Recognising my high-stress patterns and choices as ADHD/autistic

[@b-midbar]

Your opening line was already so relatable. I am recently coming up against 'is it burnout all the time, or do I have higher support needs than I'm admitting to myself? What's the actual difference between autistic burnout and higher support needs? Isn't the idea of the spectrum that it's different all the time? Am I willing to deal with the potentially life-changing implications of admitting I need more support?' It was strange earlier in my professional life to realize the divide between 'I love this fast-paced job where I constantly feel the endorphin rush of solving problems and can see the material impact of what I do every day' and 'I will absolutely never feel like myself if I can't deeply focus on something in-depth and devote my time and energy to it, but when I'm not constantly in a state of physical and mental stimulus I don't know how to function.' Your video feels in many ways like it could have been made about me. Thank you for sharing.

[@jessbeer8276]

Interesting concept, and one that we could probably apply to many areas of life... I used to look after children, and until a few days ago I used to think it was 'good for me' because I had to be present & not procrastinate as much when I was in charge of a child for a day. However, a few days ago I just suddenly realised that it was actually very stressful for me because I had to be 'on' the whole time the child was in my care - you can't switch off when there's a baby or a toddler around! So yeah, anyway, I used to think it was a great motivator for getting stuff done, which it was, but I realise now that I didn't get the downtime I wanted or needed on those days - I was 'productive' because I was adrenaline-fuelled and in a state of stress. Its a tricky one because I actually really liked looking after kids, but it was also stress-inducing in a lot of ways. This video has helped me to unpack that a bit more, so thank you ✨

[@banovsky]

This one hits home, hard, as someone in my late 30s-and as a former national editor of a publication-at the time I couldn’t parse why leaving the newsroom and my life flipping around about ~10 years ago was so incredibly tough. I went from a fast-paced, results-driven environment to working from home, with health issues, in a smalllllll town. How you explained being pulled along by a tide of problems & problem-solving throughout your day was eloquent and relatable. Improving my diet and yes, getting my vitamins-especially enough protein-I can’t recommend enough to anyone reading this. Do what you can to improve your diet, figure out what you’re deficient in, and start taking at least a multivitamin is pricey/not fun/tastes bad but I promise in the long run it will help to lift the clouds a bit.

[@lakritzeslena]

Everyone who experienced burnout will understand that it will not miraculously disappear. It's sticky

[@tracirex]

Hester, ive had a very similar body protest experience. ive heard that the first couple of years after a big shift like diagnosis or realizing we need to unmask to be healthy can be really rocky. ADHD needs can clash with Autism needs. can you re-imagine your work environment? you would make an excellent advocate for the massively expanding neurodiverse population.

[@hesterlonergan]

Thanks so much for your comments. I'm working on that re-imagining! I'm training as a coach and my ambition is to work with neurodivergent clients as well as advocate and educate more broadly. Watch this space!

[@tracirex]

@@hesterlonergan you will be a brilliant coach

[@tracirex]

autism and severe stress go together like hair on gorillas. anxiety has been my closest constant companion. my earliest memories are fear based. i remember my first nightmare. your counting hand claw is great. if you ever need to make a lot of money, do videos of eating crisps.

[@hesterlonergan]

I would even watch those

[@tracirex]

@@hesterlonergan 😆

[@Paul_ABC]

Thanks for this. I also have breathing issues and a weird stomach feeling (maybe bloating?) along with my exhaustion/burnout. And I really relate to need for speed! I've been struggling with fatigue since September and haven't been able to work full time since. Difficult stuff! How does exercise affect you? I used to love exercise but I've been trying to rest way more and I _think_ it's helping? Who knows

[@hesterlonergan]

Hey, thanks for watching! I've been resting way more this year - because stress had/has become my baseline, my practitioner recommended I avoid high intensity exercise for a while at least. I used to run a lot, but it took a lot of mental force to will myself to start; the endorphins at the end were exquisite but `I now totally see I was forcing myself into an even greater stress state as a way to feel any sense of calm. Focusing on strength training and walking at the moment - a lot of unlearning to do and I feel a lot of guilt about not doing enough, but hopefully with time I'll feel comfortable with the gentleness I'm now giving myself

[@autisticexpressiongenx]

wow your a beautiful auzi . ty for your inspiring vid

[@kikih6389]

Natural, integrative, and holistic care has done wonders for my physical health. Conventional medicine just doesn’t cut it when they isolate PARTS of what is supposed to be your WHOLE body. I have taken these tests with integrative doctors and I have found them to be very helpful, now I’m on many different types of natural supplements. The tests include heavy metals and toxins tests, micronutrient levels, hormone/thyroid panels, gut micro biome analysis, and food sensitivity tests. Detox, detox, detox. Detox the heavy metals and toxins through herbs, correct lifestyle, and exercise. Diet is important, organic whole fruits and vegetables, legumes, nuts and seeds. Avoid animal products as much as possible, avoid highly processed foods as much as possible. Juice organic vegetable and fruit juices when you can. Exercise is also important, yoga to help your spiritual body, cardio (when you’re not stressed, but sweating is important to get rid of toxins) and strength training to get your energy more situated into your body.

[@justine8051]

Hi, could you tell me where you got these tests done? As in what provider did you use? This is something I'm interested in!! :)

[@justine8051]

Also 7 months later would you be able to tell me how you're getting on with the approaches you have mentioned? I think what gets me is I know the things I need to do, but I get overwhelmed implementing them

[@kikih6389]

@@justine8051 I'm in the US, so the providers classify themselves as doctors of natural medicine/holistic health/integrative and functional medicine doctors.

[@kikih6389]

@@justine8051 I'm doing wonderfully, it's a moving meditation for me - asking myself to be observant of all of my behavior to make sure that i'm taking care of my mind, body, and spirit in the best way possible - once your consciousness is aware of these aspects of life, healthy eating, whole foods diet, detoxing, etc then you can never go back to being asleep.

[@Truerealism747]

​@@justine8051would like to no that to but I've found somewhere local it's 200 quid