Have you ever felt more Autistic than you ever felt before in your life?
Rest assured; it is common for Autistics to feel more Autistic at times.
What does “Feeling more Autistic” mean?
The feeling of being more Autistic typically mean’s experiencing a heightened intensity of autistic traits or challenges, including increased sensory sensitivity, increased social anxiety, increased difficulty with communication, or rigid thinking patterns.
What causes us to feel more Autistic?
Feeling more Autistic is often due to stressful situations, changes in the environment, or simply a greater awareness of one’s own autistic needs and how they might be impacting daily life.
Here are 7 more Autistic characteristics that when increased, can cause you to feel more Autistic
Sensory Overload – Becoming more overwhelmed by sight, sounds, smells, tastes, or textures than usual for you.
Social anxiety – Feeling an increased level of stress or discomfort in social situations, like large gatherings or even casual conversations with just a few people
Emotional dysregulation – experiencing more intense or unpredictable emotions, potentially due to sensory overload and/or social stress.
Difficulty with communication – struggling to understand subtle social cues, interpreting language literally, or having trouble expressing your own thoughts and feelings.
Executive functioning challenges – difficulty with planning, organizing, or managing time effectively.
Increased need for routine – feeling anxious or disrr4essed when daily routines are disrupted.
Masking fatigue – feeling of exhaustion from trying to suppress Autistic traits to “fit in” with neurotypical expectation.
It is important to know that you do not need to experience all the above contributing factors to feel more Autistic than usual. This means that what constitutes as “more Autistic” can vary depending on the individual and their specific experiences.
Feeling more Autistic is not always a negative. Sometimes, feeling more Autistic can simply mean becoming more self-aware and ACCEPTING one’s own neurodiversity.
If you are experiencing significant challenges due to feeling more Autistic than is normal for you, reaching out to a therapist or other professional familiar with Autism can be beneficial.
