Published on 12, July, 2020
I am an adult, yet i don't look my age and this ,rather than a blessing causes me constant friction with the world at large. I find my mind is in a constant agitated state of flux .... bubbling between the present and the past.My favorite book is the Time Machine , due to an inate interest in time.I am regularly told that i ''live in the past'' .... infact this is one of the most common sayings people put onto me ........ i woke this morning and i remembered in crystal detail a particularly day when i was at infants schhool .... i felt compelled to tell the teachers i was an alien and my infantile mind decided the best way to do so was to RUN around as fast as i could, jumping over obstacles and convincing the adults that no ordinary boy could perform this way..... the teachers all ran after me telling me to stop because it was a very sunny day... i WAS an alien in the playground.My mind will constantly bombard me with perfect images or movies from the past ... hence people constantly saying i live in the past.I am emotionally and physically immature, i do not look my age.Is this common amongst people with aspergers.
Thank you.
I dont really live in the past or think about it as such ... i may be brushing my teeth and a smell or a sound can trigger a memory which is random and intrusive and usually in high fidelity (remarkably so!) ..... i may ''see'' an event that i had forgotten in such vivid detail it is ... interesting.I can hear things from the past.. a wood pigeon in a graveyard in Berlin in 1975 but cannot see the grave etc..... when i was young my sensory system was all messed up ..... if my forefinger touched my thumb when i was tired i became a ''homunculus'' ( a sensory map of the body .. more nerve endings more attention so big hands etc) .. it was always pretty confusing and horrific and i never told anyone but the only way to regain sensory balance was to wrap my arms around the toilet because the cold porcelain would ''shock'' me back to normality.Sounds and colours became mixed up and i would hear things ... saying all this stuff as a kid got me locked up in frightening mental hospitals, but i was usually dischrged quickly.I now know all this has to do with Aspergers and might indicate my brain is somehow malfunctioning or performing in novel and extraordinary ways.I still see sounds as colour but not so much the homunculus now ... also i would have sleep paralysis where i would be asleep and unable to move but fully conscious ..... still i turned out ok.
Hi there, in regards to your 'living in the past' query. It is not uncommon for autistic people to relate to something that the individual sees as something 'special'. Also, one of the things autistic people typically find challenging is transition. Saying that, it puts things into perspective. Each person on the spectrum is varied. Someone might recall a moment in their life e.g. childhood and can't forget what happened on the day whether it was a bus route or a street address etc..
The main thing, is depending on the severity and extent of our past is how sufficient or relevant it is to us as individuals. Our deepest thoughts or our fondest memories. Those are the things we cherish and hold on to because that was the time which was considered 'happy times'. Not all past times are happy but it is worth remembering what happened then may not happen now. Or if it does it won't be exactly the same situation. After all, when we go through years growing up not everything will be as they once were (at a certain age).
Looks can be deceiving but not everything is always quite as it seems. It is at times the illusion or curiosity (need to know) that gets the better of people.
Thank you, i can ''see'' the metal fence and beyond in such detail i can almost reach out and touch it .... the brain is an amazing thing.... about not liking change i noticed i listen to Alan Partrige Nomad audio CD over and over and over to no apparent final goal so i guess the ground hog scenario must be prevelant.Thank you very much for your comments it has really cheered me up and given me a boost.Please have a wonderful day.I am going to get ready to go shopping now.Thankk you.Bye
It doesn't sound uncommon. Being in your own head a lot I think is a very common autistic trait. It's not always in the past, but there is a common description that autistic people 'don't like change' and want to repeat things as they were. Maybe it's a downside of having a good memory? Feeling like an alien is also pretty common, which is why one of the other autism/Asperger forums is called 'Wrong Planet'.
I look young for my age, by about 10 years. Something most people would feel positive about, and you tend to as you get older.