Spacing out?

[Sarah S]

I didn't think I was ADHD either, because of the stereotypes. I thought ADHD meant that people are physically active and running around the room all the time, or blurting out answers. I'm selective mute so I rarely blurt, and I'm definitely not physically overactive. They explained that it's my mind which is hyperactive. I can't shut my mind off even though I look like I'm calm and still. I didn't know that stims can be considered a type of fidget too. I stim A LOT.

On my report they rated me highest on the ADD scores but my ADHD scores were still clinically significant and enough to disrupt my daily life by causing me to lose things or have poor sleep.
ADD was about 75% and ADHD was about 25%, or something like that. I'd have to double check. Adding Autism to the mix makes our diagnostic profile even more interesting.

My ASD identification was two years prior to the ADHD tests which took about 20 hours.

I think it was worth it though.

Ella as i have said mutlible times before ADHD same as ASD is different in us Girls and less out showing & in ADHD the hyper part is as you alredy know less visable. And like yo i had SEVERE sleeping disorders from i was little girl and still have them, and i fit just about every mark set for us females with ADHD.

& in my case add all the other gazilion co morbids as well as ASD 3 well thats a fine mess

 

[Ella Spell]

My ASD2 is the same presentation that men usually have. I don't consider myself "female ASD" even though there is only one set of diagnostic criteria regardless of a person's gender. It's funny I never noticed my ADHD before because I spend so much time alone I didn't really have benchmarks to compare myself with. I thought the calm people on television were faking it because they were actors or newscasters. It took me quite a while to realise that there was more going on than ASD.

 

[Sarah S]

My ASD2 is the same presentation that men usually have. I don't consider myself "female ASD" even though there is only one set of diagnostic criteria regardless of a person's gender.

It's funny I never noticed my ADHD before because I spend so much time alone I didn't really have benchmarks to compare myself with. I thought the calm people on television were faking it because they were actors or newscasters. It took me quite a while to realise that there was more going on than ASD.

My self i am on the other side = i dont fit the mens but when i finaly learnt that wimen are different (both the ADHD as well as ASD ) the penny finaly dropped. Yes what i meant was among said " criterias " and how they present them self us wimen are often less visable and different from how men present there tics . I
know that feeling. Took me years to finaly even recognize after finaly bother to read my medical papers i had ASD as well as ID documented in writing years back

 

[SliverOfSand]

This "Spacing Out" post (my opinion)has been one of the better discussions we've had yet. i have experienced much of what everybody has been talking about. Great job SliverOfSand !

Thank you Rae Ray! It’s nice to read about other people’s shared experiences, since sometimes it can feel like I’m alone in what I deal with on a day to day basis. I also like to read about how others feel on a similar topic, it shows just how different yet similar we are to each other!

 

[Aspychata]

l like operating in the land of the unknown. If l fully know the extent of all l have, l may feel handicapped some way. So l limp along using this forum as a mental crutch on those particularly hard days. Right now l have had to deal with busybody types, and l can't spaceout. I have to stand firm in my boundaries and put people in their place. To me spacing out is a way to meditate and slowly bring myself back to reality, espcially if my reality is incredibly obtrusive subculture of busybodies.

 

[SliverOfSand]

l like operating in the land of the unknown. If l fully know the extent of all l have, l may feel handicapped some way. So l limp along using this forum as a mental crutch on those particularly hard days. Right now l have had to deal with busybody types, and l can't spaceout. I have to stand firm in my boundaries and put people in their place. To me spacing out is a way to meditate and slowly bring myself back to reality, espcially if my reality is incredibly obtrusive subculture of busybodies.

I’m sorry to hear that you have to deal with those kinds of people. I agree, having an outlet like this forum is helpful in dealing with issues that people around you may not understand. It’s also nice to see that you can use your spacing out as a way to cope with issues. I feel I do the same, it takes my mind off of the situation at hand and allows me to calm myself down.

 

[Rae Ray]

Guilty of that talking to myself, (hangs head in shame). Because it helps me feel normal somehow. Like l need to think out loud, therefore l exist.

talk to myself all the time. even in a room full of people. someone will say "what, what did you say" ,,, thinking i am talking to someone and i will say ,,, "just talking to myself". i'll usually get back, "i do that too." lol

 

[Rae Ray]

To me its just built in natural that when on the road i concentrate on the road Were i space out is when im at home and watching TV etc.... And reading . And sometimes also just dont doing anything.

Despite all my gazilion diagnosis and co morbids to them etc.... I have learnt to deal with them and live with them over the years thank god. BUT the road here has been LOONG and crooked thats for shore

And reg the talking to youre self /TV /radio etc.... OH yes ALL the time . Who else am i gonna talk to im always alone

i've driven from one place to another and remember none of the drive but made it the whole way. what's up with that? and just as long as u are here,,, you are not alone.

 

[Aspychata]

It's even funnier to realized we spaced out the entire event, drive, meeting, shift, doctor appt., and we still walk on...... And nobody had a austitic clue of us waltzing thru. Maybe it's good that this is ND forum and not a *what ever we call the other half of the planet. lol.

 

[Rae Ray]

It's even funnier to realized we spaced out the entire event, drive, meeting, shift, doctor appt., and we still walk on...... And nobody had a austitic clue of us waltzing thru.

very funny !!!

