my friend Alex, whom i shot

Similarly, like… I’ve tried to explain why being around people makes me so tired before, using the analogy that to me, being around people is like being at a crowded amusement park. But it’s not like that. It’s like being around people. It’s just as draining as being in a crowded amusement park might be for someone far less sensitive. My actual experience is nothing like being at an amusement park.

I think it gives people the idea that autistic people live in this radically different world, where lights are literally brighter, sounds are literally louder, etc. Which isn’t the case. My brain reacts to quiet sounds like some peoples’ would to very loud sounds, but they still sound quiet to me.

I don’t know how to explain this or why it’s so important to me. For years I couldn’t relate at all to descriptions of what the world is supposed to be like for autistic people, because I would read descriptions like “Jake is autistic. To him, the sound of a mosquito’s whine sounds like a running chainsaw.” I’d think, “Oh, mosquitos don’t sound like chainsaws to me… they’re really quiet - I just overreact to them. Clearly I must just be [insert derogatory adjective here], not autistic.”

The [ original source ] for these is highly gendered.

Under the cut, I am retyping the original source in gender-neutral language, as atypical autism traits do not only appear in girls.

If you are Autistic and your autism matches this profile, it does not mean that you must be a girl; it just means your autism is a kind that often gets missed by traditional diagnostic profiles. These traits were commonly found by researchers in cisgender girls, but they are by no means exclusive to cisgender girls.

The traits are split into four categories.

I’ve never seen stuff abt how to cope with bpd when you’re like mid-breakdown and shit so here’s some things i do to chill out or at least block out my symptoms long enough to calm down

music- no sad music. stuff you know all the words to. turn it up loud enough to block out your bad thoughts and anxiety and sing along until the mood swing passes

airplane mode- if ur anxious bc ur fp or anyone isn’t responding to you/ignoring you, turn ur notifications off and turn ur phone on airplane mode so you won’t be sitting there waiting for them

reassuring yourself- when you start feeling like ur fp doesn’t care about you anymore keep something around to remind you of a time when you KNEW they loved you. keep screenshots, stuffed animals, the ticket stub from when they took u to a movie, just something to remind you of that feeling

venting- write your bad thoughts on a piece of paper and then destroy it. set it on fire in the bathtub, tear it to shreds. post on the Vent app. tell it to someone u can trust, tell it to me. getting those thoughts out and having them validated helps so much

Quizzes:

Quiz1  (this is similar to what my psychiatrist made me take for my diagnosis, also pardon the mention of Asperger’s) Quiz 2

Traits:

Asan’s list A good chart of traits (pardon unnecessary gendering/aspergers) More traits (pardon asperger’s) List #1 I created List #2 I created List #3 I created Dsm-5 Criteria Alternate Criteria Atypical Traits (warning super gendered) Resource Page Asan Resource Page

Videos: 

This channel has amazing videos on all autism topics! (neurowonderful’s channel)

Autism Tumblrs:

Actuallyautistic tag @autismproblems @askanautistic @autisticliving @neurowonderful @piggyschuyler @butterflyinthewell

Autism Merchandise:

The word comes from the Greek words lexis and thumos and literally means “no words for emotions.” Alexiythymia is a clinical inability to recognize and define the emotions of one’s self and is commonly associated with BPD, among most other psychiatric disorders. Some people with alexithymia may also struggle with empathy and have trouble defining and recognizing emotions in others as well as themselves.

Signs you may struggle with alexithymia include:

When asked how you are feeling, you have no idea how to answer.

You are unsure of which words to use when describing your feelings.

You tend to state facts of your current situation rather than describing how it makes you feel.

When others are hurt are upset, you have difficulty imagining what they are going through.

When you are upset, you find it difficult to pinpoint what is causing it.

You have difficulty expressing how you feel about other people.

You are often unable to guess people’s needs.

You often depend on others to know how to react to a situation and/or how to handle it.

not crying for weeks and weeks on end til one day breaking down over something not actually worth getting upset for

not being able to tell if your feelings for people are platonic or romantic or if you’re just lonely 

instead of caring too much not caring at all about anything 

not being able to process anything going on in your life and when you try your brain stalling out

losing your train of thought every five seconds so when you try to have a conversation having to pause and remember what you were trying to say 

word vomiting