I was thinking I just didn’t have much to say but then realized the stress of the moment is causing me to go nonverbal—because I have a lot to say but am having a much harder than usual time communicating it, even in text form. Any other autistic folks experiencing this lately? - ThreadSky | a Reddit-style client for Bluesky

leahmcelrath.bsky.social • 29 days ago

I was thinking I just didn’t have much to say but then realized the stress of the moment is causing me to go nonverbal—because I have a lot to say but am having a much harder than usual time communicating it, even in text form.

Any other autistic folks experiencing this lately?

Comments

jimbauxsjournal.bsky.social•28 days ago

Yep. Me.

I am so weary, and that is a sign that they have won. 😥

#ActuallyAutistic

lonewitchwalking.bsky.social•29 days ago

Yeah. I’m sort of coming to terms with how long I’ve been in burnout. I haven’t been able to communicate a lot for a while now

leahmcelrath.bsky.social•29 days ago

💜

gentlem.bsky.social•28 days ago

@jeremy-souphead.bsky.social

Yes, @leahmcelrath.bsky.social

rabbiariel.bsky.social•29 days ago

and also not autistic

leahmcelrath.bsky.social•29 days ago

I suspect many don’t know what to say, but I think that’s different from feeling unable to say anything.

grammacat.bsky.social•28 days ago

Sometimes it's hard to express something in text. When I have something I really want to say, it helps to jot it down on paper and then edit for clarity and length. Doesn't always work, but often does.

jcgreenfield.bsky.social•29 days ago

This first happened to me when COVID hit in 2020. I used to churn out writing pretty easily. By 2021, I realized that COVID had taken away my words. And unfortunately, I’m having the same experience now.

leahmcelrath.bsky.social•29 days ago

💜

dopegirlfresh.bsky.social•29 days ago

I’m not diagnosed, but … yeah.

leahmcelrath.bsky.social•29 days ago

It’s unusual for me. Very. I am finding myself wishing people could mind read and resenting having to say or type anything.

dopegirlfresh.bsky.social•29 days ago

I have been fuming. like, a lot. I think I need to get off socials after this week.

leahmcelrath.bsky.social•29 days ago

I just kind of think gesturing widely and waving one’s hands should be enough right now.

dopegirlfresh.bsky.social•29 days ago

yup. and over the ear headphones = please text me instead.

risingheart.bsky.social•29 days ago

Totally shut down. Pull out if it for short bits. Furious, heartbroken, scared. Not understanding why some don’t see the catastrophe they have put in motion.

lionthroat.bsky.social•29 days ago

Yeah :(

leahmcelrath.bsky.social•29 days ago

💜

tinalight135.bsky.social•29 days ago

In general YES this is totally me. I can’t say anything to anyone right now somewhat nonverbal text or vocal. Except simple things I get the urge to blurt out which isn’t usual for me

disturbed-rainbow.bsky.social•29 days ago

This is just my usual problem, but lately I’ve been worse, I’ve come to a point where I’ve not uttered a single word at work.

seeteeess.bsky.social•28 days ago

Yes! Thank you for expressing that, I was struggling to. Ironically enough

rubberdrone2002.bsky.social•28 days ago

Fighting more often with my partner because I am stressed out. Usual coping mechanisms not relieving stress. I want to be in my world for the next four years. Being queer and autistic is scary right now.

#ActuallyAutistic

curiousuniverse.bsky.social•28 days ago

I can't speak because of PTSD; shellshock from watching the country I love be massacred right in front of our eyes.

I also know, we MUST speak. Now is not the time to withdrawal (though self-care is more essential than ever). We have ONE chance to stop this, and it will take all of us.

martygabriel.bsky.social•28 days ago

For me it's part of the routine.

strawberryshakes.bsky.social•28 days ago

Yes. The appalling news one after the other makes it harder to process or even express the bewilderment we all feel. As it is, most of us are hyper-empathetic, so even if things don’t always directly affect us, we can tell. We decry many of the same things that other oppressed people do.

jc-thomas.bsky.social•29 days ago

Using a lot more memes and gifs myself

leahmcelrath.bsky.social•29 days ago

ifutzwithfire.bsky.social•29 days ago

TBH my voice might not work at all if I wasn’t telling my cat how cute he is so much. That’s probably 90% of what I say.

lilithvb.bsky.social•29 days ago

Verbally, absolutely, unless having a meltdown. Text is my outlet.

