Latest Posts by harry-potter-scary-o - Page 5

Just yesterday, already tired, I tried to go to sleep but I felt like I literally forgot how to fall asleep.

I slept like an hour even though I barely slept the night before??

Do I need to buy more plushies? Is there some kind of sleep chant I need to listen to?

Source ~ Neurodivergent Insights

ADHD and Autistic Sleep

Part One: Sleep Struggles

Neurodivergent Sleep 101

Both ADHD and autism are associated with several sleep issues, including:

Insomnia

Sleep Walking

Sleep Terrors

Sleep apnea

Sleep paralysis

Narcolepsy

Flattened melatonin curve

Circadian rhythm sleep disorders (CRSD)

Restless leg syndrome

Sleep Stats: Autism

Nearly 80% of Autistic children age 2 to 5 have sleep problems (Reynolds et al., 2019).

Autistic people tend to get less REM sleep. On average, we spend about 15% of our sleep in REM sleep (Allistics, on average, spend 25% in REM sleep). This means we need MORE sleep to get the same amount of REM as the average person (Buckley et al., 2010; Neumeyer et al., 2019).

Autistic people are more likely to experience insomnia, which includes everything from difficulty falling asleep to night waking and early morning rising (Furfaro, 2020).

Autistic people are more likely to have gene mutations that impact melatonin regulation & circadian rhythms (Furfaro, 2020).

Sleep Stats: ADHD

As many as 83% of ADHDers experience sleep disturbances, including nonspecific sleep disruptions, parasomnias, hypersomnia, and limb movement disorders (Sobanski, 2008).

Approximately 25-50% of ADHDers struggle with:

• Insomnia

• Circadian rhythm sleep disorders

• Narcolepsy

• Restless leg syndrome

• Sleep-disordered breathing

Nightmares and insomnia are also common among ADHD children. Up to 70% of ADHD children have sleep difficulties (Sciberras, 2020).

Causes of Neurodivergent Sleep Struggles

Common co-occurring conditions such as anxiety, depression, and gastrointestinal disorders can interfere with sleep.

Sensory sensitivities can interfere with sleep

Sensory sensitivity to light can cause a person to avoid light during the day, further disrupting their circadian rhythm.

It is more common to have breathing-related sleep disorders, which can impact the quality of sleep.

ADHDers and Autists are more likely to have gene mutations that impact melatonin regulation and circadian rhythms. (Van der Heijden et al., 2007; Yan et al., 2020).

Health Consequences

On average Neurodivergent people experience less REM sleep. REM sleep is valuable for several reasons:

• We consolidate learning and memory during REM Sleep

• It is vital for physical and mental health

• REM sleep is critical for detoxing the brain • Less REM sleep affects serotonin and dopamine, influencing mood and mental health

• Disruptions to REM sleep impact neurotransmitters, which have implications for mood, sleep cycles, and more.

When we are sleep deprived, we are more likely to

• Be in car accidents

• Experience heightened pain and sensory difficulties,

• Have difficulty regulating emotions

• Have less resilience to stress

• Struggle with executive functioning

Sleep Supports

Throughout this sleep series I will be introducing the six "Buckets of Sleep Support" I draw from to support neurodivergent sleep struggles.

Sleep Hygiene

Sensory Supports

Relaxation Strategies

Sleep Stimulus

Sleep Routine

CBT-I

My love goes to all neurodivergents outside of US and few select other places. where you can get diagnosed and expect some kind of support

self diagnosing is okay

and if you were wrong that’s okay too

figuring yourself out is hard

go easy on yourself please

Fang nabbit furries...

I love this so much

If you went to a bar and the bartender was a mousegirl you could ask for a drink and she would balance it on her head and say "for you, it's on the mouse"

“I am, after all, the predator hawk. I kill to eat.

But I am also the human being. And I can never take a life, not even for my own survival, without feeling.

I had heard my father’s message come down through the years. Now I heard the message my own mind was telling me: You are both, Tobias. Hawk and human. You always will be. You will always kill to eat. And you will always regret.

It’s a rotten situation, I guess. But my duty is to be what I am. A hawk. A boy. Instinct. And emotion. I’ll have to go on walking that tightrope.”

- Tobias, Book #23: The Pretender, pg. 153 (by K.A. Applegate)

"Surely I am faking this" I tell myself crying quietly and alone. "I am doing this for attention", I sob.

"surely im faking this," i think, directly experiencing all the symptoms nd not benefiting from it at all

Hi everyone,

I found some interesting information about autism and ADHD. I hope you find this helpful. :)

Autism

ADHD

ND culture is realizing you are so much happier living alone because you can unmask and it actually makes you more productive because your brain isn’t constantly worried about staying masked

.

