[Autism] Asperger's and Fatigue
There’s one aspect of my Asperger’s that I struggle with, and always have really, and that’s fatigue and managing my energy levels. One of the first things I learnt about Asperger Syndrome was that people with the disorder often struggle with a great deal of fatigue as a result of them processing things with their intellect, as the aspie brain doesn’t do it automatically.
I first noticed that I was struggling with fatigue shortly after finishing Sixth Form and getting my first full-time job, coupled with going out on an evening with friends most nights a week. I visited the GP to try to get to the bottom of it, and after blood tests and the ruling out the obvious things like diabetes, I was still none the wiser. I just had low energy levels as far as I was concerned, but because my peers didn’t seem to struggle with these issues, it must just be so I continued doing things as I was “supposed to”. Socialising basically became one of my “special interests”, and I didn’t want to not go out, as I felt blessed just to have the opportunity.
Several times all this led to me essentially burning out, running myself so low that I just couldn’t function properly anymore. I often chalked it up to my bad sleep habits/patterns, but that’s a whole separate issue. At times I was falling asleep during the day, unable to stay focused on any task. The only thing that seemed to help at these times was having some solitary time, going for a walk through the city at night or locking myself away in my room with just my laptop.
Sometimes even the most basic of functions like following along with a conversation, or processing your surroundings just seemed like too much. I noticed that those around me weren’t having these problems, and if I opened up about my struggles to anyone, they were quick to dismiss it all as a result of my lifestyle choices. After a few years, I started putting the pieces together. I ruled things out, stopped drinking alcohol and caffeine for a while, really focused on my sleeping habits and patterns and improved my diet. Still the fatigue persisted though.
A few years ago I landed a job as a web developer for an upcoming software development firm here in the UK, and I loved it. It was about an hours drive away, which sucked especially at the time as my driving confidence wasn’t exactly high. After just 3 months, working as hard as I possibly could, it all became too much and just the thought of sitting under those fluorescent lights after driving through so much bloody traffic, I just couldn’t face it. My anxiety would rise as I would start to worry about the likelihood of me having a car accident (which did inevitably happen on my last day of employment there) and other such things. I was becoming increasingly worried about all of this affecting my work, until I just couldn’t do it any longer. About a year after this, I sought out a diagnosis.
One of the biggest bains of my working life has to be the open plan office. Those things are just a living nightmare for someone on the Autistic Spectrum. There is just so much constantly going on around you, that it becomes impossible to concentrate on the task at hand. I was lucky at my last job, as I could pop my headphones in and try to zone out to some Pink Floyd while I tried to rapidly cram as much programming knowledge into my head as possible, but not everyone is that lucky.
For me, having time alone is the most important thing to “recharge my battery”. Not having to think about what’s going on around, or think about what the appropriate thing to say in response to someone etc. allows me to get my head straight. I like to have time to process things as well, it feels good to think things through.
Managing my energy levels is something I’m still actively working on, but hopefully the rate I’m posting here on Steemit is testament to how much things have improved for me in recent years. I couldn’t have managed this two years ago. It requires a bit of strategic thinking, which luckily is one of my strengths, and some trial and error, but I believe I can get there. Next step is to figure out how I can best get back in the work world, without completely burning out.
What are your thoughts and feelings on this topic? Let me know in the comment section down below, and as always make sure to follow me for the latest Cryptocurrency, Internet and Pop Culture updates, plus other random ramblings. Until we meet again, Peace!
Image Source:
Too Tired: A Comprehensive Look at Fatigue in Women & What to Do About It (https://foundationspress.com/health-books/too-tired/)
I have ASD and the last day I was driving car, I was so tired that eventually I just parked the car on closest intersection and called my dad to tow the car back home. Since then I've travelled by bus if I need to go anywhere before noon and everything is so much easier.
On worst days I can stay awake for few minutes, on best days I can stay awake about 5 hours, without getting tired. Sometimes there is days I can stay awake and focused for even 12 hours but that means I have to constantly do something that requires my full attention.
I've been thinking about selling my car and sticking to public transport, but then I tend to experience a lot of anxiety with buses etc. as I have zero control over the situation. Buses/trains running late, the other people and so on. But then, the cost of running a car just isn't worth it, plus it brings a whole new set of worries. It's one aspect I miss of living in a (small) city, you can basically walk everywhere. I'll figure something out I'm sure.
