Journal Marxist Hacker 42's Journal: Why Change Hurts 9
Found this on facebook, and responded:
Sean Murnin: Can change be fun? why must it often be described as difficult and painful?
Theodore M. Seeber: Depends who you are. I'm autistic- change is NEVER fun for me. But in the last year, I've had to become open to the idea that change is a fact of life, and that (scary as this sounds) some people even thrive on change.
They sure make life hard for the rest of us though. A firm status quo foundation is necessary when everything in your life must be planned out in advance to prevent *actual physical pain* from stress (a common symptom among every high functioning autistic I've ever talked to, and likely the cause of total withdrawal from communication in lower functioning autistics), and to have that foundation ripped out from under you can be extremely stressful. It changes all of your carefully created plans, and makes for chaotic situations.
I think that's also the reason why politically I'm an anti-freedom anti-progressive. The more freedom the rest of the world has, the harder it is to live within my rules for myself.
Change (Score:2)
Change can indeed be stressful. It often is. I haven't experienced physical pain as a result, though. Change can also be relieving, especially when that change removes sources of chronic stress.
One way or another, though, it's scary as hell. Changing jobs, adding/removing medication, changing location...All of it includes uncertainties, and uncertainty is both frightening and exciting; We don't know what experiences lie beyond the horizon of change, so we don't know to fear it or embrace it.
I say this as a
Re: (Score:2)
Or for that matter, how to reprogram our coping skills to deal with it.
My physical pain comes mainly from mental stress resulting in indigestion and migraines, but others are different.
Do you believe you are a (Score:1)
high functioning autistic? I never considered that possibility.
Re: (Score:2)
No BELIEF necessary- got the diagnosis of Asperger's, fit 10/10 major symptoms, was even a part of the 80% in 2000 that were diagnosed by MRI before that method was discredited for diagnosing autism (because it doesn't work for the other 20%).
In addition to that, autism runs in families, and I've got a nephew who is also on the spectrum (though luckily, diagnosed at 6, he's getting WAY more in services than I ever did- I wasn't diagnosed until I was 30, and it wouldn't have mattered if I was, Asperger's was
Re: (Score:1)
It sounds like you have the diagnostic criteria of Asperger syndrome.
So I think you believe you are a HFA. But, I believe people are not diagnoses. People are unique. I would rather examine how you present to me; my understanding of that may be improved by considering how a HFA would present, but I will hopefully always be aware that you may present in surprising ways that will help me.
I confirm I am happy to get to know you better.
Re: (Score:2)
Duck hypothesis- if it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck and has feathers and goes swimming and has a bill, then it is probably a duck.
Yes, people are unique. Some more unique than others. Me, I've got a lot in common with the next guy who fits this 1:93 diagnosis.
That explains a lot (Score:2)
I think you may be on to something here:
Very interesting, introspective thought. I don't know if it's correct, but it's certainly worth exploring.
Re: (Score:2)
I'm not sure it is correct for anybody other than an autistic.
The big difference I'm pointing to is this- neurotypical people learn to handle social situations at a subconscious level. The subconscious, for some reason not understood by me, seems to have this thing called empathy that allows for better pattern matching in social scenarios than I have.
I have to handle social interactions at a very conscious level; and to top it off, my brain is 11 ms behind yours (new CAT scan study on autistics- what we al
Re: (Score:2)
I didn't think that it was correct for anyone other than you; that's what I found fascinating is that your observation goes a HUGE way towards explaining... 'Politics' is too small a word for it, but it will have to do.