Hello everyone,

I found another interesting chart that explains Autism pretty well. I hope some of you find this helpful. :)

Autism

Autistic Burnout 🧩🔥

Gonna stop calling myself 'weird' and replace that with 'interesting'.

My self-enrichment program:

Always be massively self aware

Simplify myself until I can no longer over few months

Explode for few years until I almost no longer understand myself

Repeat

I carry a trash bag in my stuff, so I can leave it with my trash, open, wherever and it can serve after I leave. That's where I throw my smoke butts.

There's nothing more unattractive than watching someone throw a cigarette on the ground and step on it when there's a trash can literally two feet away

A series of 8 tweets on the experience of being autistic and ADHD (AuDHD) by @pot8um on twitter, image descriptions below cut.

I saved these shortly after being dx + medicated with ADHD last year. It was the first time I began to seriously consider the possibility that I was also autistic. 1/8

AuDHD is a constant tug-of-war— contradictions that exist simultaneously that I feel equally strongly about.

[image description: Two-column text inside orange arrows on left, and blue arrows on right. Title “What ADHD & autism feel like…” L column is ADHD; R column is autism. 1st row, L text: “Making spontaneous plans”, R text: “Getting very upset if those plans are interrupted” 2nd row, L text: “Struggling to organize”, R text: “Having a strong need for order”. By @autistic.qualia]

Each of these are so familiar to me, but I could never articulate my experiences with the right language. Also, if you don’t know what you’re experiencing is AuDHD, you don’t know what questions to ask. You didn’t know you were even supposed to *have* questions! 2/8

[image description: Two-column text inside orange arrows on left, and blue arrows on right. Title “What ADHD & autism feel like…” L column is ADHD; R column is autism. 1st row, L text: “Impulsively making purchases for a new hyperfixation”, R text: “Hyperfocus on researching the products” 2nd row, L text: “Struggling to be on time”, R text: “Upset when others are a few minutes late”. by @autistic.qualia]

I have phases of hyperfixation with certain things, and lifelong interest in others. Successfully executed plans / tasks is always my goal. (The perfectionism is too real.) I always get frustrated when I inevitably miss steps, regardless of my attention to detail. 3/8

[image description: Two-column text inside orange arrows on left, and blue arrows on right. Title “What ADHD & autism feel like…” L column is ADHD; R column is autism. 1st row, L text: “Hyperfixating on a wide variety of topics”, R text: “Also having long term special interests” 2nd row, L text: “Forgetting steps in plans”, R text: “Needing plans to execute perfectly”. by @autistic.qualia]

I *love* trying new foods… until it’s a bad experience, then I clam up and am reluctant to try again. When it comes to food, consistency is vital to me. My brain is far more active than I have spoons for. Most of my ideas strike when I’m freshly overloaded and spoonless. 4/8

[image description: Two-column text inside orange arrows on left, and blue arrows on right. Title “What ADHD & autism feel like…” L column is ADHD; R column is autism. 1st row, L text: “Enticed by novel foods”, R text: “Hypercritical of food taste and texture” 2nd row, L text: “Wanting new experiences”, R text: “Wanting to stick to what I know I like”. by @autistic.qualia]

I tend to hyperfixate on things that aren’t central to the task at hand. (I don’t want to say “on the ‘wrong’ thing” because I’m on my self-compassion shit ) Discovering my neurodivergence during the pandemic was surreal. Severe boredom, severe overload, severe whiplash. 5/8

[image description: Two-column text inside arrows. Title “What ADHD & autism feel like…” L column is ADHD; R column is autism. 1st row, orange arrow, L text: “Misses details and makes mistakes on boring topics”, blue arrow, R text: “Notices small details and points out others’ mistakes”. 2nd row, purple arrow, L text: “Becoming easily understimulated”; Yellow arrow, R text: “Becoming easily overstimulated”. by @autistic.qualia]

Overthinking the stages of your emotional dysregulation is its own personal hell. When I’m lowest on spoons, I tend to ruminate the most. My thirst for knowledge is met by my shoddy working memory. I try recalling a fact that *I know* I read up on. Can’t. Frustration ensues. 6/8

[image description: Two-column text inside arrows. Title “What ADHD & autism feel like…” L column is ADHD; R column is autism. 1st row, purple arrow, L text: “Struggling from emotional dysregulation”. Blue arrow, R text: “Being a logical and analytical thinker”. 2nd row, orange arrow, L text: “Struggling to retain information”; Yellow arrow, R text: “Wanting to learn everything”. by @autistic.qualia]

