
Wait is the whole dudes with fish pictures on dating apps thing a subtle nod to fishing metaphors for dating? "Lots of fish in the sea/Throw that one back/Go fish for a better one" kinda thing and I just totally missed it?
Or is it just some weird bro masculinity thing and I'm overthinking it.
When I'm not keeping up with dishes or laundry, it's not that I've forgotten how to do them. It's more like Dishes and Laundry Are Behind is the normal state of things now. It feels like it ties closely to the local/global precedence thing https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_precedence : That falls quick;y into part of the background global pattern, which I shift focus away from to whatever local pattern I'm focusing on now.
8/?
I feel like it's a super subtle point, and I'm not sure how to describe it to NTs. I wonder if other autistic folks see it similarly.
When I'm nonverbal, it's not that I've forgotten how to talk. It's more like I'm not paying attention to the fact that talking is a thing I could conceivably do. Other things have my focus, either because they've demanded it, or because I'm enjoying that focus being there.
7/?
Ultimately I feel like so many of my struggles come back to focus. When I'm doing something, I don't always notice other things. I don't notice my needs, sure, but also, I don't notice *that there's anything to notice*. And if I do notice the stimuli, I don't notice that I could shift focus to address them. I'm focusing, so those stimuli are just The Way Things Are.
6/?
I think the quick takeaway is that I need better tools for checking in on myself and preventing myself from getting there, and I feel like my therapist and I can work those out. I welcome suggestions.
But there's another layer, and it's why that happens in the first place. Like, I don't think it's *just* interoception difficulties, though that's part of it. I feel like more and more I'm noticing a common thread underlying a lot of my struggles.
5/?