Quirks :)

Autumn_Trees said:

Does anyone else get phrases or tunes stuck in their head for days and days? I've had one popular Christmas song (I won't say wich just so you don't get it too!) in my head for days, it just goes round and round and round in the background of my mind.. 

A good example of this happened this morning.

I was watching a suicidal slug trying to drink from a steep sided water bowl.

It reminded me of yesterday, when I got a bug down my top and didn't like the feel of it against my skin (I rescued it).

This reminded me of a Peter Greenaway film (A Z and 2 noughts) where 2 naked people are covered in snails.

This reminded me of Michael Nyman, the composer, who wrote a lot of music for PG's films.

This in turn reminded me of his music for The Piano.

I am now walking around the house going da - da - da - da - da -da -da to the theme of the The Piano.

This will probably now last for days and drive me and anyone unlucky enough to be in my vicinity, nuts.

Number, you are a super hero!!! (a highly caffeinated one) 

Yes, I entirely agree with the logic and validity of those statements.  Moreover, I have studied some of the studies relating to caffeine and its affects on animals and humans - spiders are completely undone by the stuff - far more so than by far more Class A concoctions.

But......nonetheless......I can only report what I experience.  Last month, I had a 10 day period where I only imbibed 6 cups of coffee.........and I was fine.  In the last couple of years, I've deliberately gone "cold turkey" for periods of weeks, and again, no evident upside nor downside of it.  Like I say, weird, I know.

Number, I always thought that caffeine had no impact on me but when I went into my first rehab it was caffeine free, just herbal teas and water. After a few months we were trusted to go into the local town and I sneaked in a coffee - just before I got back into the mini-van back to the rehab centre I vomited my guts up right on the tarmac. It's a tolerance thing, if you're used to a lot you're used to a lot - but I bet if you cut it out suddenly you'd have a reaction - ditto introducing it again!

I'm glad it's not a reaction for anxiety for you - coffee is a great drink so enjoy! Anxiety is something I struggle with on a daily basis, in my teens I was originally diagnosed with it before the ASD. I didn't used to sleep... but I do now more than I should I think.

I am in the same club - autistic and weird. I'm glad I stumbled across this site it's nice knowing I'm not alone.

Yea - the coffee is a weird one for me.  It is excessive - undoubtedly - but I am not an overtly anxious person and generally it "appears" to have very little impact on me either way - ie I can happily have no coffee some days - or even for a week or 10 days holiday or instance, there can be none.  I always sleep.

As I like to say these days, I am both autistic AND weird.

Hey there! 

Yes unfortunately it does interrupt much of my day. It's an impulse thing - I have to wash them no matter what! Other downside here is it's caused my hands to become cracked and dry. But I can't not wash them... terrible habit to get into.

I wonder if that man from the podcast was autistic? I find myself wondering if people have autism when I hear them doing things out of the norm.

I love chicken soup and mushroom. What's yours? 

Hello Number, I have now given myself a username - a nickname I have been blessed with in real life seemed appreciate to use on this site.

Yes sometimes it can be more but it's excessive, a reaction to anxiety I have been trying harder to ease on it.

I'm the same, my voice change bothers most but it's a natural process for me I have always done this.

That's a lot of caffeine, be careful as it can worsen anxiety - I drink only coca cola about 8 cans each day.

You can't go wrong with soup. It's my favourite meal now.

......and an efficient way to manage my intake.  If it isn't in front of me, then I tend not to need to eat.

Number said:

but generally eat most things that are in front of me.

That's a good way to reduce your queuing time.

Hello 87604 - nice to meet you - I am Number.

So, on average, you wash your hands at least once every minute - sometimes twice?

I have a broad selection of normal voices - which one pops up tends to be governed by my surroundings and the person/people I am speaking with.  It worries people that it changes so much - can't seem to help it.

I drink at least 12 cups of coffee per day on average - only from one of two mugs = my profound preference.

I love soup - but generally eat most things that are in front of me.

I go through phases - I'll immerse myself in music for a while and become quite energised, creative, manic even, possibly. Then I reach saturation and can't do it any more, for a while.

I might occasionally watch TV, but I like the peace more. In the winter I just light the fire, the sight and sound of the flames is relaxing. It's the only light I like at night, it dances. 

Well, I often find a single track that suits my mood, and it will play on repeat for many, many hours.  When I've finished, it will not reverberate in my head and will be "put away" until the next time it springs to my mind.  I don't do "playlists."

Hey! 

Wow that's so interesting. 

Does washing your hands that much interfere with your regular day-to-day life? It must be very tiring. 

I heard a podcast once where a North American man spoke only with a British accent for all of his teens and then one day just went back to his normal voice. I find that fascinating. 

I love soup :) What's your favourite kind?

Interesting. I like your quirks.

Here are some of my quirks.

- I only drink from yellow cups.

- Soup is the only thing I eat. I've only eaten soup since I was 17.

- I don't talk in my normal voice, I put on a Northern American voice. 

- I wash my hands between 30-50 times every half hour.

I do Anne Halprin dance which is any movement is dance.

Pegg said:

Do you enjoy music? 

I used to play music constantly, both 'popular' and 'classical'  and went to a lot of concerts.

However, as I've got older, I have become less and less able to listen to anything.

A lot of music triggers painful memories but it's not just that.

I haven't watched TV for 20+ years and no longer listen to Radio 4.

Something, and I'm not sure what, maybe the autism, has made me more insular.

How about you?

I absolutely get it! 

There are some songs I have to consider listening to, because however amazing it's going to be to listen to, it's going to haunt me for days... 

YES I listened to this podcast recently, where the same melody is repeated over and over - and it's just got melded with my brain and I can't shake it! It's kind of comforting, but also I'd like to think about something different :) hahah 

You too huh? Maybe it does have a name.. 

Do you enjoy music?