energy

Just because you could doesn’t mean you should

~ Helen White ~ Leave a comment

It's all too easy to be guilted into overdoing things; to feel judged and criticised and like we are letting other people down...and why do we always push ourselves, why do we feel we always have to be productive or do at least what we are capable of doing right up to the limit of our energy, using up every last iota of ability that we have? What if we have to learn a a whole other way of being in order to get ourselves out of an ME/CFS crash...what if it's about learning its OK, in fact essential, to hold something back in reserve for ourselves, in fact first and foremost?

Learning to ADHD pace…the hardest but most powerful thing you will ever do

~ Helen White ~ Leave a comment

The constant play-off between the two sides of AuDHD can be such a challenge to live with as well as such a blessing. Having parts that both provoke and complement each other is precarious in the extreme and not for the faint-hearted. It's also far too simplistic to describe ADHD (or autism for that matter) as a superpower, not to mention dismissive of its many hardships but there can be some perks when it comes to recovering from burnout, ideally before it turns into a chronic state. Exploring how ADHD can throw you a lifeline at times of health crash but also the importance of pacing...before you allow yourself to become burned out yet again!

A quest to know myself better through synesthesia

~ Helen White ~ Leave a comment

I’m beginning to sense that in synesthesia lies the key of so many aspects of my long running chronic pain. If I could only gain a better viewpoint of what actually happens to me when I sense things, I suspect I might be able to catch a glimpse (like some sideways-on reflection of myself reflected back at me in a shop window) of some of the causative aspects of pain where no other provocation for pain seems to exist. This feels like a worthwhile line of enquiry for anyone who is neurodivergent and weary of how unusual levels of pain never seems to abate, especially as I think it is possible to have one of the less talked-about versions of synesthesia and not even realise it since it is your version of normal.

Synesthesia or salience: autism and environmental sensitivity

~ Helen White ~ Leave a comment

In the case of those of us most sensitive to environmental factors, is "weather (or whatever it is) salience" a more apt term to describe a higher degree of awareness that leaves other people wondering what on earth we are talking about and does synaesthesia sometimes get recruited by our neurodiverse brains as a means of extending the basic sensory tools so that we get to gather far more "data" from our environment in an attempt to better "systemise" our experience of the otherwise random-seeming world we live in?

On oxalates, emotions, self-protection, autism and releasing: a hypothesis

~ Helen White ~ Leave a comment

Exploring the idea that certain chronically painful bodies have formed the habit of storing oxalates (toxic anti-nutrients) from common food sources in order to protect us when, really, this only does great harm...and how to get out of the subconscious mindset of vulnerability in order to heal.

When your autistic health is minutely synced to the (apparently discombobulated) seasons

~ Helen White ~ Leave a comment

When you thrive on predictability, how does your body cope with delayed or oddly-behaving seasons? Or with prolongued transitions? Or when "feeling too much" and energy overload (ironically) translate as deficit? Exploring the effect of seasonal changes from a neurodivergent perspective.

Places that deplete

~ Helen White ~ 2 Comments

As an autistic person, some places instantly deplete me like I have taken a chemical bath or eaten something off my allergy list…the effect is that instantaneous. Exploring the importance of place as a primary factor in sensory processing and other aspects of neurodivergence.

Good vibrations

~ Helen White ~ Leave a comment

When you're hungry for good vibration, when your system basically runs on it above all other motivators, it runs the risk of sucking vibes in from many sources, not all of them equal. Exploring the cross-over of neurodivergence, stimming, addiction risk, the need to source the right energy for your life and the possibility of finding good health, even thriving, once you realise your energy needs are fundamentally different to other peoples.

Freeze response: the intersection of autism, trauma and chronic illness

~ Helen White ~ 4 Comments

What happens when huge amounts of energy get stuck in the body as trauma, leading to a freeze response or shutdown? How does this intersect with chronic conditions such as CFS, fibromyalgia, sensory defensiveness or other syndromes and does being autistic make you more prone to this? How can somatic therapies be used to discharge years of trauma? Exploring through my own deep-dive into the territory.