Are Aspie Minds always in Overdrive ? It's long term effects ?

[sakirkist]

I do the same thing. I've done it all my life. And now, as an aspiring author, it's horrible because it takes me much longer than it should to complete a novel. And I get tired of people asking me what's on my mind, because they see the wheels turning, so to speak!

 

[Ste11aeres]

Maybe I'm the odd one out? My mind is very calm. Although I do know the kind of thing you guys are talking about.

 

[Sarsaparilla]

I appear calm and like I don't have much to say but my mind is always full of interesting thoughts. I can't imagine not thinking, I find switching it off hard. I probably over-think everything but sometimes it can be fun.

 

[Keith]

Reminds me of how I think my mind has ADD. I will think of one thing and then several minutes later I'll have gone through so many topics that I forget what I was originally thinking about and wonder how I got to the topic I'm currently thinking about.

When I need to, however, I am able to concentrate to my best extent.

 

[AsheSkyler]

On average, I do tend to operate at a faster thinking rate than those I'm around. Especially when problem solving. On top of that, I have a "high gear", which is how I get saddled with Dragonforce on Guitar Hero. It makes it really hard trying to explain something complex to somebody who processes more slowly because if I slow down to their level, I often flatline and have to start over.

 

[epath13]

Do you feel that your mind usually seems to be operating at a faster RPM then NTs?

I do. Even in supposed relaxed situations my mind always seems to be thinking on this or that, sometimes fixated on something previous or having the situation bring new thoughts/ideas to mind.

And then there is the more or less continual mental demands of maintaining the mask and having to consciously decode the conversation and body language to decide what is actually being said or meant and deciding on appropriate response. Cause just abruptly singing a few lines of the TV show song 'Flipper', because it suddenly popped in your mind would be awkward...

An observant superior once made the comment that I 'Even idle at 60mph' because he caught me stimming with my leg and did not understand what it was.



Most times I do not mind the mental overflowing. Many thoughts come and go... I chew on ideas, insights or creative thoughts inevitably occur in all the mass of it. At night I have to really shut it down however to sleep, or when stressed find some mind numbing activity (like a video game, etc).

But It occurred to me to wonder if all this extra activity has any result or consequence on our minds. Like does it get over-used, fatigued, aged prematurely ? Or does it keep the mind in shape due to exercise?

Do you experience this extra active mind ?

No. I think my mind slower. Do you have ADHD? I'm just curious. It can be one of the symptoms of ADHD.

 

[Keith]

On average, I do tend to operate at a faster thinking rate than those I'm around. Especially when problem solving. On top of that, I have a "high gear", which is how I get saddled with Dragonforce on Guitar Hero. It makes it really hard trying to explain something complex to somebody who processes more slowly because if I slow down to their level, I often flatline and have to start over.

I have a habit of trying to explain things in layman's terms as best as possible when necessary.

 

[Tom]

No. I think my mind slower. Do you have ADHD? I'm just curious. It can be one of the symptoms of ADHD.

I do not believe so. Or at least have never had that idea come up. I tended to be the quiet/steady one (as seen from the outside). But the brain... it mostly just rolls on and on. Other then while in relaxation exercises I am not sure what a calm mind is like.

 

[66ric]

Hi everyone. I'm new to the site and not long diagnosed AS. This discussion is so relevant to me too and I can identify with much of what is being said. The effects on me have been exhaustion and realising how and why I'm being affected by so much of what life demands of us is astonishing, reassuring and very helpful to me.

 

[Maddox]

I do this all the time, there is always something going on in my mind. I also get sidetracked a lot. While reading about one thing, something else gets my interest. Then I have to ether write it down on a sticky note for later or go right to the new interest. My desk area is always covered in sticky notes. If I'm involved in something that is very complex, that's all I can think about. I just can't stop until I find a solution. Of course this does not help sleeping at all. I figured out a lot of problems in the middle of the night. I like being this way, after all my mind is my biggest source of entertainment.

Exactly! One thing (reading) leads to the next and so on and I drown in notes and sometimes get overwhelmed because there are so many interesting things to figure out and learn about and I get sidetracked.

However, I think this is the only decent way to use a brain and I don't understand people who manage to actually chew banalities, like other people's private affairs, in their minds.

It's use it or lose it, nobody can think too much, but many decide to think too little or not at all.

 

[Gary Reese]

LOL, I sure know that feeling. I'm 67 and still sharp as ever. Over the years I've developed a kind of order to the chaos. Video game? You mean like Intendo's Dragon Warrior ?
Another thing. I stopped trying to hiding it, I flaunt it. Normals don't seem to mind, in fact they make use of my skills. I often enjoy being "used".
Talk to your doctor/psychiatrist. Prozak or something like it may help. Takes the edge off a little for me.
Google FMRI. Effective in tracking brain activity. Just verifies what you already know.
I'm not the only one in the family with the condition. We help each other in dealing with it.

Flickr: JackOfArts' Photostream

 

[delme]

A bit late to this thread, but on the sleep thing, I recommend trying self hypnosis. I'm very low on the Aspie scale but I totally relate to this overdrive issue. From a young age I learned to use self-hypnosis from a book to force myself to sleep. I was looking to learn about hypnotising other people but the easiest way to find a willing subject is yourself, so I got books on self-hypnosis ... and all I ended up learning was how to induce sleep, or at least slow down the overdrive we're all talking about.