It’s hard for me to Start the Thing. Once I start, I NEED to ride that wave! If I’m taken out of the moment, idk when I’ll be able to start back up. If I don’t say what I’m thinking *while* I’m thinking it, it’ll be forever lost. (Trying my best to work on this. It’s hard!) 7/8

[image description: Two-column text inside purple and yellow arrows. Title “What ADHD & autism feel like…” L column is ADHD; R column is autism. 1st row, L text: “Having difficulty sitting still”, R text: “Hypersensitive to other people fidgeting”. 2nd row, L text: “Interrupting others when they are busy”; R text: “Hate being bothered while in hyperfocus”. by @autistic.qualia]

Please note: • These traits are infinitely more nuanced than a few tweets can possibly cover. • I do not speak for the entire autistic community. From @autisticqualia on IG, an outstanding AuDHD awareness account.

[image descriptions: a box of text at left reads “Having both ADHD & autism can sometimes feel like there are contradicting forces within you. Traits that seem incompatible on the surface can exist in the same person.” A box of text at right reads  “Everyone with ADHD & autism is different. These are the contradicting traits that I personally experience as someone with both ADHD and autism.”]

It's uncommon for me to see someone discussing the experience of being both austistic and ADHD, and this was articulated so well, I feel like it also describes my experiences. (The author is also an advocate for late diagnosis AuDHD adults, who has shared her experiences about working with dismissive, misogynist doctors.)

Bearing in mind that every individual is different, as noted by the tweet author, I feel like I am more autistic than I am ADHD, despite my ADHD diagnosis (and these two developmental disorders have many overlapping traits, of course).

I have never, ever understood the experience of "ADHD boredom" that I have seen some people describe. I am perpetually overstimulated, not understimulated, and I stuggle to process experiences and find enough time and space. Executive dysfunction also prevents me from starting/enjoying activities, as is typical with ADHD. It's not just a thing that makes it difficult to work on stressful or boring tasks; it prevents you being being able to commence fun things, like reading for enjoyment or watching a TV show you want to watch. And when I do manage to start the book/TV show, the stimulus is often overwhelming and I don't get very far.

Hi everyone,

I know there’s only a little bit of a difference between inattentive ADHD and Hyperactive ADHD. It may not look like much of a difference, but they overlap more than you think. I believe that’s why ADD is no longer used. Since ADHD is a spectrum like Autism is. Hopefully that made sense. Lol

Anyway, I hope this helps some of you.

ADHD

Hi everyone,

I thought I would share a chart today that shows the common traits/characteristics of Autism ADHD, and OCD. I hope some of you find this useful. :)

Autism

ADHD

OCD

refseek.com

www.worldcat.org/

link.springer.com

http://bioline.org.br/

repec.org

science.gov

pdfdrive.com

And they say brunettes with dimples can’t stabilize the reactor core 😏

I've come realization that I'm an empath and keep suffering with the above mentioned points under self abandonment. Healing from this is f%$!ing hard but it has to be done. Just gotta keep moving forward!!

#important #online culture

This is so sad

I wanted to brag and show them my story but I kinda forgot to write it down. Nobody ever seen me write either.

Write style: no prompt, no ending, not even middle.

terrible news. the exact fanfiction i want has not magically appeared and i may have to write it myself. more at 11

[ID: text saying "My personality is basically a mix between a needy 5 year old who can't control her emotions, a teenage rebel who makes poor life decisions and an 80 year old woman who's tired and needs a nap." End of image description]

PUT YOUR HEAD OUT OF THE CAR WINDOW! IT IS HOT OUTSIDE AND YOU NEED TO FEEL THE WIND! BLOW THE THOUGHTS RIGHT OUT OF YOUR HEAD! FUCK BEING MATURE! THERE ARE TREES AND SKY AND AIR AND NO ONE CAN STOP YOU! PUT! YOUR! HEAD! OUT!

Anyone else think so fast you don’t use words? The concept just clicks and your brain moves on, and trying to go back to slow it down and turn it into words for someone else is torture?

“how could you be so stupid” well you know what. its really not that hard

In latest news the guy known as yours truly randomly blurted out "I imagined life with you" with no context to his friend causing a lot of embarrassment and confusion, especially from the friend's fiancé.

Yours truly shall now do his best not to bury his head in the sand for foreseeable future.

My that one friend phase

Systems Analysis Lesson 00:

Do not try to match your words to ideas,

Try to match your ideas to words.

when i type '!!' separately after various words and phrases that is because !! is a word herself. learn this rule

This sounds like an amazing introduction to his autobiography