Feeling "more" or "less" autistic

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This seems like kind of a weird thing to say, but depending on the day, I can feel either really autistic, or not as autistic. I'm not sure what causes this or if it's normal.

Like, some days, my sensory issues will be worse and it just seems like I can't understand anyone's intentions, and literally all I wanna do is pursue whatever special interest I have that day, since my special interests cycle a lot.

But other days, like today for example, my sensory issues aren't as bad as they are sometimes, and I dont stress about socializing at all, even if I know I'm not good at it. I may want to do stuff with my special interests, but I also may not.

Don't get me wrong, I still know I have asperger's every day, and I feel like I have it every day. It's just that it feels more intense some days than it does others. On the days that it feels more intense, my special interest tends to be autism itself, and I'll do lots of Internet research about it, even though I've done it a lot already.

Does anyone else get like that?

I relate to this 100%. There's some days when i'm very still and relaxed and outgoing (for me) and other days where i'm stimming like crazy and completely withdrawn. some days where i'm up for a little adventure like hiking and other days where i'm so deeply absorbed in my interests i won't even leave my room to eat and have even wet my pants because i was too absorbed to notice i needed to go. most days are static but i def have my less autistic more autistic cycles.

This happens to me too. I'm really not sure what really causes it though. I know that sometimes it's the weather, but mostly I can't find a connection. Some days I just get up in the morning and find that my sensory issues and the like are worse. On those days I also tend to stim a lot more, have difficulty communicating and sometimes my voice sounds like a toddlers. Like you said, I feel more autistic when this happens to the point that it is obvious to the casual observer that something is "wrong" or different about me.

Diet.

I also feel the same variation in my aloofness, in my need to stim and ability to perform socially and verbally.

Not a feeling in my case, but how my behavior changes.

Now that I think about it, I think it might be related to the situation I am in at any given moment. I think stress causes my symptoms to intensify.

Right now, it's the start of summer for me and I know I can relax and not worry about anything for a while. So I'm not as sensitive to sensory stuff, and I'm stimming less.

But a month ago, I was worried over the AP chemistry exam I had to take, so it was worse for me, mentally speaking. Everything was loud and I dreaded leaving the house because I didn't want to talk to anyone. Likewise, last thanksgiving, I was at my aunt's house far away from home and being forced to socialize with people I barely knew, and my symptoms were worse then.

The relative levels of neurotransmitters change constantly. Whichever one is highest or lowest at any time impacts on how you experience life all the time.

Tired and High Stress = Feeling more Aspie-Autistic

Last edited by ASPartOfMe on 01 Jun 2014, 3:47 am, edited 1 time in total.

I'm not sure about that. I was put through a lot of diet experiments and didn't really seem to have any effect at all one way or another. ymmv



Exactly - well said.

Yes I deal with the exact same thing and it really sucks when it interferes with long term plans that I have made.

My mileage does vary, indeed.

When I was 12 years old and did an allergy elimination diet over several weeks, certain foods caused very noticeable (even to me, not just others) changes in my behaviour. The worst offending food group was grains - and likely due to gluten.

Fast forward more than half my life later to the thread in my signature and you'll see just how much diet has changed my entire life via reducing/eliminating symptoms.

The person who evaluated me for AS said that depending on stress levels, I can appear "more" or "less" autistic. It makes sense, because the more I'm exhausted from being social, change, or meeting new people, the more my traits come out. Sometimes, I think I appear very low functioning. Other times, my friends are amazed that I even have AS. My one friend, who I'm VERY comfortable with, remarks how well I'm able to understand peoples' intentions. So, for me, it really does depend on other factors.

I've also found that allowing myself to be who I truly am has allowed my stress levels to go WAY down. Also, when I'm tired, I'm able to make eye contact pretty good.

Depending on my mood I can also be more or less AS. I think that is true for most AS people.

am not able to feel 'autistic' or 'not autistic', that is the kind of self awareness that comes with being HFA/aspie.

As for now I'm a little skeptical about diet in my case as well. I was put on a gluten free diet as well and there was no change for me.



I think that's a better way to state it as well.



That makes sense. I know that for me my Generalized Anxiety Disorder affects the severity of my autistic symptoms. I don't mean by this that these changes are do to stress exactly. My anxiety is caused by too much neurotransmitter activity in my brain, sort of like a seizure but on a tiny scale. So that could be it. But then what causes the changes in the amount of neurotransmitters? Is it just regular fluctuation that happens in the body regardless of any outside causes? Or is there an outside cause, and if there is, then what is it?