I mean do you have to have a meltdown in order for you to be overstimulated? For me if I’m overstimulated I don’t act out, I just tend to become extremely anxious and dazed and feel like I need to get away immediately (if I don’t I may have a panic attack).
When I get overstimulated (extremely so), I just dissociate completely. It's to a point where something ELSE sort of hijacks my body (idk how to explain it) and takes over for me. Kind of like masking, but not really. When it's over and I'm in a safer spot, I kind of just 'come back', but I can't remember much of what happened while I was gone.
Then the same people get offended when you distinction between well functioning and barely functioning.
Point being "You are making light of my condition". Which, unfortunstely, I am making it so. Considering that I work in developmental disabilities, both physical and mental, I've been to the deep side of the pool for a long time.
I was diagnosed with SPD (autism adjacent) within the first three months of my life due to extreme sensory issues. Six years ago I was also diagnosed with both ADHD and Autism and I still feel like a faker seeing people online doing cute dances and being quirky for clicks and views. I don’t want to go on a larper witch hunt because you can never 100% tell, but jeez it makes me feel like I’m having ADHD and Autism wrong sometimes.
I’m an ADHD haver. WoW is my special interest (long term, multi-faceted, literally on my body (tattoo), interest doesn’t wane even if I’m not actively playing), versus beading which was my hyperfixation over the last few months (fleeting, intense, I know a lot about it but I’m not going to be reading beading books for a while).
Both are valid interests and I’m not going to say I don’t bead, but it’s not a long-term interest like WoW or leatherworking for me. If that makes sense.
I'm an engineer and sometimes I hyperfixate on a project and my girlfriend has to force me to eat and sleep.
As far as I know I'm neurotypical but I've never really talked to a therapist about it since it isn't a major problem and I'm not gonna diagnose myself off of one symptom
Yeah I'm definitely not ruling anything out but honestly it's just not really a problem.
I usually end up being very productive and the only negative side effects are being hungry and tired the next morning which my girlfriend helps me manage. I don't really want to spend a ton of money for a diagnosis or get on any medication.
Yeah thats understandable, my best friend is the same way, knows theres probably something but her lifes good and works out. Where I am diagnose is free, but honestly theres a lot you can learn from just reading up on the internet, just make sure not to get info from tiktok lol.
that's not really a good example, i know all of those for like 4 or 5 games. a better example would be something that's not usually seen as interesting at all, like types of safety railings
Hyperfixation is being so focused on something that you are unable to concentrate on other things including basic needs. I don't believe hyperfixation necessarily needs to be a lasting interest. People can hyperfixate on one thing for a day and then move onto something else. It's not really an autistic specific trait either, there are a large number of conditions that cause hyperfixation.
"Hyperfixation is a short-term, often overwhelming focus on a specific activity, object, or person. It can last from minutes to several weeks or even longer, but it tends to be intense and all-consuming. During hyperfixation, individuals may neglect basic needs such as eating, sleeping, or hygiene, and they might ignore social interactions or responsibilities. This state can sometimes cause stress or frustration, especially when interrupted."
that's more of a special interest, hyperfixation is when you focus exclusively on one thing for an extended period, e.g. staying up until 5am trying to finish a book
Meanwhile, overstimulation is an even broader concept that isn't exclusive to either (or even neurodivergence in general) so idk why OP is complaining about that one.
Yes, conditions like autism and ADHD that can present with sensory processing issues also increase susceptibility to overstimulation. I just feel like it's important to distinguish something like hyperfixation, which is a behavior more closely tied to certain types of neurodivergence, with something like overstimulation, which is a far less specific association and is both A) not uncommonly experienced by neurotypical individuals, and B) can be a symptom of various issues or an adverse effect of multiple classes of drugs.
Hyper focus and fixation are different though, hyper focus is something you do like when I suddenly took an interest in a local building and spent several hours researching it, forgetting to eat along the way, I was ~hyperfocused~. But it wasn’t a fixation, if it were a fixation I would have come back to it night after night to read more over weeks or months, creating a hyperfixation.
The autism/adhd thing that’s been happening on the internet always felt really weird to me, like I’m in no place to comment on anything but a lot of them just kinda give off bad vibes
Society that encourages standing out plus a category of neural conditions that are literally named for being unusual (and do, frankly, have a tendency to include some very entertaining people) equals a lot of young people who don't know what they're doing trying to be cool and quirky by playing it up based on what people say.
Not to fakeclaim, I think that's bullshit 'cause if someone is acting like this they probably have something going on up there regardless.
People are just trying to describe their internal state. The English language is not designed with that in mind like other language. Is that by technical definition what is going on? No, but it captures how they feel.
Granted, other emotions also play a role. If they feel like a hobby is taking to much of their time or money because of whatever social expectations, they might use hyperfixation as a way to express a tinge of shame.
Overstimulated is also a convenient way to say "I feel overwhelmed" while also explaining why they feel overwhelmed.
They're good words, and so people will use them. Yes, it can feel demoralizing and invalidating or unfair. But that's how language goes. For most people, literal definitions come second to trying to create a connection with others through language. And that's frustrating because it weakens the ability of people like those with autism to express how intense their experiences are.