Gosh, it really does sound like you have a hard time with energy levels. I know what you mean about it varying from day-to-day though, some days (if I've got enough lined up to do) I can just go and go, although I'll probably be completely run down the next day. It's all fairly new to me still, I only received a diagnosis a couple of years ago. I'd like to achieve a kind of middle ground, rather than this constant up and down of energy levels.
I got my diagnosis in December 2017, so I'm pretty new in all of this... I noticed I was sleeping a lot more than usually already about 3-4 years ago. When I wake up, it usually takes quite a long time until I'm fully awake and can stand up straight without looking like a penguin.
When travelling bus, I always take the one earlier bus instead of assuming the bus is on schedule... I live in a city of about 30.000 residents and closest bus stop is about 800 metres (0.5 miles) from my home. I used to dislike buses because all of the noises and generally bad suspension combined with lousy road quality here, but at least it is better alternative than staying at home inside four walls.
Mate, it's weird how similar our experiences with this stuff are. I'm exactly the same, I seem to require more sleep than most people, and waking up is such a hard task. It's like I'm not running on all cylinders for the first two hours of the day, my balance is slightly off and I swear my eye sight isn't as sharp first thing in the morning.
That's some good advice actually, when I was younger I was just a terrible time keeper, constantly running late for things. I think the town I live in has a similar population, maybe a few hundred less, and although I'm near bus stops, the buses round here are few and far between, massive cuts from the council recently. I need to think on it a bit more, the main reason I keep the car is for driving my girlfriend to and from work really, but she has friends/colleagues who are likely to pass their driving test soon, so if she can get lifts from them, I have no need for it. The constant worry about maintenance and cost, on top of the general stresses and fatigue caused by driving... it's not worth it.
Either way, like you say, it's better than staying inside these four walls 24/7.
One reason I liked to use public transport is that finding a good place to park a car around here isn't easy... Places where people can drive with car the parking space is either limited or costs a lot. In city centre of next biggest city, driving with own car is almost totally forbidden except to parking garages, bus station and railroad station.
Parking car in the city centre where I live makes little sense as it's about 1 km from where I live, so I can walk to and from there more easily... Plenty of places to rest if I get tired.
@mtl1979 I encourage you to look at the word of Dr. Dietrich Klinghardt M.D. of the Sophia Health Institute and of the Klinghardt institute. I'm passionate about natural medicine approaches and he's been an eye opening and enlightening figure to me in many ways.
Neural Therapy, as I believe it's called, is something I've read about in the recent past, and I have to be honest when I say it rubbed me up the wrong way. With many alternative medicines there's little harm done, homeopathy for example has never caused anyone harm directly, however this is dangerous. I'm all for natural medicine and holistic approaches, but Dr Klinghardt is not to be trusted from where I'm standing.
What troubles me is your apparent lack of understanding of Autistic Spectrum Disorder. I can assure you that electromagnetic fields do not cause or exacerbate symptoms of ASD. The fatigue often experienced by people with ASD is, as explained in the post above, partly due to our minds processing everything with our intellect rather than automatically like most neurotypical individuals, and that is very energy consuming. We still don't know enough about ASD, and I'm instantly very skeptical of anyone who claims to know the answers. I've already had a woman tell me her homeopathic remedies will cure my ASD, and it's becoming increasingly insulting to be perfectly honest. I don't mean to come across short or in any way aggressive, and I do encourage free and open discussion on pretty much anything, including alternative medicine.
I strongly recommend that you look into Rudolf Steiner, and his spiritual movement, anthroposophy. It's not a movement I necessarily subscribe to, however it is a group I've spent some time with and they have some interesting philosophies as well as an admirable way of living.
What do I 'apparently' not understand?
Evidence?
As this is not evidence but an anecdote and admittance you don't know whether or not by saying "We still don't know enough about ASD, and I'm instantly very skeptical of anyone who claims to know the answers." That doesn't prove or disprove anything. I agree the waters are muddied but that is because the corporate media/medical elite/financiers want the waters to be muddied.
The emitted radiation of EMF's is clearly shown to be destructive to our DNA and induces cancer. Why wouldn't there be neurological damage? https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5532627/
These graphs are not indicative of the cause of Autism, yet they're are clearly correlated. And don't forget vaccines and chemtrails, which increases our aluminum loads to be the most concentrated compared to those of any other measured levels in other populations. Anybody with a minimal understanding of statistics can see that. It's increasing exponentially and so is our toxic loads while our immune tolerances are quickly deteriorating...
I just try to completely avoid all medicines and supplements... I've tried too many of them already and all I got was 10 kg underweight and stomach issues so bad they had to put me two IV drips...
