We are all just walking each other home

@Appleblossom

I can appreciate that. When you said academia is not a place for love. I tensed but you are right. Maybe that's why I have an aversion to the people it produces in the state that it exists today.

I find academic elites to be very narrow minded and they make "fear" based decisions rather then decisions based from a perspective of "love".

They are predictable and boring in my opinion. I can't imagine why my therapist gave me the boot, lol.

@i8myego the good thing with the Comm Guidelines is you are always welcome (even encouraged) to submit feedback for consideration. I raised a question earlier this year on a thread because I didnt understand the "why" behind one of the guidelines -- it didnt make sense based on the "why" that was stated - and I was interested to learn why naming a medication might be "triggering" (because thats what it said!). Turns out it wasn't what it meant - they had just "bundled" the medication issue into the "non-detail description" part. The actual reason for not mentioning specific meds or dosages was because of the non-clinical nature of the forum and can't be seen to be giving medical advice (other than encourgaing to speak to a person who can!) or promoting/detering from specific medications. It made sense when it was explained - but it wasnt writen as the reason 😅, which is because they try to keep the guidelines shorter to read. So they asked if i would submit my perspective and "sugfested wording edit" (adding a few extra words to the existing sentence) for review.

This is to say - if it doesnt make sense, you're probably not the *only* person to read it that way either, and I encourage you that our Comm Guide (tyme) also encourages us to submit ideas for clarification or to ask questions 😊.

Your experience with the therapists.

1. I knew a psych who had a cartoon on the back of their office door. It was a person painting the word "psychotherapist" onto a door, but having to break it into 3 lines "psycho/the/rapist" 😉.

2. I've discontinued from a psychiatrist once because they "could no longer offer me anything different/more help" (tried everything) and thus they suggested a colleague may have a different approach instead. This was after more than 4 years of regular psychotherapy with them 😅.

3. Opposite to you, i've recently come off my longterm medication (15 years + 3 years prior on a different one) in the past 3 months. What i realised was that i was accidentally being medicated for my undiagnosed ADHD 😅. However my depression (mood) did not decrease coming off them, which matches the lack of mood improvement when starting them. No wonder i related to the struggles of ADHD but "was able to manage symptoms to still cope OK without medication" - because my meds could alap be used off-label for ADHD (non-stimulant).

Hoping your medication helps 😊 sounds like it already has if you're able to focus and think more (to access your natural intelligence).

Its worth finding the "right fit" with doctors, therapists etc. 😊

I used to feel the "neuro-affirming" labels on clinics were all marketing -- because, isnt that type of apprpach what everyone needs?? Its certainly felt "normal" and "obvious" to me. I felt it was a gimick.

..but apparently that's not the while story. Apparently maybe not for neurotypical people; i was just an ND that was *assumed* NT 😆. So now that I realise I dont think/experience the same as the population-average (and am AuDHD) it makes sense why i "clicked" with neuro-affirming practices 🤣. So i no longer see it as a marketing gimmick, because i realise that for other people out there these approaches may not be their preferred approach in a therapist - which is also fine.

I cant speak for philosophy, as I havent read any formal philosophy (but have heard podcasts discussing and explaining theory, which i enjoyed), @Appleblossom @i8myego .

But i have worked with academics and had friend and professional contacts with a range of academics - not philosophy ones though!

I found some academics very rigid and dogmatic - no interest in discussion or debate or even "gentle education" of others.

However many i knew were the opposite - friendly, open, wanting discussion (including debate and feedback on their own studies/publications) 😊.

I've had this experience within academics in business/economics/law, medical/allied-health, and language.

@Flutterbug9 *waves hello* 😊

@AlwaysMyself

Thank you for sharing. It is fascinating to hear your story as we are opposite sides of the same coin.

My experience is that I believe in my ability to fly under the radar more then I trust their diagnosis. And ND is such a wide spectrum as with Au and I think it is all linked together both across their own spectrum intermingling in our own personalised spectrum. So, I dont concern my self with diagnosis any further. I just focus on my own lived experience and take it from there. I go off meds just to check in with my reality periodically. As The doctors never seem to want to re-visit a diagnosis which to me seems lazy.

On the community standards, that sounds like a lot of work, lol. I'm more of a "if I get a nasty email I'll take that hit and chill out" kinda person haha. There are enough people out there trying to control and police me, I'm not going to do it for them 😇

I saw a news article yesterday and thought of this joke I wanted to tell you.

I went to the servo and it had a sign at the pump that said "sorry pump not working" and I thought to my self "damn" "where am I going to get my sorries from today"

@AlwaysMyself

Admittedly I have had very minimal contact with them in general and as a furniture removalist for most of my life. Nobody really cared if I could play the piano as long as I could carry one. 😁

@i8myego

"Sorry pump" 😅🤣. So good. Grammar can make a big difference. Thing is, i notice it when i read it (ambiguities, non-literal, etc) but don't always notice when *I* do it :face_with_rolling_eyes:😏, until someone points it out and i re-read it in that light. I guess because *i know what i meant* so my brain skips it?

