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Monotropism? How to get a rest from your overactive brain?

no-face

I'm quite new to my diagnosis but have been finding the idea of monotropism quite helpful.

In parts it's brilliant to be hyperfocused on things at work, it can mean i am relentless is purusing ambitions, and personal goals in my work life. I naturally feel quite tired from being like this at work, that amount of focus can be exhausting, but i do enjoy it, perhaps even need it to stay regulated.

I find that when i'm not at work i struggle so hard to switch my brain onto a different track that i don't get any mental rest, or what i do get is often poor qualitity because i'm still cognitively working on things in my mind. It also makes it really hard to be present as a person in other spaces, for eg with family and partner, or friends. I don't like this about myself and have always tried my best to suppress it or hide it.

I've had a week or so to myself in the house alone, while my partner and kids are away. I thought it would be restful but i'm completely all over the place. I'm either slipping into work without noticing, or pacing around in a bit of a disscociative state, not really noticing any of my basic needs like water and food for most of the day. I feel like a distracted hot mess unable to relax what-so-ever.

Does anyone relate to this?

When i was younger I used to call it the "guilt chip", like i felt i should be working on my work stuff all the time. But perhaps this is part of being autistic.

I'm wondering what sort of things are good to help with mental switches like this. How do you get mental/cognitive rest and turn off your (over)active brain?
My therapist has been getting me to work on "third space" activities to recognise that i've done enough for the day. But i think these behaviours are very engrained and it's going to take a lot of time to be more flexible on this.

What do you do?

Parents

  • My thoughts on how to make a monotropic brain work productively.

    Firstly and obviously recognise that a monotropic brain will work best if able to focus on one thing at a time.

    That's not always easy and I believe it's something that AuDHD people struggle with a lot, turning off that overactive mind.

    Mindfulness techniques can help, to notice when your thoughts are drifting and bring them back to the current task. I'm not talking about the 'focus on breathing' type of mindful exercises, although I accept they can help some people.

    It can help if you can set aside specific times for specific tasks. I find that if time permits and the task is significant then setting aside the whole day helps enormously. Our difficulty switching from one thing to another is known as Autistic Inertia.

    It can also help a lot to write things down as soon as the thought comes to you. If you happen to think of a way to tackle a work problem or something you need to remember to do then write it down straight away. Then it is out of your mind, you don't need to keep that thought in working memory any more and you can once again focus on the current task.

  • in reply to Autonomistic
    Autonomistic said:
    It can also help a lot to write things down as soon as the thought comes to you. If you happen to think of a way to tackle a work problem or something you need to remember to do then write it down straight away. Then it is out of your mind, you don't need to keep that thought in working memory any more and you can once again focus on the current task.

    I forgot to add that it helps to organise the way you write them down. You don't want to end up with loads of scraps of paper with random thoughts in no meaningful order.

    You could keep them organised in a notebook or diary, or as a document on your computer. Whatever system you use needs to ensure those notes still mean something when you get to working on that particular task.

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  • in reply to Autonomistic
    Autonomistic said:
    It can also help a lot to write things down as soon as the thought comes to you. If you happen to think of a way to tackle a work problem or something you need to remember to do then write it down straight away. Then it is out of your mind, you don't need to keep that thought in working memory any more and you can once again focus on the current task.

    I forgot to add that it helps to organise the way you write them down. You don't want to end up with loads of scraps of paper with random thoughts in no meaningful order.

    You could keep them organised in a notebook or diary, or as a document on your computer. Whatever system you use needs to ensure those notes still mean something when you get to working on that particular task.

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