leahmcelrath.bsky.social•29 days ago

💜

sarcastisaurus.bsky.social•29 days ago

Constant overwhelm.

arlenebishop.bsky.social•29 days ago

Similar but different. I should be sleeping. I know this scrolling is bad for me but I can't stop focusing on the unfolding and inevitable horror.

calliegraceleeson.bsky.social•28 days ago

Yes.

mysteryshopper.bsky.social•29 days ago

You are not alone.

eyounts7.bsky.social•29 days ago

Yes, absolutely. Having to maintain "normalcy" and speaking at work is hyper-draining, and I've been very limited with who I'm texting. People just don't fucking get it.

leahmcelrath.bsky.social•29 days ago

💜

jo-wilson.bsky.social•29 days ago

I’m not autistic and feel the same way. That’s why I’m reposting a lot. Others are expressing what I’m unable to right now.

leahmcelrath.bsky.social•29 days ago

💜

jo-wilson.bsky.social•29 days ago

💜

kellina.bsky.social•29 days ago

I feel very blessed to be able to go through all my cycles from the UK (intentionally, I flew out on Monday) It is so much easier to disconnect with oceans between. Much love

no1nh.bsky.social•28 days ago

I have a wife and daughter. Otherwise, I would’ve left the country. Still trying to convince them to leave - mostly for their benefit. I am a straight white male - easy. They are females: I worry for both of them being female in Trumpanzeeland!

kellina.bsky.social•28 days ago

I don't blame you for that. This is just the beginning.

crystallinecat.bsky.social•28 days ago

Always experiencing this. Serialising my thoughts into text or speech is hard. Stress makes it harder to impossible.

Does stress make moving harder for you, too?

Sending 💜!

leahmcelrath.bsky.social•28 days ago

💜

whozurfavr8possum.bsky.social•28 days ago

I am very much experiencing this personally and also professionally which is causing new stress at work.

the0ryth0t.bsky.social•29 days ago

I’m normally quite hot-headed and I’m finding myself frozen with grief and fear to the point that I’ve forgotten what anger feels like.

So not quite the same, but I feel you.

brattykat.bsky.social•29 days ago

Selective mutism can also be partial as well

brattykat.bsky.social•29 days ago

Ya it’s called selective mutism which selective is a psychological term which means situational

brattykat.bsky.social•29 days ago

Ya I’m finding I want to just scream but don’t have a safe place to do so

Metal music is helping cuz it screams for me

grandmamisti.bsky.social•28 days ago

Me. Definitely me.

karencwilson.me•29 days ago

Ya, I have been on less often and for less time. The overload of information is a bit paralyzing.

leahmcelrath.bsky.social•29 days ago

💜

andimkennedy.bsky.social•28 days ago

Honestly, it feels like my brain has taken my vocabulary and locked up over 80% of the words.

I can make it through the day's general needs, but attempting to express what I'm feeling requires words I can't access.

nemesisdarlin.bsky.social•29 days ago

Been throwing it all into Freeform poetry…at this rate I’ll have a publishable book in a month lol

leahmcelrath.bsky.social•29 days ago

💜

crims0nraven.bsky.social•29 days ago

So often...

silvaro1969.bsky.social•29 days ago

I am going the other way and getting an attack of the verbals and making up silly and sensible social rules for us all whilst boasting about autistic achievements - it doesn't seem very healthy to me, but hey, I am on a role..

tiffanyhowe.bsky.social•29 days ago

Yes! I am autistic too and definitely struggling with verbalizing due to the stress of everything going on.

leahmcelrath.bsky.social•29 days ago

💜

agb2g.bsky.social•23 days ago

Hi Tiffany, I vet every add to my boost Packs.

I am considering adding you, but you don't have many followers, which doesn't give me much to got

If you're interested in being added, please answer, how long have you been on Bluesky?

