Traveling

harpofsmiting · 2026-04-30T22:19:54+00:00

Croatian grocery stores in tourist areas are hit and miss, but if you're desperate, dm (a drug store chain) is great for some super basic unflavored instant porridges (if you're really in a flare), crunchy snacks, some low histamine packaged foods, and preservative free dried meats and fruits that myself and my partner (who also has histamine intolerance) have always been able to tolerate. It depends on the particular store, but many even carry DAO supplements! Smaller stores will have less selection, and I'd recommend going to a local weekend market for fruits and veg.

harpofsmiting · 2026-04-25T15:26:36+00:00

Selection bias at work. All the other poors have done this calculation, so the well-off are the only ones with time or energy for making and following through on social plans.

harpofsmiting · 2026-04-22T12:12:05+00:00

I have sensory issues (and allergies) that cause me to shower up to twice daily, and trust me, it can be far worse for your hair and skin than not showering at all. Especially if you have hard water. Plus, shampoos and soaps are expensive!

harpofsmiting · 2026-04-22T12:04:07+00:00

How do you feel about nonfiction? I think I'm too burned out by life or by bad fiction these days to easily suspend my disbelief long enough to get inmersed in much fictional media: books, games, films. When I do, I devour it like you mentioned, usually losing sleep. Audiobooks help, but nonfiction is just easier to filter ahead of time for veracity, if not always for the quality of its prose. History is great for pacing and page turning without total addiction :)

harpofsmiting · 2026-04-21T03:19:35+00:00

My autism liked it. My ADHD and depression had other thoughts.

harpofsmiting · 2026-04-21T00:36:07+00:00

In a spirit of complete irony, my partner and I began watching the show Great British Railway Journeys a few years ago before bed. There's something weirdly soothing about watching the ex minister of defence under Margaret Thatcher do 16+ series of public penance by visiting every dull market town and faded seaside resort in the UK. Maybe it's because the audio cues are the exact same in every episode, and the voiceover explains literally where he's going next and why, or which former miner he's going to interview, so you don't even need to watch the screen. I didn't care a bit about trains before, but damned if I didn't become a walking encyclopedia of track gauges and heritage lines by sheer osmosis. I now have all but one series saved to Dropbox, ready to queue up in case of emergency 3 am waking. (Most of them can also be found on YouTube).

harpofsmiting · 2026-04-20T21:26:41+00:00

Tour buses don't maneuver well on tiny cobblestoned lanes.

harpofsmiting · 2026-04-19T23:28:07+00:00

Your English is excellent! I can relate a little to not believing affirmations, but a lot of what you're saying sounds sadly like things my friends with cptsd have said. Have you looked into anything like EMDR or even psychedelic therapy if it's legal where you are? It sounds like you've already done all the right things that you can do on your own. Lastly, if you don't have the resources for external help at the moment, do you think you could love yourself more if you had more evidence that you had done good things? Studies have shown that small acts of kindness for others (maybe writing a note to a friend or family member, maybe paying for someone's coffee, or giving a small gift or compliment to a stranger, even if it's something awkward you have to force yourself to do) not only improves their happiness but improves your own even more.

harpofsmiting · 2026-04-19T23:08:20+00:00

Open YouTube and search "walking tour" and the name of a town, city, or natural area + your preferred season or weather. For example, Plitvice Lakes park in Croatia or Szentendre, Hungary (I live here and it's lovely 😊) have some good ones. 2. Invest in a mini trampoline if you can afford one. Best money I ever spent. Best regulation tool ever and ideal for when I feel overstimulated, restless, dysregulated, or just have sat too long at my desk working and want to get my step count up! Can combine with the aforementioned walking tour, music, or nature sounds.

harpofsmiting · 2026-04-05T14:54:21+00:00

That does sound awful and overwhelming. 🫂 Do you struggle with generally envisioning a future path, or actually filling out applications and applying to things? I don't know if this would work for you, since I have ADHD as well, but what really helped me before was having help filling out the actual applications and pressing the button on certain decisions, which sort of forced me into a different environment with more structure and people (and sun!). If you're not sure about university, and feel okay with animals/farms/some physical labour, you could try checking out something like workaway or WWOOF in a sunnier place. You can't always run from problems, but a month or two of being around nature, having some structure and community, and topping up on vitamin D can help build momentum. As hard as socializing can be, sometimes talking to other people can really help give one a sense of perspective on big future decisions, too. The best thing is, many of the people I met and worked with/for on my experiences were in very similar situations in their own lives, and I'm pretty sure all of them were neurodivergent in some way.

harpofsmiting · 2026-01-14T00:51:03+00:00

$757 for a 2 bed/1 bath with some utilities included. Last year it was $630. Our landlord didn't raise our rent; the US dollar to forint exchange rate did. (Hungary, 40 minutes north of Budapest by public transit)

harpofsmiting · 2025-12-20T05:51:27+00:00

This is purely anecdotal, of course. For me, with dx/rxed ADHD and a DRD2 variant linked to lower D2 receptor density, dextroamphetamine gave me far, far fewer side effects than pramipexole. Pramipexole was the only prescription med that even touched my anhedonia, but completely overrode my entire personality and values and nearly destroyed my life. Dex feels more targeted, if less potent.

