Published on 12, July, 2020
If you are posting on this thread please stick to experience or sharing of positive things and please avoid debate which would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
I am finding my executive functioning is quite low at the moment due to quite a few challenges at the same time and the limited light. A lot of my forms of relaxation require good light for my vision to be good enough. Each week at work ( I do a maximum of 4 days) feels a challenge at the moment, so I try to celebrate a week achieved at a time.
I try to find positives in nature that is mostly on the decline at this time of year. My positive for this week is the smell of damp leaves.
Does anyone else find this time of year difficult?
I enjoy reading people's funny experiences on here, but they are sadly lacking at the moment.
I've been intending to get myself a comfortable pair of warm waterproof winter shoes, but keep putting it off. When it comes to clothing and footwear, I tend to order stuff online. Of course, the drawback is that it can be a hassle if something ends up needing to be returned.
A friend of mine uses the front cover of Christmas cards she's received to create handmade Christmas cards, which is a good way of recycling them. In addition, my mother will use old Christmas cards to make her own gift tags for presents.
I suffer from SAD, I just can’t stand the gloomy days and coldness. The thought of Christmas doesn’t hep. My first job was in a building with no windows. In the winter I would go to work in the dark and then go home in the dark. It was quite horrible, after a couple of months I started feeling like a Morlock. Last winter I kept putting off getting new work boots , having wet feet all day was massively overstimulating, in the end my wife went and bought me new boots, I was apparently being a pain in the a*se.
I like with cream that's my fave. On Xmas Eve we always have a hot chocolate before we go to bed it's such a nice thing for my family.
I actually enjoy the darker months for various reasons but generally September to December always seems like harder work in terms of some EF aspects. I take vitamin D to make up for lack of sunlight. We should all take it between October and March at least.
I have Seasonal Affective Disorder, so I too can find this time of year to be a struggle. It can cause me to feel as though I just want to snuggle up under my duvet and hibernate.
Like you Homebird, I too enjoy reading amusing anecdotes shared by other members. It is said that laughter is the best medicine, and I am very much in agreement. Whilst I appreciate that humour is subjective, reading things that appeal to my sense of humour can be just what is needed to lift my mood.
I get nervous about the ice and now walk with poles.
What hat do you like to put in your hot chocolate? Marshmallow or cream?
I like hot chocolate either dark or white (nothing with coconut);
Walking in the sunshine wearing my bright pink gloves.
Bright colours.
Enjoy what I'm doing.
Going to a Christmas meal with the community group.
Handmade Christmas cards using recycled paper from a cheap magazine.
The spruce website is good for ideas.
Yes I find this time of year challenging and bleak. Autumn and winter are my least fave part of the year cause everything is dark and cold and almost depressing.
One smell I do like that's associated with this time of year is hot chocolate my mum always makes one for us every Saturday morn so this time of year I love that smell and the taste of it. I don't get it with any other time of the year.
Another thing I like is my Xmas jumper it's a good material and doesn't set me off and it lights up so I'm like a Xmas tree lololol
School is darker and colder this time of year. Break time is horrible cause it's normally freezing and then there's the walking home in the dark and cold.
Last year it was icy and I fell over and broke my wrist so I try to go more careful now lol
And I've found the same with car headlights like Max they are so bright and it's really dazzling. I try to keep my head down to avoid them when it's dark.
One thing I do also like is wearing my reindeer antlers headband lololol
Last winter was my first post diagnosis and by then I had done a lot of autism research. Boy was I surprised by what I found when I conducted what I call "unscientific experiments in autism". This involved going out in a mindful state, taking clothes off, putting things on, trying headphones etc. Nothing rash.
Last winter I spent time experimenting with sensory difficulties when out walking the dog.
Summary: Winter walking is vile if you're hyper sensitive:
That's one activity in the winter that I have to do twice daily (because I've always walked my dogs twice daily from childhood) .
For the purposes of your question, imagine everything else that you do in the winter that's more difficult and I strongly suspect that's where our effective function goes - we use it making additional choices to deal with the weather, the light and the cold.
That's my thoughts anyway lol