Too much in our heads?

[Ihaveaspergers]

Are aspies too much in their head and need to be more in the physical world?

 

[Bolletje]

Some, perhaps. But since we're not all the same, there's no "yes" or "no" answer to your question.

 

[Jeremiah]

Why would you WANT to be in the physical world? Haven't you seen the state it's in right now?

 

[Raggamuffin]

I think I'd rather too much in my head than too little.

Ed

 

[Ihaveaspergers]

Some, perhaps. But since we're not all the same, there's no "yes" or "no" answer to your question.

so there are aspies who do not overthink and overanalyse?

 

[Ihaveaspergers]

Why would you WANT to be in the physical world? Haven't you seen the state it's in right now?

you probably did not take my post seriously.
It's not fun to overthink and overanalyse!

 

[Matthias]

Are aspies too much in their head and need to be more in the physical world?

I used to be like that often when I felt alone and rejected. Having friends didn't help much until recently because I masked my differences due to being afraid to be myself which meant I still felt alone since they didn't know or like the real me.

After I stopped masking, started being myself, and found friends I felt connected to, I didn't think or analyze things like I used to. I just stopped naturally without thinking about it. However, due to the Covid-19 lockdowns, I'm alone more often and I've since started thinking and analyzing things more often although not as much as I used to when I felt really alone.

I realize other people may be different but in my case it definitely seemed to be caused by being alone. When I say alone I mean just being alone. I wasn't lonely most of the time.

 

[Ihaveaspergers]

I used to be like that often when I felt alone and rejected. Having friends didn't help much until recently because I masked my differences due to being afraid to be myself which meant I still felt alone since they didn't know or like the real me.

After I stopped masking, started being myself, and found friends I felt connected to, I didn't think or analyze things like I used to. I just stopped naturally without thinking about it. However, due to the Covid-19 lockdowns, I'm alone more often and I've since started thinking and analyzing things more often although not as much as I used to when I felt really alone.

I realize other people may be different but in my case it definitely seemed to be caused by being alone. When I say alone I mean just being alone. I wasn't lonely most of the time.

as long as we are not allowed by ourselves or others to be idiosyncratic we will overanalyse?
What does masking actually refer to? What would be some examples of masking?
I have tried to learn things in groups with other people. it sure was problematic. Aspergers make group learning difficult. I should have found better ways of learning things. Is this an example of masking?

 

[Matthias]

as long as we are not allowed by ourselves or others to be idiosyncratic we will overanalyse?

Prisons used to house people in single cells but they stopped after many people went insane. I think simply being alone is enough to cause people's minds to wander and think about all kinds of things.

 

[Suzanne]

I am always over annalysing things and over thinking too, which is a nightmare.

 

[onlything]

It seems a default state to think and analyse, or to imagine, or to get lost. Frankly, outside meditation or deeply focused states my brain never seems to stop buzzing. It's fine though, it's just how it works. It was made to be a problem-solving machine - of course it is always seeking solutions to problems it's given.

It's not the brains tendency to analyse and seek solutions that is at fault here - it's human tendency to focus on the wrong things. If you focus on a specific problem and how to tackle it, like building a house or an artwork, or even simply doing shopping, the brain will seek to do it in the most efficient way. But when you focus on a problem where the main theme plays low self-esteem, sadness, anger or loneliness, then very often there is no solution to be found there - but the brain doesn't know it and will keep seeking the solution causing you to ruminate, ascertaining your low self-worth and/or anxiety.

Over-analysing can be a human thing, not simply ND. Otherwise, how would you explain the numbers of people with anxiety, OCD, low self-worth or similar problems that have nothing to do with autism?

Although, it does seem that many aspies are a little bit more self-invested in comparison to NTs - and I don't mean it in a negative way. We simply tend to be less caring about the business of other people and more invested in our own thoughts, beliefs and projects. It is still a spectrum, however. We're all different and I'm sure that there are aspies that tend to be more 'outside their heads' than many NTs even. People are people.

I think that as long as you don't hurt anyone (including yourself), you can be as much 'in your head' as you wish.

 

[SDRSpark]

I certainly do. I don't seem to be all that capable of staying grounded in the real world unfortunately. I've always been this way...I remember as a child complaining to my mom that I couldn't sleep because "my brain won't shut up".

 

[Gracey]

I love it in here. (My own head)

It's taken the best part of my natural lifetime to date, to build it and organise it just so.

Of course, if I get stuck in here, I sometimes need help to get out.

Over analysing and overthinking; in my humble opinion, is a learned habit.

In my own case, I only needed to recognise the habit then disrupt or pause the thought patterns in order to change the habit.
-sounds simple? It isn't.

But each person is unique in what works or doesn't work for them.

 

[Bolletje]

I spend a lot of time in my head and I have a tendency to overthink things, but as I’ve grown older I have learned to be more present.

 

[Tom]

Another option is spending time in someone else's head.

 

[AutismDad]

Neuro-typicals over-analyze as well. "Paralysis by analysis" it is called. I don't think there's anything wrong with being a habitual thinker. Everything in moderation, though. I say try not to be so into your own thoughts that you forego using your periscope to check on the outside world once in a while. But, I also don't want you to ignore us because we are here and we love you and need you in our lives, too. You might need to set a reminder to be outside of your head and check on your friends and family. Cheers!

 

[Au Naturel]

I found my greatest feeling of peace is when I am as much in the physical, natural world as I can be. It is the world of humanity that sets my nerves on edge and causes so much pain. Never been rejected by a tree nor does the sky care if I'm socially lacking.

 

[AnnadinNoliman]

I think there's a benefit to engaging in the physical world I didn't naturally understand growing up. Like some people just like walking around in nature and they know that about themselves. For a long time I thought these people were just absolute lunatics being inside in my own world was obviously preferable. But it wasn't until I started getting out and into nature that I began noticing my mental state improving during and after the activity (be it walking biking jogging or whatever).

I found my greatest feeling of peace is when I am as much in the physical, natural world as I can be. It is the world of humanity that sets my nerves on edge and causes so much pain. Never been rejected by a tree nor does the sky care if I'm socially lacking.

THIS sums up my current mindset about nature. When I was younger I assumed going outside was equivalent to jumping between various social situations but when I discovered I could be just as alone in a forest as in my room my brain started feeling a lot better more often.
I do think sometimes we get stuck in our heads and for me the answer to that is to remember I'm a small part of a large world that is always silently and nonjudgmentally with me whenever I remind myself to see it that way.

 

[Soleil]

I don't quite get the question, but I think I would answer "yes", at least for me. I am very much a daydreamer, and when I need to occupy my mind I tend to think up stories or explain things to myself just to keep myself entertained. So I end up extremely quiet most of the time, fairly content to be on my own in the background.

If you mean overanalyzing things, then also yes. I think about all the ways a situation can go, and freak out because I can't stop imagining the worst-case scenario.

 

[BrokenBoy]

I certainly do. I don't seem to be all that capable of staying grounded in the real world unfortunately. I've always been this way...I remember as a child complaining to my mom that I couldn't sleep because "my brain won't shut up".

I feel the same way. It's impossible for me to be successful in this world unless I try to engage with the real world, but my mind doesn't want me to as a defense mechanism. If I engage with the real world I'd be forced to confront how ugly, talentless and unintelligent I am. So my mind defaults to being in this constant daydream-like state where I have fantasies or even delusions of grandeur which impacts the choices I make. And believe me, these delusions of feeling "invincible" or something similar have caused me to make terrible choices.