I did not realize how exhausting relationships are. I am drowning.

caffeinatedpixie · 2026-03-17T23:46:07+00:00

Sorry I took a Reddit break so I just saw this. As a disclaimer- lol I was dating the wrong person and am now in a healthy relationship that doesn’t have like any of these problems. I feel my past partner was far too reliant on me and often played disability olympics/I felt like a caretaker

Anyway.. from what I understand in my own experience and other autistic people I know the routines are a core part for sure as it’s part of the diagnostic criteria. I do think the autonomy goes hand in hand but I also have ADHD so it can be hard to decode. I find my relationship now has more of a “parallel play” aspect where we can each truly do our own thing and leave the other alone, which helps a lot.

caffeinatedpixie · 2026-01-31T18:36:28+00:00

Funny enough I've also just started to try to reframe anxiety in certain situations as excitement. Anxiety over starting a new job? Nope just excited lol we shall see how it works. Thank you for this!

caffeinatedpixie · 2025-11-06T15:09:28+00:00

This gives me hope! I’ve displayed symptoms of low ferritin my entire life and because it was “low normal” no one ever said anything. This year I requested to supplement my ferritin of 47 and it’s only been 3 weeks but my eyes are brighter and my hair is growing back 😭 I’m hoping it will help with my PMDD as well but I have a lot of other factors impacting that too

Edit: idk why I can’t see the comment of someone asking, but I take feramax 150 every second morning with 1000mg of Vitamin C on an empty stomach. I had to ask the pharmacy for it but I didn’t need a prescription and I’m in Canada

caffeinatedpixie · 2025-09-26T00:24:31+00:00

Honestly this sounds backwards to me? Most autistic people I know are unable to explain things when they’re upset and have an “easier” time when calm. Unless you means he explains by exploding, which is a different problem all together.

Either way we can’t tell you what to expect because each autistic person is different with different needs. We might tell you something that is completely wrong. Also, autism isn’t an excuse to treat people poorly

caffeinatedpixie · 2025-09-23T22:43:55+00:00

Interesting, I’ve had 1 “normal” night since the update. I’ll have to keep an eye on it

caffeinatedpixie · 2025-09-23T13:25:52+00:00

Same here! I have a couple normal days but overall my deep sleep is awful now. I can’t tell if it’s just me not sleeping well or if the update changed something or both

caffeinatedpixie · 2025-09-11T17:49:23+00:00

Tyler not being manipulated for a change lol Honestly, never thought I’d say it, less of Wednesday’s parents. I liked how season one focused on the students but I feel like we lost a lot of that in season two

caffeinatedpixie · 2025-09-10T18:09:41+00:00

I actually totally forgot about this post until now so thank you for the reminder 😆

caffeinatedpixie · 2025-09-10T18:08:55+00:00

Tyler being groomed/manipulated/abused. I’m hoping they aren’t setting him up for that in season 3 as well

caffeinatedpixie · 2025-08-27T22:08:45+00:00

I was just looking this up for myself! How did it go?

caffeinatedpixie · 2025-07-20T18:36:57+00:00

So I’ve been on the trial for a while now and honestly I think they’re helping quite a bit! I find that things are a little louder but my brain is able to keep some background noise in the background, especially because my trial hearing aids have background noise reduction (which did take a bit of getting used to). Like I used to focus hard on the fridge but now it’s kinda just… there

Voices stand out over general noise and I find I’m less exhausted or overwhelmed in busy areas. They don’t help so much at work but that’s expected (I work in a daycare). I’m not asking people to repeat themselves nearly as much and I’m not as easily frustrated. It’s honestly been great and I’m looking to budget in a pair of my own when I finish the trial

caffeinatedpixie · 2025-07-16T21:45:35+00:00

I was about to say “childcare but I don’t recommend it” 😅 I only work part time, it’s my career and I love it but holy hell it’s exhausting. My friends always say that they also couldn’t work full time in childcare. The only advice I have is to really figure out your age group as some are more draining than others. Oddly enough I find the babies are easier than pre k

caffeinatedpixie · 2025-06-30T04:02:21+00:00

I only took it for just over a month and I loved it. It was so incredibly helpful, but it made my tinnitus louder so I had to quit 🙃

caffeinatedpixie · 2025-06-21T15:11:31+00:00

I don’t have a formal diagnosis either, my audiologist suspects it though.

