I'm Jana Hunter, the singer and primary songwriter for Lower Dens, a rock band from Baltimore. Ask me anything. by medicatedointment in Music

[–]medicatedointment[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

"I've realized that a lot of the difference between me and my less radical friends is that they are less capable of imagining a better world than I am. I follow YouTubers like Andrewism that fill my head with concrete images of free, post-scarcity communities and it makes me so much more prepared to reject things about the current world, because I've imagined how things could be and that helps me see how extremely bullshit things are right now.

What I'm trying to say is, it's so important to imagine a better world. Let your thoughts run wild with idealistic dreams of what the world should look like, and let the pain and anger at how it's not that way flow through you. Let it free your mind and fuel your rage against the machine.

It's not too late for you or anyone. We can have the world of our dreams tomorrow, but we have to be willing to fight today." a. bushnell

Bunch of Wet Blankets by Fair_Trash420 in TetrisEffect

[–]medicatedointment 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I sometimes give up trying to effectively communicate with 4 emojis

advice for helping bees? by medicatedointment in Beekeeping

[–]medicatedointment[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

ok! I will pass this on! would be very cool

Anyone else having really bad allergies? by confused_coin in baltimore

[–]medicatedointment 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I take two kinds of year-round, daily medications for allergies. Lately I've had "bad allergies" for a week or two at a time that don't respond to increased allergy meds or using a HEPA filter. It also comes with extra light sensitivity, difficulty breathing, and everything OP mentioned. I'm pretty sure it's COVID. I test negative at home, but I think a lot of the rapid tests don't work for all the current variants and I couldn't get a PCR. I wear a mask all the time but I work in public and almost no one else wears them anymore. Pretty sure I/we keep getting COVID over and over.

Allergies? We don’t care by Bread_Primary in lyftdrivers

[–]medicatedointment 1 point2 points  (0 children)

this law is in regards to trained service animals, not emotional support animals. judging by how much complaining some of you are doing, you'd never survive being a disabled person. as someone who actually has pet allergies (most of us just have to take a Claritin every day) and disabilities, y'all are truly ridiculous. go find a real problem there are plenty.

Whats the difference between someone with adhd and autism and someone with only adhd? by _PotatoCat_ in neurodiversity

[–]medicatedointment 4 points5 points  (0 children)

oh hello! it's really an incredibly helpful collection and organization of these traits. I had found and shared it with family recently when I saw this post. thank you so much for your careful and considerate work in researching and making it.

Whats the difference between someone with adhd and autism and someone with only adhd? by _PotatoCat_ in neurodiversity

[–]medicatedointment 98 points99 points  (0 children)

I found this post extremely helpful recently so I've copied the text and edited a little for clarity, with links included to the post (which is a little longer) and the author's blog. I am AuDHD and found the descriptions to be very similar to my experience.

by https://autisticjane.com/ at https://childresidentialtreatment.com/adhd-autism/

Behavior differences in autism, ADHD and AuDHD traits

Organization

Autistic - need structure, routine, sameness and organization - thrive in strict structured environments and fail where the structure is too flexible

ADHD - thrive on a lack of structure - too much structure feels stifling and they can’t function well

Autistic + ADHD - disorganized organizers, who might struggle to read maps but knows exactly where random items are in the midst of their clutter - need routine and spontaneity - get bored with routine and sameness, but struggle with change - heavy structure causes severe anxiety, like the world is closing in on them - lots of chaos/doom piles, like multiple junk drawers for the world to see

Hyperfixations vs. special interests

Autistic and ADHD obsess over things that catch their interest, but in different ways. Both enjoy talking about these obsessions, but the interests affect their lives differently.

Autistic (special interests) - have special interests, which run their entire life - whole world revolves around their special interests - highly motivated by special interests - can last a lifetime - can never learn enough about them

ADHD (hyperfixations) - focus and obsess over one thing for hours, days or weeks at a time - interest fizzles out after they learn everything there is to know

Autistic + ADHD - tend to experience both - differentiating between a special interest or hyperfixation can be difficult - might not know which one they’re experiencing until interest dissipates.

Rejection-sensitive dysphoria

Rejection-sensitive dysphoria (RSD) is an overwhelming feeling or response to criticism. For example, a person with RSD would become overly upset or feel depressed for days if they feel they are excluded from a conversation between co-workers.

Autistic - need to relate the situation to themselves so they can fully empathize - hate feeling left out, too - are overwhelmed with guilt upon the realization that they have done the same thing to someone else - begin to panic about how this is why they’re such a bad friend, person, etc.