Ok, just to clarify his approach would not consist of any synthetics unless it was extremely necessary as in the case you have an exceptionally high level of metal toxicity, he might use synthetics to release metals from the body but other than that the doctor takes a dietary and lifestyle approach with emphasis on environmental toxicity, restoring the gut microbiome, and psychology/spirituality as well. It also heavily focuses on reducing EMF exposure, which is electromagnetic frequencies/radiation. There are lifestyle adjustments to reduce radiation exposure and methods to reduce its effects. He is a wealth of knowledge in regards to detox and its relation to neurological illnesses, especially ASD and Lyme's. His approach is very multi-dimensional and I'm really not doing him justice, I hope to encourage you to give him an ear sometime
http://www.sophiahi.com // https://klinghardtinstitute.com
This speaks directly to me :) I have definitely been stressed to the max. Gotta do something!
You're not alone in that feeling! Feels like I've just been spinning my wheels lately
Absolutely brother! 100 Things at once... Good time for me soon well now forward is the theory ;)
Gotta keep moving forward! I'm with you, there's so much that needs attention, but I guess all we can do is focus on one thing at a time, and just keep making some progress.
We are a lot alike and I bet you hear that from other friends on here, people that can relate. I really do admire your output and quality of writing it something you are obviously skilled with and I can tell you enjoy it too. Well you're not alone with the sleep pattern issues John nor the energy problems. Thank you for sharing what you went through. I hurt for you hearing about your car accident and feel so sorry that happened to you.
I feel like it's difficult to put my thoughts in a comment without "going on" and being a bore but here I go being boring. What comes to mind is a book I read in an anthropology university class called "Why We Get Sick?" and this book explains why diseases persist in humans even though they make us sick. Things like depression, ADD, schizophrenia are discussed as well. It was an easy to read scientific book discussing the reasons these things have been in our DNA and remain. The basic gist is - in nature if an organism lives long enough to propogate that is all that matters - genes will persist if the organism lives long enough to propagate. That is why many diseases appear later in life after our prime mating age, like cancer (and there were other diseases). If it doesn't interfere with mating and reproduction - it stays. So in thinking about this think about how long mankind has been modern and industrialized since the late 1800s. That's just a bit over 100 years which if you think about it the beginnings of that everything was very rigid time clock based especially in manufacturing. I still fill this kind of rigid mechanized adherence to industrial time for lack of a nicer word - it fucks with us. Rural life, farming, hunting, those follow the natural seasons and time. In another history class I had the sport of baseball was discussed and why do people like it so much in today's fast pace world? Because there is no set time to the innings, the game ends when it ends. There's a primal gravitation towards it. In sum I believe this commuting to work in rush hour traffic and punching a clock goes against our nature and causes a lot of problems for us mentally and biologically. It makes us think there's something "wrong" with us but it is my opinion man, it's just crazy (and people like me are called the crazy ones).
I've heard it a few times here! I feel it happens in real life as well, you meet people who you have a certain connection with, something you can't quite put into words. I can't express how much that means to me bud, I really can't. This kind of thing is something I used to really enjoy, I had a website and forum that I loved managing, with all kinds of people finding it and just discussing things on the forum. I think that's what drew me into Steemit in the first place, it reminded me of that.
I know what you mean, I often end up just kinda typing away and before I know it I've written a rambly essay! Don't worry though, you're definitely not boring.
You know, that's really interesting, I'll have to find a copy of that book. It all certainly rings true with me, the whole idea of these things being in our DNA and getting passed on regardless. It seems counter-intuitive at first, especially if you take into account that we're all taught the basics of evolution and natural selection, the whole "survival of the fittest" thing.
"this kind of rigid mechanized adherence to industrial time ... fucks with us." I honestly couldn't put it better myself. It certainly explains this shared feeling that so many of us have of wanting to go back to basics in some way. I've never really thought about it, but my sleep patterns kinda sorted themselves out the moment I stopped fighting myself over it, just accepted what my body and mind wanted to do.
That makes so much sense with regards to Baseball, I've often wondered what the appeal is! It'll be the same as cricket, I've never understood why people would want to spectate a sport that can take literal days to finish. That lack of set time is something we all crave in some shape or sense.
I think people are slowly coming round to our way of thinking on this topic, and maybe we've got the right tools now with the internet, cryptocurrency and so on to try something different. I'm just relieved to know I'm not the only one with this sentiment!