( @Flutterbug9 can vouch for my terrible ability to self-detect my own wording mistakes 😅 which then cause confusion. Oops! I'm trying to learn to improve it through self-awareness.)

I saw a sign at my local Dog Park the other day, saying:

"The small enclosure is for small, young and elderly dogs."

It irked me. It didnt feel it read right (even though i understood it).Then i twigged why.

A dog cannot simultanously be "young and elderly". Grammatically I felt it should have been "or" (or "and/or") rather than "and". 🤣

Aww, i hope the emails havent been indended as "nasty" even if it may feel hard at the time. 🤗 (I have always been strongly upset by "doing the wrong thing" and "hurting people" since childhood -- never broke the school rules! But i also have learned to view situations more objectively and from multiple perspectives to try to manage those emotions; the benefit of psychology intervention since i was pre-teen. Reframing and taking responsibility for myself but not for others.)

I've had a few "robust discussions" with 2 PSW on topics in my not-yet-1-year here 😅 but they have listened and responded respectfully (even if we disagree sometimes 🥰). To me "listening" is the key, not just rejecting an alternative perspective. Its a strong part of my "inner justice" drive 😅.

100% sadly that many doctors do not want to revisit a diagnosis (even if by a different doctor). I asked a psychiatrist in an assessement 2 years ago if they thought any possible indication i could be autistic - they said they saw none (and did not encourage me to speak to a specialist if i felt i related to autistic traits myself). So next (different) psychiatrist assessment 6 months later i only said "i'm wondering if there could be something more than depression going on for me". And they never asked questions about why or what i think, they never considered autism either. This is within a history of severe depression since 11 years old, non-cyclical and "treatment-resistant" classisfication type.

Saw a specialist MH GP a year later and first appointment (i did not say *anything* about autism or having autistic friends) --- "Do you think you could be autistic? I've had afew other patients with the same MH/life thinking description... and they were autistic". 🤣. The relief for a doctor to finally raise it themselves!! After having had multiple specialists dismiss it. It took her a bit to persuade me because of the past dismissals, but i agreed to an assessment because she strongly believed it would be diagnosable (and thus support my medical support applications) -- and yeah, i rated very high on all the criteria at assessment 😅. Even things i didnt realise were physical "symptoms" of autistic brain wiring. So much of life made sense with the understanding of how brain (neuro) wiring/activity affects non-MH too (eg pain sensitivity, interoception, balance).

Sorry - i went on a tangent there! But i'll keep it in because you also said you do the same, do i hope its OK 🤣🤣.

@Appleblossom , @i8myego has a skill for carrying pianos! And i'm guessing that extends to other musical instruments too 😉😉.

(I forget what instruments you play, beyond of course singing.)

Gee Whiz @i8myego @AlwaysMyself a few Sorry pumps around might raise the civility factor generally... Hey Mr Trump, please install.... rather than a new balroom... even if I have to sashay around it...

but dont want to over police the forum... IMHO... or anywhere really

I guess I have been here for 10 years... and seen a lot of changes...

yes, to flying under the radar

I dont tend to challenge much, but did last year a little

guess, its my orphan Annie style.... they are all bigger than me so better behave... oh poo...now I am all growed up, older and have more life experience... so should stand me ground a little... hmmmm.... working that wriggly line a little.... lol

sorry me typing & grammar are wonky cos I am laying on my side typing with one hand...lol

shit ... one of my jobs was as an editor for court documents... how the mighty have fallen

of course ... academics have heaps of different personalities... we could empirically test all our assertions... with sufficient sample size...

admission... I used to put learned people on pedestals when I was young, but slowly learning to take them off, or re-arrange them on different steps ... on the mile high social status ladder

It is important that people can express necessary personal truths... on a forum like this... IMHO... I understand legal limitations etc etc

I have tried to be creative to get my point across

I have found that the powers that be can be responsive on the forum .... but over a very long period of time

haha @i8myego I have an old photo of me, about 22, playing my piano as it was being loaded on to a moving van.... yes moving pianos has been a theme throughout my whole life...lol... my dad bought mum a piano and got 4 men to help push it up 3 flights of stairs when I was a kid... huffing puffing... memory I will retain...with fondness and respect.

Hey @Flutterbug9

@AlwaysMyself

Not and all, tangent or side quest we all loop back to the main track at some point, I like to think of it as the scenic route

Yes I believe I have austisic traits but in subtle ways, like a current shift occurs suddenly in particular with physical sensitivities and overstimulated.

Thanks for sharing 😁

@Appleblossom kust read ypur post from Wednesday. I loved it. Made me smile and laugh. Your experience and perspective is definitely a valuavle thing; here and elsewhere in life 🥰.

Picturing a 22yo sitting on a piano as it is being moved 😅.

I dont mind when people have poor grammar or spelling on the forum - its not a formal, professional place so its a-OK to not proof-read lol. Esp i find myself if im in a rush or falling asleep 😆 then all bets are out the window, esp if on my phone as i dont use auto-correct at all.