 

[SDRSpark]

I've been called "space cadet" ever since I was a child. (I've never been officially diagnosed with either ADHD or autism but I suspect I have both.)

However, I have never had a problem driving. I have been driving for about 14 years.

 

[Hylian]

Spacing out is something I've noticed myself doing for most of my life. I just end up doing it a lot of the time, especially when I'm not actively working on something. It's probably more my ADHD than ASD.

It also makes trying to drive stressful, since I can't think about anything but driving or I start to space out, and my mind automatically wanders every few seconds. People can't talk to me or use the radio either because I can't block out/prioritize any sound, which it makes me space out trying to focus on them and/or get overwhelmed.

 

[Soleil]

I think even neurotypical people talk to themselves a little, don't they? I know thinking out loud definitely helps get my thoughts together. Though sometimes I talk or sing to myself just to drown out the other noises, or to give myself something to focus on instead.

 

[zozie]

I talk to myself every time I'm driving in the car. I'm starting to think it helps me concentrate on the road. It definitely helps me make sense of my thoughts and practice what I'm going to say to other people (95% of my talking aloud is "rehearsing" what I would like to say to the people in my life).

A bonus of spacing out: Today I had an MRI for a knee injury and I had to lay perfectly still for 20 minutes in that freezing room while a giant magnet made all sorts of noises around me. Thank heaven for earplugs! The rhythmic imaging mechanics of it made all sorts of visuals come up in my brain and by the time it was done I suspect I was in some sort of trance. Took a while for me to come back to my body. But if my attention had been on the machine the whole time, it would have been really unpleasant.

I used to space out all the time as a kid. We called them "stare attacks" or something to that effect. The eyes unfocused and it's almost like the periphery took over. I remember not being able to focus visually on what I usually looked at and having my gaze sort of locked on nothing-in-particular-focus for a while.

These days I miss a lot if I'm reading and someone is talking. I either get the reading or the talking, but not both, and sometimes neither because I space out entirely.

 

[SliverOfSand]

I talk to myself every time I'm driving in the car. I'm starting to think it helps me concentrate on the road. It definitely helps me make sense of my thoughts and practice what I'm going to say to other people (95% of my talking aloud is "rehearsing" what I would like to say to the people in my life).

A bonus of spacing out: Today I had an MRI for a knee injury and I had to lay perfectly still for 20 minutes in that freezing room while a giant magnet made all sorts of noises around me. Thank heaven for earplugs! The rhythmic imaging mechanics of it made all sorts of visuals come up in my brain and by the time it was done I suspect I was in some sort of trance. Took a while for me to come back to my body. But if my attention had been on the machine the whole time, it would have been really unpleasant.

I used to space out all the time as a kid. We called them "stare attacks" or something to that effect. The eyes unfocused and it's almost like the periphery took over. I remember not being able to focus visually on what I usually looked at and having my gaze sort of locked on nothing-in-particular-focus for a while.

These days I miss a lot if I'm reading and someone is talking. I either get the reading or the talking, but not both, and sometimes neither because I space out entirely.

I’m sorry to hear about your knee injury; hopefully it recovers quickly!

I agree with all of your points, especially when getting lost in my own thoughts. I’ve never had an MRI scan before, but I think I do something similar when at the dentist. I get so caught up in what’s happening inside my own head, that after I’m done I feel like I have to rip myself out of my thoughts and into the real world. Same with staring into space. I have to physically force myself to focus on something, or I’ll just be staring at nothing most of the time.

 

[Aspychata]

Am l normal? If I was facing the firing squad for something l didn't do, l would be daydreaming about something, or counting the birds in the distant horizon.

What is our electrical wiring that makes so easy to just space out with little a care?

Does it help you get stressful situations? Do you do it for entertainment? Have you counted how many times a day you can do it?

 

[Gracey]

I figured you for "normal" anyway... whatever 'normal' means?
whether or not you're facing a firing squad or spacing out

Do I sometimes drift off into imagination without intending to?
Daydreaming?
Is that what you're asking?

If it is, then, No, not as such.
I can disappear into my own head in various ways but to date it's intentional.
(as far as I'm aware)

 

[Desiree W]

I call it being in my zone. I do it quite a bit. I've lost track of time so much that I can't even count. Sometimes, I'd wonder where the day went. I'd be online, then hrs. would've passed by. As long as I'm totally "conscious" while driving and go where I need to go without passing right by it, I'll be ok.

 

[Yeshuasdaughter]

I don't space out while driving. Driving is my autistic superpower. I'm super focused, and I kind of feel like I become the road, sort of like a surfer can feel the wave. I'm really focused on traffic, road conditions, signals, the surroundings, etc. If anything, I get in the zone and it's hard for others to talk to me, because I'm so hyper focused.

But other times, oh yeah, my happy place is spaced out. I like to just sit and have a nice quiet stare every now and again. I also forget what I'm doing before I even do it. Many times a day in fact!

 

[Eggnog]

I definitely space out, not so much I regularly get someone mentioning it but I notice it myself
My mum and boyfriend do get frustrated with me because I seem like I’m listening but it’s like being on autopilot