I totally understand about discussing things on the forum with friends. It means a lot to me too to know I'm not alone in thinking what I think and a comfort. Sure not everyone agrees but I'm not seeking agreement just a kind of discussion and understanding with mutual respect.
I do think there's a renewed interest in more natural living at least I see that in the sustainability communities. How that kind of living will be merged with technology is what I find fascinating because the two will coexist and already does with things like solar energy and other modern tools employed in the field.
If you're interested in more reading or understanding about how industrialization has effected civilization I would also recommend studying post-war Japan. Japan went from a feudal agrarian society under Emperor Hirohito to a dramatic - in fact the most intense - rapid industrialization of any people in history after WWII. It effected Japanese society very deeply and you can see it in their cultural view of work: some Japanese literally work themselves to death, views on environmental devastation & spirit: Myazaki anime, Akira, etc., and in stories like Murakami: "The Vintage Murakami" is a great book of his short stories) wrote following the events of WWII.
Yeah that's it, you hit the nail on the head there. It was never about creating an echo chamber to reinforce previously held notions, but about discussing things in a civil way.
Absolutely! That's what I love about it too, how can we make this amazing technology we've got these days work to make a simpler way of life feasible. Solar in particular is something that seems so full of promise and potential.
You know, I will look into that. I've always found modern Japanese culture to be so fascinating as an outsider anyway, it only makes sense to understand why it is how it is now. Been a big fan of Miyazaki's work for several years now. I've not heard of Murakami, you've given me lots of research here! Thanks!
I am very proud of you Mr Brave Strong John.
I think music therapy is the best for all humanity. I love listening to 432hz music. try some on youtube. I also take vitamin b6, Iron and eat lots of Magnesium-rich foods like spinach,yogurt, almonds, avocado, figs and bananas etc
check out these too
https://draxe.com/omega-3-benefits-plus-top-10-omega-3-foods-list/
work wise check these out
www.freelancer.com
http://www.peopleperhour.com
https://www.fiverr.com/
https://www.airtasker.co.uk/
always remember
I can't thank you enough, really!
Music is definitely key, you're right there. As you've probably picked up, I listen to a lot of ambient and lofi music. I haven't heard about this 432mhz music though, just found this article: https://ask.audio/articles/music-theory-432-hz-tuning-separating-fact-from-fiction
Sounds really interesting, I will definitely check that out while I write my next Electroneum post!
I try, try, to do the same with foods, although it's still a work in progress. I tend to crave those kinds of foods anyway, so I just need to be a bit more persistent with it. I know a few people who are into their alternative health, and the whole omega 3 thing has come up before, and making sure you get it in the right balance with omega 6 (or 9, I can't remember, it's been a while). Am I right in thinking Olive Oil, Cod Liver and Flaxseed Oil are the best?
I've used Freelancer in the past, but ended up closing my account due to the high number of scams on the site. I did take part in the Coinlancer ICO, so when they're fully up and running, I'll try giving it another go there. The other problem I found with Freelancer was that it was so hard to win bids for genuine work, as there were just so many people who'd come in with seemingly impossibly low bids. It sometimes worked in my favour, as the person would often come back to me saying they weren't happy with the work done, so I'd get to "fix" it. Joy.
I'm thinking about going for Freelancing again now, the last time I used Freelancer was before getting my diagnosis. Maybe this'll help motivate me to finally finish my own sodding website. Not heard of airtasker, so I'll take a look at that! I did use a really good site (at the time), I think it's called OneSpace now. It was microtasks like verifying images, shop listings and so on, but sadly the work seemed to dry up. I think they lost a big contract or something, I'll have to log back in and see if it's changed.
Thank you again for your kind words, I've met some truely awesome people here on Steemit.
No worries dude. You are a rock star
Flaxseed Oil is one of the best. Cod liver oil tablets are great. Olive oil i cant say much as its really hard to find the pure organic ones as super markets here in UK just label everything organic and pure which is 100% bullshit.
do check https://www.peopleperhour.com/ as you are right about Freelancer website.
check these out too i searched on google. let me know how you get on
http://panel.whatusersdo.com/become-a-tester/
https://www.webusability.co.uk/be-a-tester/
https://www.theworkathomewoman.com/test-websites/
found one more site
https://www.upwork.com/
I like the look of this one, I'll sign up this afternoon and have a look around. I realised last night that with Steemit I've got a nice portfolio of writings, so I could always check the freelance writing section out.
Thanks again for all this, it's really helpful! It's good to talk about it all too, helps motivate me.
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