Zoning out?

[ImAnAspie]

...and NTs do the same afaik.

 

[jimited]

I find I zone out a lot, it happens alot when there is a lot going on around me that I have no interest in, such as when we have visitors and such. Ahh i like my own little world

 

[Bouncy]

I don't know if this is the type of zoning out you were referring to, but if I'm doing something quiet that I enjoy (reading, knitting, drawing) then it's very possible the entire world will go on without me noticing the slightest change for hours & hours. I've had my mum re-arrange the furniture in the room I was sitting in, and I didn't notice until I looked up (and I didn't like it either). Plus, I can get very involved/wrapped up in my own thoughts too, which people will sometimes mention to me - But I don't think that's necessarily an Aspie trait.

 

[Dark]

I'm too jumpy to zone out under most circumstances. I get snapped back to attention by even small changes in my environment. If I'm by myself, though, or if I turn my music up loud enough to block out external sounds, I'll frequently drift off to my own little world.

 

[ghoulbler]

I'm zoned out a good majority of the time. Sometimes I do it on purpose, but I often retreat into my own little world without noticing it. When I was a little kid, I used to play soccer, but I'd always space out and stand in the middle of the field staring off into space haha. Needless to say, I wasn't their best player

 

[Judge]

Can't say I do it on a normal basis. However occasionally I do wonder about those who can lower their metabolic rate and zone out so profoundly that they can perform astral projection...maybe to another dimensional plane of existence.

 

[ImAnAspie]

Previously, l wrote it's like day dreaming but after reading the article again (and not the comments by others) I was wrong. This is not daydreaming. This is more akin to what I know as hyperfocus.

Sometimes I daydream. I'll sit and stare out of a window or at a point on the wall or a pattern and just zone out but I can come back to reality relatively easily ... AND THEN THERE'S HYPERFOCUS. For example, I once wrote a massive C program that took over a year for me to complete. During that time, I had several sessions where I wouldn't stop to eat, drink, toilet break, nothing. The house could have burnt down around me and I wouldn't have noticed. On average, I'd sit there for 12 hours straight, zoned in totally on the program. I often think of it as Zen like meditation . Also, if I'm deeply involved in a conversation with someone about a topic that really interests me, I've had people right next to me yelling to get my attention and I've been totally oblivious to them.







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[Autism]

Many Autistic people live the vast majority of their life in a zoned-out state where they are minimally accessible to other humans including their close relatives. Despite the obvious inconveniences & stress this causes their family members, think of the concentration it takes: enough to challenge even the most evolved meditating Zen master. Many still react to outside stimuli & are very sensitive to changes in textiles, temperature & touch etc. They also can express extreme displeasure if a room is rearranged or if objects they've lined up get moved.

One of my Aspie skills is the ability to completely zone out. Sometimes I get a few spacey days (like yesterday & today) where I'm sort of on auto-pilot doing what I have to do but not being truly present. Zoning out is even more extreme: it is the ability to completely shut out the world & go into a trance- like state. Does anyone else out there do this? Please tell me about your experiences with this skill.

Yes, absolutely, I do that all the time because I have to. I could not survive otherwise. The ones around me, with no intelligence, crude and aggressive behavior have to be stopped before they can interfere with my pure spirit, simple conclusion.

 

[Soup]

I'd bet that zoning out helps us to be less affected by all the depressing, infuriating & shocking outrageous things we see on the news & in the papers etc. Most of these terrible things are events we can do nothing whatsoever about. NTs often seem to be in a tizzy of some sort or another over these catastrophic events. Many become chronic depressives, struggling with anxiety, digestive issues, chronic insomnia & a host of other stress-related ills. This is not to imply that no Aspies experience such symptoms BUT the root causes are unlikely to be events taking place in the world about which we can do zilch!

All humans will experience some stress due to events in their own lives, but trying to live with that stress, compounded by all kinds of comparatively remote problems & events, must truly be awful. By being able to zone out, I can often get large amounts of stuff done (which means problems get solved) in a mechanical, efficient, extremely detached manner (like I did today). It means going into auto-pilot mode instead of stressing myself out over all this crap I have got to do, I just move into the zone & my body takes care of it.

While a zoned-out Aspie may look weird to the uninitiated, we are not the ones making a fuss in line-ups & making a spectacle of ourselves in public.We are seldom the ones interfering with others & griping loudly about this or that. With a hoodie up, dark shades on, headphones plugged in & a good book (or the internet etc.), or just sitting there, we harm & bother no one. To my reasoning that is a good thing!

