Published on 12, July, 2020
I keep seeing posts here about autistic inertia. I have to ask what is that?
From the description it sounds like it may be what I am going through at the moment. Only trouble is I have an awful lot of stuff I actually HAVE to do and I don't know how I'm going to find the "energy" for want of a better word to do it.Any explanations or tips would be very appreciated
Inertia:- a property of matter by which it continues in its existing state of rest or uniform motion in a straight line, unless that state is changed by an external force.
I don't think autistic inertia is a medical term or maybe known about much beyond the autistic community.
At an every day level this could be difficulty starting tasks unless prompted. Often I know what I need to do but just can't start. An example might be I want to go to bed, I need to go to bed but for some unknown reason I just can't motivate myself. My partner then gets up and says "I'm going to bed!" Now there's an external force motivating me. It happens time and again in different situations. I think on a wider level I feel like I've just ground to a halt being off work and I can't get started with things again. I feel stuck in my life. I know what I need to do but can't do it. I don't know if it's depression but I don't feel depressed.
Similarly, if I am focusing on something it can be hard to stop. I can remain in this state unless an external force interrupts me. This can apply to tasks or thoughts. This is why I know distraction from unwanted thoughts can help.
think it links to the idea of a monotropism brain and this might be why we can have difficulty with outside change.
m.youtube.com/watch a 30 second explanation
podcasts.apple.com/.../id1548001224 a 15 minute listen
www.frontiersin.org/.../full a long read but very interesting