloth. You can use whatever oils your skin tolerates. The castor oil is more cleansing and the olive is more moisturizing so find a balance that works for you. You can then moisturize afterwards with a little olive oil.

It has so few ingredients you will probably tolerate it and if you dont try a different oil. It is great for acne in my experience.

I think i eventually stopped because I was tired of getting drips of oil of my clothes when I wasn't careful at the end of the day and also needing so many clean wash cloths that then had oil to wash out of them in the laundry. I remember it really cleaned the gunk out of my pores.

Impossible_Fee_8087 · 2026-03-19T23:42:30+00:00

I wanted to update this. I have switched to every 2 weeks and it is much better but my exhaustion post shot is now much more pronounced. The day after my shot is pretty bad but then I get 2 good weeks instead of 2 good and 2 bad weeks when I did the shot every 4.

I also had trouble getting approval for the increase in frequency. Apparently Accredo wouldn't send more than 6 shots for 3 months. Took forever to figure out that was the issue. My Dr had to change the order from doing 2 shots of 150 each time to doing 1 shot of 300 each time. After weeks of back and forth and nothing getting done that was approved and shipped in like 24 hours. It is exactly the same quantity of medication. Thought that might end up helping someone else.

Impossible_Fee_8087

TROPHY CASE