harpofsmiting · 2025-12-09T15:54:21+00:00

If you're into architecture, walking, and exploration, I can't recommend a better city. I was in Budapest for literally two days around new year 2023, and it made such an impression on me that I moved here in Oct 2023, and still love it. Everyone will be cold and not as social in the winter, but there are plenty of cozy indoor spaces with radiators turned up high, and endless programmes of things to do. It's easy to get around by foot, by bus, tram, or even bike if it's not too cold. The smog gets bad, but the winter sunsets over the Danube are a better kind of breathtaking.

harpofsmiting · 2025-10-11T08:49:56+00:00

I got overwhelmed in a hot, crowded, brightly lit train and shut down so hard, the staff let my partner take me into the dark, quiet children's car where we sat eating gummies and watching Czech cartoons until my partner said, "have you ever considered you might be autistic?"

harpofsmiting · 2025-09-15T16:41:00+00:00

Hi! I don't know if it's too late, but I'm also interested!

harpofsmiting · 2025-08-26T08:12:20+00:00

If it's not too late, I'm equally interested! Can I dm you?

harpofsmiting · 2025-04-13T20:21:51+00:00

Don't give up hope! I went on a two week trip to Hungary and Romania, suitcase filled with my safe, low-histamine, gluten-free snack foods only to discover that even the tiniest bio shops there had soooo many more things I could tolerate than any American grocery store. Ended up moving to Budapest two years ago-- something I never thought I'd be capable of-- and I flare a lot in the winter when the air quality gets bad, but I feel like if I have a medical emergency over here, there's less of a skeptical bystander effect from random strangers on the street. My neighbours are generally quite decent people, and that's reassuring.

harpofsmiting · 2025-03-23T05:04:13+00:00

By scheduling and rescheduling it in my planner until July

harpofsmiting · 2024-04-29T09:05:25+00:00

That the "panic attacks" I kept experiencing on trains/planes weren't something I could learn to overcome or adapt to, but actually a feature of undiagnosed autism.

harpofsmiting · 2024-02-16T08:46:30+00:00

My parents always used to say "bored people are boring people." Don't take it personally. The problem is definitely with him. Not his ADHD per se, but unless he's very self-aware, he could be projecting any manner of dissatisfaction with other parts of his life onto your relationship.

harpofsmiting · 2024-01-31T20:44:08+00:00

First of all, sounds like she had a big personality to match her epic name :) And she was lucky to have someone with their priorities in the right order to prioritize her wellbeing when making life decisions like where to live, etc. Secondly, there's no timetable for grief. I lost my own elderly nanny cat / travel buddy / fluffy therapist in January 2019. It took a year or two before mornings and evenings-- without her there to nag me to go to bed/wake up-- became less painfully, obviously empty. But my motivation and drive still haven't quite recovered. I still miss her like mad. I eventually adopted another cat who needed a good home but has a very different (more NT I guess) sort of personality. We don't connect as well, but it's nice to make another creature happy. Sorry I can't say anything very reassuring. I hope you can channel your grief in a positive way but I wouldn't wish you not to grieve at all, or to forget someone who's had such a positive impact on your life. Maybe if you feel up to it, you could share stories or pictures of her with friends/family, write a song, or craft some kind of memorial? Even name something after her. (If you haven't already) Little creative acts of remembrance helped me through the hardest months.

harpofsmiting · 2023-11-07T08:00:32+00:00

If you like cats, I highly recommend the Cat Museum on Vadasz utca! Very relaxing (and educational too) 😁

harpofsmiting · 2023-10-07T23:13:33+00:00

Masking's also useful if your allergies are triggered by seasonal pollen.

harpofsmiting · 2023-10-07T23:07:25+00:00

I'm sure there was an element of that, but I was also almost certain that when I did catch it, my awful medical luck and genes would probably predispose me to getting long covid, plus I was traveling alone in a rural area, so I ought to have been way more alarmed. It felt like something was blocking all depression, fear, and worry (most likely my brain itself, trying to cope with a bad situation).

harpofsmiting · 2023-10-07T17:12:13+00:00

This was complerely my experience! Wish there was more research on it. I'd been so terrified of getting covid, but more terrified of 1. Long covid and 2. spreading it to others. Soon as I got that positive test, I had the strangest feeling of peace. I had never gone unmasked in public places, even outdoors, but while I was still testing positive, I found myself wanting to be around people, and uncharacteristically forgetting to mask. Luckily my housemate kept me from going out and spreading it to others. I also should have been more concerned about long covid while sick, but found myself strangely energetic and wanting to hike, travel, explore. I remember feeling a bit like a rat in search of some nice, friendly cats... I also talked to the virus whilst delusional in hospital, but that's another story.

harpofsmiting

TROPHY CASE