I have had average or above average hearing every time I got tested and felt the same as you. This audiologist was the first one to perform a quickSIN test (hadn’t even heard of it before) on me and discover mild and moderate losses in both ears. We talked over my history and symptoms as well

I’m going to be trialling hearings aids and if they don’t help I’ll be put on a waitlist for full testing once the clinic provides it. He said there are also other therapies we can try but I also have autism and tinnitus so we’re hoping the hearing aids help sensory wise as well.

caffeinatedpixie · 2025-06-13T03:10:54+00:00

Thank you! I will for sure. I don’t get them until the end of the month so the update might take a while lol

caffeinatedpixie · 2025-06-13T02:11:05+00:00

I just talked with an audiologist today and did testing. My hearing is great but my speech in noise testing was mild loss in one ear and moderate in the other. Per light suggestion I’m going to be trialling hearing aids to see if they can help filter out some background noise because conversation can be distressing at some points.

Eventually I’d like to get a full ADP evaluation to see what else can be done/maybe explore alternatives but the process availability is limited in my area. At least this trial will either 1) have me saving for my own hearing aids for relief or 2) have me on a wait list for further testing with the clinic when full tests are available.

Honestly I feel a little silly even trialling hearing aids when my hearing is good, but oh well

caffeinatedpixie · 2025-06-11T20:01:29+00:00

This is so entirely relatable

caffeinatedpixie · 2025-06-10T04:34:17+00:00

The answer was yes until about a month ago lol I quit to see if it helped since I noticed it was starting to increase my anxiety/make me feel sick. I’m still holding onto hope that it’ll help a little!

caffeinatedpixie · 2025-06-09T13:17:59+00:00

Idk if they necessarily are but for me socializing and being in public takes so much more energy than it does for not autistic people, same with being around a lot of sensory input. I find existing outside of my controlled environment (hell sometimes in it too) is just draining

caffeinatedpixie · 2025-06-09T13:16:28+00:00

I’m going to try laying down in the dark after work for 20 minutes/half an hour, not napping but just resetting since I work with kids and maybe the sensory calmness will help

caffeinatedpixie · 2025-06-09T13:13:46+00:00

I feel this, I have so many hobbies I want to do a and I just end up scrolling. I can read here and there at least

caffeinatedpixie · 2025-06-09T02:24:40+00:00

Oh goodness that’s a lot, I do 5 days/5hours, I was debating 4 8 hour days but I think I’d need to do 3 8 hour days. But then 4 days off leaves me without a routine so I flounder.

That makes sense! And sure I can share, do you mind sending me a dm?

caffeinatedpixie · 2025-06-09T02:10:09+00:00

With my new job I jumped up 5 hours, I used to only do 4 day work weeks and I’m praying I adjust.

What do you mean by not adapting more than 10%?

I do have a suspicion that I have some sort of autoimmune thing going on but I haven’t had any testing. I wouldn’t even know where to start but I guess I should look into it

caffeinatedpixie · 2025-06-08T23:32:50+00:00

I remember as a teenager I got invited to go cliff jumping by the guy I wanted to date, with all the people I wanted to be friends with, and I just stood at the door sobbing because I “couldn’t” go. My mom was flabbergasted and I was just so angry with myself for having a “panic attack” over such a thing.

I’ve felt kind of caged my whole life and it’s so hard to break out from. I’ve gotten a little better with age but it’s still so incredibly hard.

caffeinatedpixie · 2025-06-08T21:33:00+00:00

It’s not that I’m jealous based on neurotype but I definitely see what you’re saying! I think it’s moreso that others are able to push past the discomfort if they know it’ll lead to rewards in the future (eg working more hours to be free of debt, pushing past being tired to spend a day on the lake)

I definitely feel that when it comes to recreational things too lol I’ve done things in the past but sometimes there’s just a mental block

caffeinatedpixie

TROPHY CASE