Having nightmares since recent diagnosis - common?

Hi Crow,

If I added up the time I spend fathoming out the Internet, websites, etc I’d give up altogether.

Only the thought that buying stamps and posting letters was if anything worse, keeps me going.

Today my plans to get ahead with blogs etc lie in ruins because apart from iPhone, my connection is down. 

Hope youve had a better day (that goes for all my correspondents on the NAS community) 

 plus cupcakes

UK had some wonderful songwriters in these days. 

Nostalgia is probably more a thing of 'I was better in these days' than 'everything was better in these days'... 

Another one: 'time is on my side' from the stones... 

And Ruby tuesday: cash your dreams before they slip away... lose your dreams and you will lose your mind... good stuff.

I *love*  that Bowie song Ch-ch-changes ! :D

In some ways lockdown has affected me positively: all that quiet; all those blue skies.

Since lockdown I sleep less well - and I wake up more often during the night.

As a result of all this I feel less rested when I finally wake up and tiredness just seems to accumulate.

i haven’t tried any of the sleep hygiene things that are supposed to help - milky drink, no laptops or blinking lights, etc - so I’m going to try some of that. 

Reading about your 2 years before accepting that you’re autistic is also hugely helpful: thank you. I’ll brush up on some more patience.

I love your checklist idea - and oh my goodness, your ‘talk calmly and mindfully’ - I Really Need to Practise that . . . what a brilliant way of de-stressing. 

Best regards to you both* & take care 

* I got muddled with the reply buttons so please accept the above for both of you, Contrapuntal and Crow x x 

Thanks, it means a lot to me to read this from you. 

There's this song from David Bowie: changes... 'turn, and face the strange...' that reminds me a bit of these dreams and reliving past moments. 

Once you know your limitations, you also know your strengths, take things as you can handle them, most stressful situations we tend to bring onto ourselves. 

I never thought of that - that it could be a mourning process. It makes perfect sense though: thank you MDC. 

I’m happy and relieved to have the diagnosis and the understanding of past events that has brought.

At the same time I have to acknowledge the years I’ve spent ‘not’ understanding. 

Well, I no longer blame myself, that’s a whole lot of something to celebrate :-)

Thank you so much for all your good thoughts x

Just to add...I still get muddled how to use this web sight....& i’ve done it again as I was replying to NAS67658

I was diagnosed about 2 years ago at the age of 58yrs. I always knew there was something not right with me to the point where I thought I was going mad, until a kind friend said I think you have Aspergers. 

I agree with Contrapuntal that some of my friends have had nightmares triggered by lockdown. Also agree with MDC that I too looked back at my past life & thought how differently I could have managed it. But it’s the past...try to let it go....it will not help you as it’s not now is it. But celebrate the good things from the past & remember all that was good. Concentrate on the positives. 

However I get nightmares when I am angst. It’s not a bad thing...it’s just you learning about yourself & coping mechanism. Don’t worry, the nightmares will change & lesson the more you learn about yourself. 

It took me nearly 2 yrs to finally except I am autistic. I knew I was, but excepting & digesting took time. Everyone is different of course.

I’m now happy & much better at looking after myself. I have put a check list on the wall near my front door to help me. Such as I can’t cope with more than 1 phone call a day. If I get 2 phone calls I must limit the call time to 15mins or so. Also I wrote ‘don’t give your energy away’ as I get tired when talking to neighbours etc. Or ‘talk calmly & mindfully’  so I don’t get stressed. This might or might not work for you. 

Every so often I would read a little bit at a time about Aspergers...also the science of how the autistic brain works. So it’s the wiring of my brain that makes me me. I felt much better knowing this & normal. 

Thats the point really....I’m normal for me. 

At this moment in time know what works for you....protect yourself, try not to put yourself into situations which you find stressful, be kind to yourself, do things which bring you comfort & live in the day. I try to live the day, which is easier to cope with let alone stressing about tomorrow. 

Take care

I've had nightmares during lockdown, so maybe it wasn't due to the diagnosis alone. 

It's a mourning process, it takes a couple of months. With me it also became clear that there is something about me that maybe some people would notice. Some things in the past went wrong and now I know why this happens and how socially awkward and clumsy I must have looked. 

You can't turn back the clock, but you can maybe recognise these situations in the future and deal with them in a different way, more beneficial. I advise to talk to a psychologist. They manage to put alternatives to certain thought-patterns in your head that make you think different. 

For the rest, you are still you, the diagnoses didn't change that, what worked for you in the past keeps working now.