Rec | YAY AUTISTIC CREW ON PI.FYI!

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Okay my advice is very miscellaneous but here goes:
• Idk if you’re already in therapy or not, but unless you adore your current therapist (who may or may not have training in autistic folks?) I would highly recommend seeing a therapist who is autistic themselves and works with neurodivergent people. I’ve been to 5 therapists over the course of 15 years and BY FAR the most helpful experience has been with my current therapist who is the only one I’ve ever seen who was also autistic. I’m no longer wasting time trying to “fix” things about myself that neurotypical society (& neurotypical therapists) convinced me were problems. Now, someone understands my problems more innately and is able to help me identify when it’s truly something interfering with my life rather than just an external pressure I’m taking on unnecessarily.
• As someone who also found this out as an adult rather than a child… there’s so much relief but also waves of grief that may hit unexpectedly. Grief over how hard you may have been on yourself when you were young and didn’t understand what was going on. Grief over support you perhaps could have had sooner that you have access to now. Let yourself feel the grief and work through it at your own pace.
•…and lest that sound too depressing, know there’s even more relief around the corner as you slowly learn more about yourself and how you can best live and move in the world! (following autistic writers and other creators online has been so encouraging for me as we’re all just figuring it out and supporting each other)
• It’s valid to be frustrated with autistic traits in yourself and it’s valid to love autistic traits in yourself. You’re a whole beautiful person, not a pathology.
• This is getting soapboxy so I’ll stop but congratulations on your diagnosis and I wish you all the gentleness and clarity and support! Feel free to DM me if you ever want to talk more about it! ❤️

@thickrimmedgirl

Apr 15, 2025

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@mouse

Yes to all of this! I had a therapist for 5 years who I loved, I’m not sure whether she herself was autistic, although I wouldn’t be surprised. She was neurodiversity trained and it was through working with her that I came to realise I was autistic. I’ve been thinking of maybe going back to work with her again, or whether to seek out someone who I more practical focused, as I feel after those 5 years I’m sort of talked out and now I need some practical advice! hard yes to the grief. I’ve felt it so much. Especially as my ME/CFS was likely initially caused by autism burnout, the thought of whether I might not be physically disabled if I’d been diagnosed autistic early is something I’ve had to grieve massively. Do you have any writers or creators that you’d recommend? I’d love to see some. Thank you so much for your response ❤️

Apr 15, 2025

@thickrimmedgirl

@MOUSE i’m so sorry you’re also in the chronic illness boat with ME/CFS, it’s definitely a mindfuck considering how autistic burnout so often manifests in/with other disabilities. 😩 (i’m still in the process of diagnosis but looks like dysautonomia/POTS for me.) I hope learning more about your neurodivergence helps unlock more ways to support your healing/maintenance through those physical challenges as well! 🤞🤞 I should make a separate rec with a more comprehensiv/organized list of creators but for now here are several of my favorites from instagram! Most are autistic themselves but those who aren’t are very affirming and supportive, and all these accounts range from personal to educational to advocacy to medical: toren.wolf livedexperienceeducator Sensory.slp & her partner speechdude autienelle thespectrumgirl neurodivergent_insights Elyse_myers Patrick.casale

Apr 17, 2025

@thickrimmedgirl

@MOUSE sorry for the typos btw my app seems to be glitching! Anyways I was also going to suggest Morgan Harper Nichols, she doesn’t often speak explicitly about being autistic but it comes through in so much of her art and poetry and is just lovely (and one of her blog posts was actually what majorly tipped me off to the possibility of being autistic).

Apr 17, 2025

@mouse

@THICKRIMMEDGIRL thank you so much for these suggestions, I’m going to make my way through them! X

Apr 17, 2025

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therapy

honestly it really made me understand my autonomy and the larger role i play in shaping my own life. i’m in complete control of the life i want to build and nurture.
life is hard—like, really fucking hard—and there’s no rulebook. we’re all just figuring it out, and there’s no one “right” way to do it. for me, it’s been helpful to focus on my values and what truly makes me happy and/or brings me joy. when do i feel most at peace? what makes me feel loved? how do i stay grounded? so when life inevitably gets tough—and it always does—i have tools to navigate it and avoid feeling so…shitty.
there was a limit to how much i could lean on my support system. don’t get me wrong— my friends, family, and community were so critical for me during this time, but i had to be honest with myself: i needed professional help 😅. now, i’m here, feeling like i can actually live—and enjoy life.
ditto to what everyone has said above. sending virtual hugs 🩷🫂🩷

@artificialintrovert

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Go to therapy

I’m always telling everyone to go to therapy!!! It’s out of love 🫶
I suggest it because at some point in your life you learned feelings NEEDED to be over there. Yeah, you’re going to have to learn how to feel them, but I’m gonna assume that the distance comes from some kind of trauma. You can’t learn how to be in your feelings if your unconscious or body is going to think it’s unsafe. Again, there is a reason you learned how to do that. Maybe it’s obvious to you or maybe you’re like uhh mossyelfie you’re WRONG. And maybe I am, but an irl therapist can be helpful to figure all of this out and guide you 💗
Also (from personal experience) there’s a good chance the feelings feel so big because they’re at a distance and they’re not being heard. They’re like babies, they get louder when they’re ignored. They’ll probably chill out when you start learning how to express them.

@mossyelfie

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i really really resonate with this! i’m trying to pull myself out of one too. some stuff that’s helped me before in the past is asking some of my dear friends for prompts — either super specific or super vague. it helps me to work within the guidelines of something.
also making something based on a dream can feel more forgiving because it’s explicitly not grounded in my own reality.
and scheduling art/creation hangs if that appeals to you! i love the accountability of doing it with others, and it’s also a great way to get in some lovely quality time.
i hope any of this helps! and i also hope you’re as kind and gentle to yourself as you can be, it’s so hard sometimes ❤️‍🔥

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