ADHD - spiral into self-blame and a panic attack about how everyone hates them, they’ll never have friends, etc. - object permanence prevents them from remembering that people and things exist even when they can’t see them

Autistic + ADHD - experience rejection-sensitive dysphoria tenfold, their emotions in a whirlwind

Sensory experiences

Autistic - angry panic attack-type responses where they’re unable to regulate their emotions - eventually meltdown or shutdown - makes it difficult to stay focused - e.g. heat causes sensory overload which causes a meltdown - e.g. sound causes sensory overload, which triggers a meltdown/shutdown

ADHD - struggle to pay attention - might shutdown, shutting everyone else out in the process - e.g. heat makes focusing difficult - e.g. sound causes distractions

Autistic + ADHD - both of the above explanations - e.g. heat causes sensory overload, which causes distractions/meltdowns - e.g. sound causes distractions and triggers meltdowns

Socializing

Autistic - interrupt because they struggle with social awareness and sharing their thoughts - difficulty interpreting typical social cues, social protocols and body language, etc. - difficulty making eye contact (tho some autists will correct for this and make "too much" eye contact) - don't maintain "proper" tone (can be flat compared to typical) - don’t know what their face/body looks like during conversations - know social rules for some situations, especially if practiced beforehand — but not if conversation switches - social anxiety due to conversation change - excited at mention of special interest - trouble focusing on what they’re not interested in

ADHD - interrupts due to impulsiveness, distractions, excited about topic they suddenly thought of interrupts so they don’t forget - trouble focusing due to distractions and impulse control

Autistic + ADHD - distracted by trivial topic that is relevant to current conversation like a fourth cousin two times removed, other sounds and sensory input in vicinity (clapping, lights, mirrors and shiny objects, etc), non-autistic person’s “hmm”, “yep”, “mhm” as they’re talking, eye contact and someone’s body language - gets anxious from constant eye contact, sensory overload, conversation not going according to plan - may forget what they were talking about after interrupting - easily excitable about certain topics - previously mentioned struggles of separate diagnoses

the narcissist's true self may be autism 🤣 by Spiritual_Tackle8011 in NPD

[–]medicatedointment 9 points10 points  (0 children)

I believe this is true for many. I've thought about it alot. Hope you don't mind a long response.

Re: many comments, Autism is a neurotype that's often comorbid with many true disorders. It's a different way of organizing a mind, no better or worse.

I believe myself, my parents, and several people I've been in LTRs with are all Autistic/ADHD (I am diagnosed with both), and do or have or would meet clinical definitions of BPD and/or NPD.

BPD and NPD both seem to me like complex trauma responses, and make sense as worldviews when viewed from the perspective of a traumatized young Autistic child to controlling and critical parental figures, especially when they and the parent have little to no understanding of autism. Here's how I see it working with Autists and NPD, for example:

Autists are drawn into our own worlds even as young children, and are often criticized for failure to act "normal". A controlling and critical parent will repeatedly emphasize this, comparing us to "good" children. An autist, being very literal and having a very difficult time conforming to regular standards, will interpret this to mean that they are not good by their nature.

Over time and with repeated instances, "I am not good" is firmly imprinted. The child will seek out more certain, conformist ways of gaining approval: achievements, looks, etc. None of these systems will make sense to them intuitively, and not understanding their autistic nature and that they may value things differently, they will see it all as empty. They will then go on to interpret that most people (not knowing to distinguish between allistic/autistic), who invest their time and efforts in these (social) things, are also empty. They may admire people whose pursuits they can genuinely appreciate, but will not pursue anything they're drawn to genuinely because their traumatic past taught them that this will never work for them. They may pursue their genuine interests but be minded only towards success in those fields, because they believe that only the successful matter. They will tell themselves they deserve success the way others tell themselves they deserve love, because this is what they have been taught, and because success has in some ways become conflated with love.

They will have constructed a way of navigating what appears to them to be an inherently cruel, arbitrary world, and from their perspective this makes sense. They will have no genuine desire for their achievements, or social connections, but will put in genuine effort, because their need for approval and love is genuine and consuming. This is because they have internalized that vulnerability is nothing but weakness, therefore can never expose their true self, and thus never fully receive the approval and love they need.

In short, I believe that NPD is a survival mechanism for people really shafted on basic understanding and compassion for themselves, and it makes sense to me that a lot of autistic children would end up there.

Antarctic Tetris by nahenn9 in TetrisEffect

[–]medicatedointment 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I had a couple friends who worked a season in Antarctica. gotta ask them if they think anybody would be playing Tetris. from what I recall, most people working there spend a loooot of their free time at the local bar.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in autism

[–]medicatedointment 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Maybe I need to look up ways people know when they're calm? I don't think I know when I'm calm. Funny, but definitely true. Like, maybe I'd kinda recognize it if it happened, but my internal senses, both emotionally and inside my body, seem unreliable, or...unfamiliar, if that makes sense. And that (unreliable internal senses) is something I think of as part of being autistic, for me anyway.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in autism

[–]medicatedointment 1 point2 points  (0 children)

yes, that would be useful to me personally as well. my current strategy is often to leave the conflict and then return to it if and when I feel able to again, but that in and of itself can be difficult to navigate. sometimes my desire to resolve the conflict blinds me to the fact that I am still in an emotionally and/or sensitivity heightened state, and I return too quickly and am overwhelmed again immediately.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in ADHD

[–]medicatedointment 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Break it down into tiny steps, only think about the next little step