Never able to relax, always tesnse???

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Do any of you other aspies (or anyone on the spectrum) ever find themselves unable to relax, or slight tesnse?

I ask this question because I find myself always tense, whether it be mentally or physically, and just overall wound up so to speak, but not in an ADHD type way. I mean, maybe for most Aspies this maybe familiar in a social setting, but overall is this normal for you? Because it is for me. I will say that when I'm involved in my special interest, this feeling is greatly reduced, but it still lingers. I can never really shake it. Oh, and in a social situation it just pretty much just shuts me down (among other things). I'm more looking for those who are not on some type of medication designed to combat this, I'm looking for those who just naturally, like me, experience this overwhelming feeling.

I look forward to reading your experiences.

Yes, I'm like that most of the time.

That is my natural state of being.

I have trouble relaxing too unless it is very late at night. I'm a bit of a spaz and always have to be doing something, otherwise I get bored and irritable. I can relax if I had an incredibly busy day. I'm used to being always busy so sometimes I feel as if I've forgotten how to relax.

I am constantly noticing my muscles are clenched in some part of my body. I have to willfully think about relaxing them to stop it.

I had a very hard time relaxing when I was in my very early 20s.

Thats very interesting that you bring that up Einfari, I am exactly the same way. I don't really relax until late at night as well (my favorite time of the Day), My theory is that because of all the stimuli during the day (esp. auditory), my body is somewhat always on guard so to speak, so when the world "quiets down" I can some what relax.

Dianthus, you are NOT alone. I too have to consciously notice and "willfully" relax my muscles in my body, again, I think this go's back to what I was saying about all the Stimuli bombarding me all day. I have recently began to think that there are other stimuli about that Aspies somehow pick up on. Maybe vibrations (Other than auditory), that we somehow pick up on, that NT's don't pick up as well or even at all.

Yeah. If I relax, I tend to stick my foot in my mouth. Mess something up. I wish I could just chill. I want to just chill. I know the just chill is in there, but I feel like I HAVE to stay tense all the time. Always on guard.

The only time I can let my guard down is times like now, when I'm all alone. Living all alone sucks. At least for me.

Like, as much as going to the grocery store tomorrow is going to suck if I don't go to bed and GO TO SLEEP!

I've got a very high level of anxiety that springs up often, and my baseline is still pretty darn tense. My therapist calls it my Watchtower.

But then, I've got a PTSD and GAD diagnosis on top of the asperger's, so...

I think so. I definitely notice vibes that other people don't pick up on, and my body reacts to that.

I also have trouble with my back. It is a bit crooked and where the curve is, I have a hard mass of muscle on one side that never relaxes. And I've had some back injuries, that can flare up when I get too stressed. If I get too tense, it sets off a chain reaction of spasms and my back will go out on me. So I really have to pay attention to being relaxed.

Yes, it is a constant and pervasive feeling, but, as with you, focusing on my special interests helps to dull it somewhat. Unfortunately, moving to Japan and trying to teach for the first time has only made it that much worse, and in fact will likely cause me to return home in a few months' time.

ヽ(´o｀；

These three video's should relate to what your thinking about,

http://blog.ted.com/2011/08/25/playlist ... -of-minds/

Yes - I'm like that as well. My last OT called it 'hyper-vigilence'.
It is constantly present, but ratchets up exponentially in stress situations.

I know this might sound weird, but I started to become the most hyper when I became a parent as that is a 24 job and the tasks involved cannot be avoided, so stress builds up and soon enough I found myself unable to relax when I had the rare occassion to.

I believe there is an environmental link, as well as our sensitivity to certain things. Some days I feel like the world is buzzing (in sound) and yet my actual analysis is that it is actually quite quiet. I would feel I was going mad except that I know that night time is the only time I really relax, infact, I can also be reinvigorated too, because there is a difference, it is truely is quiet and dark.

I can't relax! My new mattress is helping a bit though

Try meditation or exercise. Clears and calms the mind.

Me, I need to be constantly stimulated. No time to rest.

Me too. I'm quite highly strung, and boy am I hypervigilant when I see danger! Most of my activity seems to be aimed at protecting what I have....not much work gets done on enhancing my life.

Mum was also highly strung....for any situation she found herself in, she saw mostly the potential downside and couldn't see the benefits. Dad was better, though he too was probably more mindful of danger than of benefit. Perhaps it's natural and normal for people who have been brought up in an atmosphere of repression and poverty. I think I've made some inroads........at least I see the problem (focus on the negative too much and I will have a negative life) and sometimes stop myself from going too far down that miserable path. I try to tell myself that although the world is rather brutal and competitive, there is a lot of nobility and decency around, and that if I'm too blind to it then I'll end up shutting it out of my life and I'll be unhappy.

I'm also encouraged to see that during times when I can see no great threat to my existence, I can feel really calm, my behaviour becomes much more relaxed and genial, so that it's hard to tell I'm the same guy. There has to be something real to worry about before I worry......I might catch myself worrying about being 5 minutes late for work or 5 days late paying a bill, but I can usually talk myself down from that just by facing the worst-case scenario and realising that it wouldn't really be all that devastating. I've also noticed that some things scare me largely because they send me back to earlier, traumatic memories.....at such times I try to tell myself that the fear I'm experiencing is not for the most part down to the current experience.......it doesn't ease the anxiety very much, but every littel helps at such times, and it probably stops me from hitting back at the wrong target too much.