Is intense love for nature an aspie thing?

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I've been fascinated by nature ever since I can remember myself. I could lose all sense of time looking at treetops moving in the breeze or the waves on the beach.

Clicked love it, because I don't want to exaggerate. But I do get euphoric moments from time to time.

I'm only really happy when I'm out in the natural world or learning about it. I think euphoric perhaps describes it at times. I often get really excited about things that most other people probably see as quite mundane. I spent most of my childhood on the beach poking about in rockpools and I still love doing that even though I am in my fifties now.

I've always thought that there is something different about the way I experience the natural world compared to most other people but I can't really explain it. Maybe it's an autistic thing. I don't know. In the past I have belonged to climbing and sea kayaking clubs but I never really got on with the other club members. On club trips I always wanted to stop and look at stuff and it was frustrating that nobody else did. On sea kayaking trips I could spend hours just looking at, feeling, smelling and tasting different seaweeds. I could never understand why other people didn't get excited about this sort of thing in the way I did.

I love the survey. For me euphoric can be almost an understatement - experiences of nature can be ecstatic, even transcendental with goosebumps and hair standing up on my arms. It's as if certain parts of my mind wake up when examining tree bark in detail, or hearing the chirping of birds or the honking of geese flying by in their V-formations, or when I look very carefully at the detail of illuminated clouds way off on the horizon during one of the neon-orange sunrises we often get here in Colorado. I can feel a peace and sense of being transported in such experiences of nature that I very seldom get in social situations, or indoors. This is one part of being autistic that I actually like. Another is the feeling I get when I bury my face into the side of one of my purring cats.

I clicked makes me euphoric. I love being out in nature. It always makes me feel so happy and relaxed.

I voted for the last one. I feel a mixed sensation of peace and excitement when I'm surrounded by greenery, trails, water and wildlife. I feel like I'm in a giant pod.

I'd rather be surrounded by Nature than amongst NTs that's for sure. Especially in the mountains with endless square kilometers of pine trees and snow in the Canadian Rockies.

*sigh*

_________________
*** High Functioning Autism - Asperger's Syndrome ***

ADHD, OCD, and PTSD.

Keep calm and stim away.

Yep. I find Nature poetic, and it gives me a feeling of transcendence.

To answer the question posed by the OP, the results from the poll so far seem to suggest that the answer is yes.

And I'm no exception I don't think. I live out in the country (although I do work in the city), and tend to spend my spare time doing things out in the country; i.e. sailing, rowing, hiking, cycling, and cutting down trees, rather than going out to the movies or plays in the city. I think this phrase from "The Islander" sums up my views on this topic very well:

I spent some time in New York state
And I nearly lost my mind
The city life's too fast for me
Nobody has the time
Cement and steel and flashing lights is all that I could see
It may be good for New York state
But it's no damn good for me

In the woods, on the river, in the swamp, I can feel the spirit of the cosmos, or of something ineffable that is greater than me. I feel enveloped in a warm embrace, even cross country skiing in bitter cold. I feel the institutionalized anxieties slip away like bad dreams. About 10 years ago I finally achieved my dream of living in the woods and it has made a huge difference in the quality of my life. Nature, nurture, blessings.

As you may have guessed, I voted "euphoric."

I have such happy memories of growing up in rural Maine, with fields of wildflowers out my back door, and miles of forest beyond, with a little stream running through it. I definitely prefer peace and quiet, and the simplicity of nature.

I think it's extremely critical that we protect nature but I don't want to spend much time in it partly due to allergies, a low tolerance to cold & warm temperatures, a vision disorder, & I have very few interests.

New York State is not New York City.

Most of New York State is actually quite rural.

In nature I find peace of mind and freedom. Specially in really big National Parks in North America. I can breath again when roadtripping there. Living in a small overly crowded country in Western Europe feels claustrofobic to me most of the time.