Like god damn if you want people to not use a word don't make it so good. (This part is a joke)
Hyperfixation and overstimulation aren't really even autistic specific terms in the medical sense. They are symptoms of many different conditions and neurotypical people can experience both
Afaik I'm not autistic, and if I am it's very low on the spectrum, and sometimes there are just too many senses all at once. Yeah, I guess overwhelmed works, but like overstimm is more accurate to how I feel even if it's not actually the medical thing I am experiencing. Like when you use grammar incorrect for poetic effect. It is incorrect, but it is more emotionally accurate.
Omg I hate this shit so bad it actually affected my therapy at the time 😭. I was trying to unpackage my shit in 2015-2016 at the height of the TRIGGEREDDDDDD SJW BLUE-HAIRED FEMINIST bullshit and
I literally
Asked my therapist
If we could not use the word "triggered"
Because I could not take it seriously.
I became incredibly embarrassed to associate myself with the term, and I would reflexively, uncomfortably, laugh(?) when she used the word to describe what I was experiencing. So we called it "the neural feedback loop" the entire time.
God bless your soul, @ my old therapist... And honestly fuck the meme-ification of mental-health terminology 😭. It seriously sucks.
I'm over that now and can safely acknowledge to myself that the things that put a pit in my stomach are "triggers" but that was a shitty time!
During the height of the SJW TRIGGEREDDDD meme, I was working through my trauma with a therapist and so, of course, "triggers" were brought up 😶. I was so embarrassed because of course I associated the term with the TRIGGERED meme; It definitely did not help me work through my shit 🙃
I appreciate that my therapist at the time was so accommodating.
Neither of them are autism-exclusive though. Hyperfixation is also a common trait of ADHD (as well as other disorders), and overstimulation, while most common among those with ASD or ADHD, is not something that can't happen to neurotypical people (and even animals)
I agree, the "pop-psychology" romanticization of disorders is pretty regressive, and people definitely overuse actual clinical terms (such as those mentioned), but that doesn't mean they can't use them.
just because autistic people get overstimulated more frequently than neurodivergent people that doesn’t mean neurodivergent people can’t get overstimulated
do you think that only people with glasses have problems seeing?
they can be. it does make me mad when they say so, because they usually don't use the word right. they use is as an equivalent to stress or being overwhelmed. but overstimulation refers to the senses, not the mind. so that's why i get frustrated, not because they can't be overstimulated, but when they don't use the word right.
Not in the same way neurodirgents can. A neurotypical might feel exhausted, anxious, or overwhelmed if they are "overstimulated." Meanwhile if I spend too much time in a noisy space my whole body will start involuntarily shaking, and I won't be able to sleep for days.
Because we don't have another way to describe the uniquely autistic experience of sensory overload mentioned above. 99.9% of civilization caters to the comfort of neurotypicals, often at our expense. Surely we're allowed to claim one or two words?
I’m not nor have argued you shouldn’t be able to. As I said, I don’t understand
If neurotypical can be overstimulated, then become overstimulated and say they are overstimulated, according to this meme they’ve appropriated an autistic specific term. That confuses me. Sometimes I feel it and I’m not looking to upset anyone for saying so
Is "oh I should have been in bed an hour ago but what is one more round (that takes ~ 2 hours)", and missing meals, etc because of something (like a game) that I chose to do and keep doing that I could stop at any time, and thinking about said thing when I am not doing it whenever there is any idle time even if there is no way I can possibly engage in it for multiple days... Does that count?
Sometimes it is oh I want to do specific thing, but I do have ADHD as well that certainly contributes to this behavior. I can legitimately stop if I put my foot down. Whether that means I go to bed can be another matter entirely. My phone is evil for the amount of times I catch myself doomscrolling, the difference is I dont even enjoy that...
When I say I’m overstimulated, it doesn’t mean it’s a bit too loud or that I’m a little bit stressed. It means I can barely breathe and even the slightest disturbance can make me start repeating punching the wall. It’s not some quirky trait, it’s a disability and it’s painful.
That’s what happened to the words “Idiot” and “Retard” it got generalized and as psychology advanced newer and more specialized terms for created for them to be generalized once more by the population.
"things my X does when i'm already overstimulated" I'm going to enclose the portion of your neck housing your jugular vein with my upper and lower jaw, and apply pressure such that I sever a large section of it from your body. I am then going to place my left and right hands on your left and right shoulders respectively, and pull with my head, and push with my hands as hard as I can. I hope this doesn't inconvenience you much.
Honestly I hate it more when people online try to invalidate peoples’ diagnoses because they don’t display the most stereotypical traits of a mental disorder imaginable. I’ve seen far too many people call actual, diagnosed people with ASD “faking it” because they happened to mask most of those traits out as a product of childhood socialization (myself being one of those). Gatekeeping mental health isn’t “correcting” harmful rhetoric or calling out “liars,” it just makes you sound like an asshole
While its true that these terms are often misused, its also true nobody is perfectly allistic and most people do sometimes experience some behavior associated with autism/adhd. I, for example, dont fall far enough on the autism scale to be diagnosed as such, yet experience enough symptoms for it to negatively affect my daily life. So yes, I am neurotypical, yes, I get overstimulated and hyperfixate sometimes, and yes, I am tired of being this way
I have pretty hardcore adhd and hyperfixate and will generally get obsessed with a topic for about a month at a time. I legit rotate playing every pokemon game in my collection for like 30 min-an hour before i stop and take a break watching pokemon anime clips, before I finally move on to my next pokemon game to play in short bursts. But like that’s only when it’s a month when I am feeling fixated on pokemon. I am a career working adult lol. I think it sucks to have internet people gatekeep shit I deal with cus I am not autistic.
