Imaginary Repeat Scenarios

This may have nothing to do with my autism, but as it's impossible to find anything like this on searches, I thought I'd share.

Each night before I sleep, as my head hits the pillow, I imagine one of two scenarios; I'm either on the run from both criminals and the police and can trust neither and have found a safe haven, or I'm stuck in poor weather conditions in the Cairngorms and again have found a shack to provide safety til the morning.

Unlike some people with autism, who like weighted blankets, I usually can't stand covers on me, especially this time of the year. I just wondered if these scenarios could be my equivalent of that need for a cover as such, a small, safe enclosure, albeit in my mind.

I'll re-visit these same scenarios every night. I don't have a problem sleeping, but imagining either of these immediately ensures I'll be asleep in minutes.

I acknowledge it's a bit of an odd one, and might just be me and who I am, I just thought it might be autism related on the basis of its repetition, the need for security etc. and the fact that there's a degree of immaturity around it.

Parents
  • I have always had the tendency to treat my bed as a protective den. So I have long felt that heavy eiderdowns are rather useful, as certain experts have suggested. (A bit like Temple Grandin's need for pressure, perhaps.) There are also imaginary & repeated scenarios. These scenarios have perhaps become a bit more more sophisticated over the years, but not that much. I do tend to think of myself as a bit of a Peter Pan character. I've always tended to look rather young for my age.

    Another thing is that I tend to weave highly improbable daydreams, from certain practical aspects of my immediate reality. For example, the company I work for, in conjunction with other me-friendly individuals, might suddenly morph into a day-dream about a benevolent organization. ( I come from a rather politically-minded family.) Again, adulthood hasn't really had much effect on the daydreams I so frequently run. But it never gets to the point where I actually begin to believe in those daydreams as reality. Indeed, I like to think I am fairly well-grounded. The downside of that might be that after so many improbable daydreams, I rarely take any real risks with my imagination. I don't share those day-dreams with anyone, either! So, I frequently suffer from an inability to express my more artistic side. I'd say that has impeded my very lacklustre career.

    I would agree with Plastic's idea that you might be self-programming security. I have read quite a lot about self-hypnosis recently, and have noted that people often begin to put themselves into a somnambulistic trance by running ideas through their mind about being successful in their own terms. That would basically involve heavy rehearsal of what you have to say and how you conduct yourself around other people. That helps me to begin the process of falling asleep, but of course it is also a type of auto-suggestion that I believe has considerable merits. But it also seems to be important to ensure that your imagination is rehearsing very practical things to do and say; things that might well persuade real people to listen and cooperate. So it is perhaps better to avoid some more fantastical scenarios; but you could be nevertheless quite imaginative in being unusually thoughtful for a change. And I'm sure there's no harm in occasionally demonstrating a bit of showmanship.

Reply
  • I have always had the tendency to treat my bed as a protective den. So I have long felt that heavy eiderdowns are rather useful, as certain experts have suggested. (A bit like Temple Grandin's need for pressure, perhaps.) There are also imaginary & repeated scenarios. These scenarios have perhaps become a bit more more sophisticated over the years, but not that much. I do tend to think of myself as a bit of a Peter Pan character. I've always tended to look rather young for my age.

    Another thing is that I tend to weave highly improbable daydreams, from certain practical aspects of my immediate reality. For example, the company I work for, in conjunction with other me-friendly individuals, might suddenly morph into a day-dream about a benevolent organization. ( I come from a rather politically-minded family.) Again, adulthood hasn't really had much effect on the daydreams I so frequently run. But it never gets to the point where I actually begin to believe in those daydreams as reality. Indeed, I like to think I am fairly well-grounded. The downside of that might be that after so many improbable daydreams, I rarely take any real risks with my imagination. I don't share those day-dreams with anyone, either! So, I frequently suffer from an inability to express my more artistic side. I'd say that has impeded my very lacklustre career.

    I would agree with Plastic's idea that you might be self-programming security. I have read quite a lot about self-hypnosis recently, and have noted that people often begin to put themselves into a somnambulistic trance by running ideas through their mind about being successful in their own terms. That would basically involve heavy rehearsal of what you have to say and how you conduct yourself around other people. That helps me to begin the process of falling asleep, but of course it is also a type of auto-suggestion that I believe has considerable merits. But it also seems to be important to ensure that your imagination is rehearsing very practical things to do and say; things that might well persuade real people to listen and cooperate. So it is perhaps better to avoid some more fantastical scenarios; but you could be nevertheless quite imaginative in being unusually thoughtful for a change. And I'm sure there's no harm in occasionally demonstrating a bit of showmanship.

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