 

[rollerskate]

I'd bet that zoning out helps us to be less affected by all the depressing, infuriating & shocking outrageous things we see on the news & in the papers etc. Most of these terrible things are events we can do nothing whatsoever about. NTs often seem to be in a tizzy of some sort or another over these catastrophic events. Many become chronic depressives, struggling with anxiety, digestive issues, chronic insomnia & a host of other stress-related ills. This is not to imply that no Aspies experience such symptoms BUT the root causes are unlikely to be events taking place in the world about which we can do zilch!

All humans will experience some stress due to events in their own lives, but trying to live with that stress, compounded by all kinds of comparatively remote problems & events, must truly be awful. By being able to zone out, I can often get large amounts of stuff done (which means problems get solved) in a mechanical, efficient, extremely detached manner (like I did today). It means going into auto-pilot mode instead of stressing myself out over all this crap I have got to do, I just move into the zone & my body takes care of it.

While a zoned-out Aspie may look weird to the uninitiated, we are not the ones making a fuss in line-ups & making a spectacle of ourselves in public.We are seldom the ones interfering with others & griping loudly about this or that. With a hoodie up, dark shades on, headphones plugged in & a good book (or the internet etc.), or just sitting there, we harm & bother no one. To my reasoning that is a good thing!

I've got a short fuse even when I am upset that burns out quickly. People are amazed at how quickly I can recover from a bad mood like nothing ever happened. Life's too short to waste time and energy on being upset any longer than is necessary for release.

 

[Kari Suttle]

I zone out all the time. In the car especially, i just tune everything out and retreat into my own little world so to say. I do it a lot during the day, too, when i'm alone cleaning or going about my morning routine, getting everything done efficiently but mentally i'm not fully there. I'm more in my head than anything else. I guess if i had to put my finger on why, i would say it works as a break from the world - from the constant interaction and stimuli. Putting headphones in and listening to music when i'm in public serves the same function for me.

 

[XandirKai]

I zone out all the time. I'll be with friends and disappear and come back and have missed an entire convo. I also zoned out when I worked as a delivery driver. Auto pilot most days I was there. Just did my tasks and when I drove I knew where I was going but was constantly thinking of 500 different things so I'm surprised I did so well driving and not going to the wrong places. My zoning helps when I'm super focused on things. The world will just melt away. I paint as my job now, so I put on my headphones and paint for hours. Nothing can touch me when I get into it.

 

[CJO1991]

I zone out occasionally, not as often as a lot of you guys seem to.

I try my best not to zone out when talking to others, as I know it's rude and I wouldn't want them to do it to me, but I still do occasionally. I don't worry too much about it though, as I'm sure that neurotypicals zone out from time to time too haha.

I do use zoning out as a defensive mechanism though. If I'm in a very uncomfortable social situation or very upset about something, I zone out and start thinking about one of my interests or hobbies. It just lets me get away from the situation I'm in.

 

[Vanilla]

I zone out all the time. I'll be with friends and disappear and come back and have missed an entire convo. I also zoned out when I worked as a delivery driver. Auto pilot most days I was there. Just did my tasks and when I drove I knew where I was going but was constantly thinking of 500 different things so I'm surprised I did so well driving and not going to the wrong places. My zoning helps when I'm super focused on things. The world will just melt away. I paint as my job now, so I put on my headphones and paint for hours. Nothing can touch me when I get into it.

Delivery driver is a great idea; I can see how it could be quite liberating.

 

[XandirKai]

It was great. I loved driving around, yet the stress was too much. I had too many instances of yelling and punching fits. Luckily while in my car, so no one saw. Once I left the fits died down a lot.

 

[Autism]

Delivery driver is a great idea; I can see how it could be quite liberating.

You paint for pay? Bah, I want that job.

 

[Vanilla]

You paint for pay? Bah, I want that job.

Don't quite get paid for it yet I'm afraid, but am working on it. That's the dream though

 

[Tarragon]

I zone out like this all the time. I don't even see whats around me at all. Sometimes I'll be driving when it happens (not safe I know). And I'll end up somewhere with no idea how I got there. But I explained this whole thing to my mom and she said it's jut daydreaming. So don't NTs do that too?

Thats very intense daydreaming! Mind you, aspie minds tend to do lots of things intensely eh?

 

[Stacey]

I have what has been described as a 'vacant' look. I got teased a lot for it growing up. Apparently this 'non expression' (I am unaware when I'm displaying it) makes me appear docile and stupid.

Sometimes I just like to sit and 'just be'. Its so lovely to not think of anything in particular. It feels like a few minutes rest. My teachers considered me to be a bit of a day dreamer.

I like meditation. I call it 'meditation', but if I'm in my room, I tend to drift off into a peaceful slumber.

 

[JeIIohamster]

When I'm playing video games I zone out of everything. If someone tries to talk to me I say something like "Yeah, whatever, I'm okay". After I realize what I say I feel like a jerk cause I ignored them without meaning to