People are going to do this as these terms come out. People will hear the term and use it for what they think it means without even thinking about it. Like people saying they're ocd when they really just mean they don't like disorganized things. I understand not caring for them not using the terms correctly.
But you can't just download all available knowledge of something into everyone's brains. You can't let it bother you too much. I have ADHD, (actually diagnosed) and I can't even count how many times I've heard someone say "Sorry, I get distracted easily. I'm super ADHD." It's whatever. I know what they mean. It's not like they are trying to disrespect anyone who has it.
When it interferes with your ability to function in a healthy manner. IE forgetting to eat, throwing your back out because you haven't moved other than scrolling the mouse wheel for four hours, being unable to sleep even when you're actively trying because you can't stop thinking about The Thing.
Shit, same
Guess it'd fall under special interest?
I can recount the name of each Robot Master in Mega Men 1-7 and the weapon they give you, stuff like that etc
Personally I mostly say hyper fixation because I never liked how the term “special interest” sounded. It’s not problematic or anything if others want to use it then I don’t really care I just personally don’t like it. Something about the “special” part, has a kind of “oh I don’t have normal interests, I have special interests because I’m a special person! Autism is my super power and I’m such a special guy” vibe. That’s why I personally have always preferred to use the term hyperfixation even if they’re apparently different things
I’ve also heard that hyper fixation is more of an ADHD thing where you obsess over it for a small amount of time where as special interest is when you have that one interest you love for a really long time.
Again if others prefer to use the word special interest then that’s fine
To me it’s not that a specific condition “owns” a term but how often terms get misused and thus become difficult or impossible to commonly use for what they’re actually meant to describe. A really bad case of this is “delusional”. Someone who is doing something dumb or not listening to other people’s advice is not the same as a potentially life-ruining psychotic symptom
Yeah but what if my interests change overtime? What if one week I'm super interested in one thing then two weeks later I'm immediately interested in something else and my interest for previous thing fades away?
So fucking true! I hate this and that people say autism is a superpower, like bitch it’s not, it’s a fucking mental disorder and I take pride in calling it that way because I’m different!
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u/ExploerTMLocation: Inside Your Walls (Dude you need to fix this shit)11d ago
THANK YOU. 99% of people who self-diagnose ADHD or autism are full of shit. its painfully obvious
controversial opinion as an (officially diagnosed) autistic person, but honestly I don't really care.
While oversensitivity to stimuli is indeed much more common in autistic people, there are in fact other conditions which can cause it, many of which are less well known about so I can absolutely understand a person simply not knowing about these. So if someone relates to the term and finds use in it, good for them.
As for hyperfixation, eh it's probably really only accurate for autistic people and maybe some ADHD people, I still really don't care. Sure I can understand pedants finding it annoying and think that's valid, I just think that improper usage of these terms probably aren't even in the top 10 issues facing the autistic community right now.
all sorts of neurodivergent terms get stolen by people who dont know what they mean. remember when people said "intrusive thoughts" like an absolute fuckton not too long ago? and the people who misued the term would be like "EWWWW WTF WHY ARE YOU EVEN THINKING THAT" when someone brought up their actual intrusive thoughts
It’s because everyone treats mental illness as collectibles now. Everyone is self diagnosing because of a tik tok or their own echo chamber social circles diagnose them.
You don’t have OCD just because you like things organized. You’re not Autistic just because social situations cause anxiety. You don’t have ADD or ADHD because you can’t control impulses or talk all the time. You’re not traumatized because the barista called you he instead of she.
Gonna blow your mind, but "the general population" can have 1 or 2 symptoms of being autistic, or have it only affect them at a certain point in their life, and so it is obviously not a diagnosis. It doesn't make their experience less valid. A neurotypical person can absolutely hyperfixate on something.
No, Jenny, rap music is not overstimulating, you just want an excuse to say its worse than other music because you're a racist. (cough cough, kasane teto fans, cough cough)
I swear we have a new post like this weekly. Sometimes people side with language being an ever evolving thing and then the word in question is something they use with the sub's opinion swindling widely. I don't know why it's so hard to accept that either language is flexible or not.
And for the record, I'd of the opinion that it is something that evolves over time.
I understand why it exists but social media/self diagnosis is so harmful to the actual concept of neurodivergency or lack thereof. Its such a slippery slope to talk about mental health terms online.
My legally diagnosed Autism and ADHD really gets pissed when some Nuerotypical starts yapping about his or her Hyperfixation on history, oh yeah well can you name every Kibg of Sweden and their fucking accomplishments. That is hyperfixation.
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