How active are you? Everyday, once a week, once a month...?

autisticwitch.bsky.social•28 days ago

Yes. I've also been very irritable, and my processing time is slower.

sororperegrina.bsky.social•29 days ago

I have no one around me (just as well; I have difficulty talking), so text is what I have. But in addition, I have to concentrate on bird pictures to keep from going completely crazy about the 🍊💩🤡's obvious insanity. Can't look at him, can't listen to his voice. 🙄😱🤬

leahmcelrath.bsky.social•29 days ago

💜

sidequestthai.bsky.social•28 days ago

Very much. The connections are coming in so fast that I can’t find the words.

diamondqc.bsky.social•29 days ago

big time 😬 however in my case, it's empathy overload (like I live in Australia so I'm not directly affected by the horrible things I'm reading about, but I'm still overwhelmed by the feels for everyone who is)

leahmcelrath.bsky.social•29 days ago

💜

ronaldfeljones.bsky.social•29 days ago

It's like our normal cognitive and language skills are in very unfamiliar territory out in this strange and grave new world. So maybe they're heading back indoors, to the recesses of our minds and souls, to reassess and regenerate. Who knows just how or when they will emerge. It's a yeasty brew.

leahmcelrath.bsky.social•29 days ago

YES. It feels a bit like what I imagine “locked-in syndrome” might feel like.

ronaldfeljones.bsky.social•29 days ago

Yeah, good way to think of it.

jeremy-souphead.bsky.social•28 days ago

👋, over here. I AM! I sometimes have big feelings that make me buckle, withdraw, go dark. I have issues communicating my thoughts sometimes. I feel so much frustration, anger, and sadness. But before I go to bed, I try to revisit Hope.

judeet44.bsky.social•29 days ago

I'm not autistic, but feel so overloaded I don't know where to start nor what I want to really say about stuff. So, I'm concentrating on finishing the decorating because that's a manual, steady, controllable thing.

leahmcelrath.bsky.social•29 days ago

💜

mossybear.bsky.social•29 days ago

Yes, constantly. I can barely put my thoughts into words.

eiregobrachftw.bsky.social•29 days ago

Me, 100%

leahmcelrath.bsky.social•29 days ago

💜

smidgekitten84.bsky.social•29 days ago

It’s hard for me to tell if it’s my autism or cptsd causing a freeze response. In general; I’ve been seething with rage over injustice, etc. while simultaneously shut down completely.

leahmcelrath.bsky.social•29 days ago

smidgekitten84.bsky.social•29 days ago

I completely froze when a MAGA troll tried to get me to engage. I normally would have a very educated retort or have just ignored to ignore but it was more of a stress response freeze up.
Also having moments of things coming out all at once very impulsive & that’s not me.

hotmessexpress.bsky.social•29 days ago

I’ve always had that problem lol

mmm0316.bsky.social•28 days ago

Yes. Especially when I realized I would have to scaffold too much information in order for my point to be made. Then I realized how many accommodations I give to allistic people.

I’m exhausted.

maggiesteward.bsky.social•28 days ago

Not autistic, but ADHD and yes.

dillgarlicsalmon.bsky.social•28 days ago

Not really. Biggest problem is not getting lots of attention, and amount of abuse/anger thrown my direction when I do get some, over the past 8 years (on various social media, blogs, and such.) No payoff + lots of hate means it is physically stressful do do politics things, including writing.

dillgarlicsalmon.bsky.social•28 days ago

https://www.reddit.com/r/aspergers/comments/oow5ul/something_i_noticed_why_are_nt_people_so_ready_to/

This reddit thread is most relevant, personally. Lots of politica commentators act like the neurotypicals described towards anything progressive, knowledgeable, or similar.

https://bsky.app/profile/dillgarlicsalmon.bsky.social/post/3l57zxwuhzi2p

eldritchbumblebee.bsky.social•29 days ago

Yes

leahmcelrath.bsky.social•29 days ago

💜

gonature.bsky.social•28 days ago

Just self care and everything diy.

And DO NOT SIGN ANY CONTRACTS, HAVE ANY CHILDREN OR GO INTO DEBT OF ANY SORT.

katie-did.bsky.social•28 days ago

Yeah I'm pretty quiet about and don't say much but, because we live with my grandmother who is 90 and watches the news at top volume, I usually make it through the entire day until she puts it on and I just blow up and start swearing at the TV 😭 I hate it so much.

simonb202.bsky.social•29 days ago

Yes. The verbal I do have is deeply limited. I'm glad I'm not the only one.

richellesepulveda.bsky.social•29 days ago

I'm a bit the opposite. I get very "blurty" and I don't filter as well. Inner thoughts become outer thoughts. Spouse is kinda more nonverbal in this moment of history. Stress level is very visible, though, even without words.

tinalight135.bsky.social•29 days ago

I’ve become “blurty” for everything except the stuff I’m trying to process. But usually talking is effort and the past couple days I had to put effort into not say whatever popped in my head (my Mom was getting overstimulated)

leahmcelrath.bsky.social•29 days ago

💜