Sorry I can't remember the book but I'm sure this kind of thing is easy to find. It takes a bit of practise and to be honest it is quite hard work (which seems counter-intuitive for getting yourself into a state where you can fall asleep) ... so I rarely use it now because it's more mental effort than just being tired the next day -which I've got more used to- BUT for those situations where you simply *have* to sleep, you can actually force yourself if you've trained how.

 

[Slithytoves]

I was only just diagnosed as an Aspie last week, at the age of 44. I've always had an overactive mind, and of course since I can't experience anyone else's, I've had to take people's word for it that it seems I'm always thinking in overdrive by comparison. I have a history of bipolar disorders in my family, so I was always worried it was some sort of unrelenting manic state that I've been in for all these years. It didn't really make sense, though, because I don't necessarily feel revved up, which is more typical of bipolar mania. Imagine my relief when I found out I had AS!

From what little I know of neurology, I don't think you can overuse the brain. I do know you can underuse it. I've suffered moments of mental fatigue just like anyone else, but I have to think that comes down to other things than pure neural activity. Regardless, I'd rather have it etched on my tombstone that I thought too much than too little. Even if everything that occupies my mind isn't necessarily productive, I'm never at a loss for things to occupy me.

 

[Tom]

LOL, I sure know that feeling. I'm 67 and still sharp as ever. Over the years I've developed a kind of order to the chaos. Video game? You mean like Intendo's Dragon Warrior ?

Yes, that was one of the earlier ones. Most recently (by that I mean the last 10 years ) its been Runescape. But just lately have gotten addicted to Terraria, a building game.

 

[empress2k]

Yes! And I love it! I can produce any solution, particularly unorthodox ones, in a fraction of a time a NT peson would. It also sets me apart from other screenwriters because I can create the entire movie in my head and once it's in a decent shape, just sit down and write it. I see holes and gaps in other people writing because my mind immediately converts their stories in a puzzle and sees what needs to be moved around or added. The only issue is that with my hyper focus I need social.isolation to follow my thoughts and when someone tris to talk to me while I'm hyper focused I become a monster.

 

[empress2k]

I have a history of bipolar disorders in my family, so I was always worried it was some sort of unrelenting manic state that I've been in for all these years. It didn't really make sense, though, because I don't necessarily feel revved up, which is more typical of bipolar mania. Imagine my relief when I found out I have ASD

I have a comorbid diagosis of Asperger with Bipolar II Rapid Cycling. Imagine being on mental overdrive when down. Not pretty. So I got on monotherapy with Lamotrigen and what a difference! My mind is still as active as ever but now I have a handle on it and can direct where I want it to go.

 

[clg114]

One bad thing about having a very fast moving train of thought. I work in electronics and sometimes I get ahead of myself while troubleshooting. If I'm not careful, I will miss something simple and waste a lot of time looking for some deep, dark problem that is not there. I have to remind myself to troubleshoot in a logical order and not skip steps.

 

[meff]

Hmm... I don't think I'd call what I experience overdrive? I mean unless you consider an old computer whirring and blowing air just to keep up "overdrive." But I don't feel like I think more rapidly or effectively than NT folks. I really feel the opposite. My mind feels like it's slogging through a thick soup when having to think on my feet. I do identify with how some folks say they think more intensely though, I'm awful at problem solving because I can't find the direct path in any mental exercise and I get overwhelmed by how much I overthink everything.
I do have times where my thoughts race and I can't hold onto any one thing, or sort through them well, but I don't know how it measures up to the general thinking rate of the majority of NTs. I can at times entirely occupy myself with my own thoughts though! And then other times I get bored out of my mind if I don't have anything to do. I don't know that one situation is more common than the other.
Honestly the thing that kept me from accepting I might be aspie was the mental gymnastics thing. I saw all these depictions of spectrum folks as having this deep, swirling, complex beehive of thoughts and ideas and being ultra intelligent and good at whatever their specialty and I always thought, "No, that can't be me. I'm not that good at thinking." It was the main thing keeping me from considering it as a possibility, though I identified with a lot of the struggles of aspies.

I guess ultimately I'm just trying to say that as someone who is starting to ID as aspie, I don't feel that my mind really operates on overdrive. I don't think that makes me any less so, though?

 

[AsheSkyler]

I have a habit of trying to explain things in layman's terms as best as possible when necessary.

Layman's terms don't help much when rattled off at 90mph+.

 

[wyverary]

I have a comorbid diagosis of Asperger with Bipolar II Rapid Cycling. Imagine being on mental overdrive when down. Not pretty. So I got on monotherapy with Lamotrigen and what a difference! My mind is still as active as ever but now I have a handle on it and can direct where I want it to go.

Another bipolar with lots of love for Lamotrigine here. I do have racing thoughts, and believe me, t they're not always good! But the Lamictal helps tremendously and I've also been practicing Mindfulness, which is a life-saver (sometimes literally).