I applied to be a moderator of a website once and was rejected because they felt that my posts were "too short and incomplete".
Yeah, well, I don't know how to fit into the neurotypical world, since I was never neurotypical or officially diagnosed with autism.
Sometimes, you just have to make peace with the fact that you can't change who you are and the world just needs to accept you the way you are. There's nothing you can do about the fact that you're wired differently to most people.
@KiwiDan I know it's easier said than done, but try to embrace yourself the way you are - especially those you can't change.
I hate the fact that I need so much rest and sleep these days... but I'm making my peace with it. I mean, sure, I don't like having to lie down with my eyes closed so often - but it's still better than blacking out at my desk or elsewhere, even if I do feel like a big baby doing it.
@KiwiDan No, apparently, it's to do with the fact that we put so much effort into masking all the time and how we handle stress in a way that we leave it to build up over years and/or decades before we burnout/meltdown... and you know that both burnouts and meltdowns make you feel more tired and needing to sleep more.
Advice I've had from AI is to listen to my body and get all the rest I need - it's also advisable to restrict activity to the energy levels you have, so don't force yourself to be social if you are out of social points to spend, don't carry on with that big task if you don't have the energy, etc. Basically, prepare and plan for a marathon and not a short sprint.
It can help if you can unmask for a while and partake in any special interests you have, or just let yourself stim before you reach the point where your burnout/meltdown bucket overflows.
I'm still learning about autism and how it affects me, since I've only known that I'm autistic for 4 years. It is helping me to see that others with autism are the same as me, though, and we all have similar struggles.
@KiwiDan Here's a list of some common stims that you might be doing and not realising that you do. You might have to ask those around you if you are doing any of these because of the fact you can stim without realising that you're stimming.
I know that I am a rocker (I rock back and forth) and I used to twirl around in circles as a child, too. I remember spinning around like a human spinning top, but the rocking I was told about by my mother, who used to think that I did it because I needed a hug and felt neglected rather than I was doing it to self soothe.
