Never say anything unless it is worth taking a long time to

Greta learned this from Devon Price’s first book, Laziness Does Not Exist. Devon Price, PhD is an autistic sociologist whose books are illuminating and wonderful companions on this neurodivergent journey. You might also enjoy The Nap Ministry’s Rest Deck or Rest is Resistance: A Manifesto by Tricia Hersey.

Normal is a construct and once you understand how deep this particular societal construct goes, you’ll never hear the word ‘normal’ the same again. Greta recommends that you start with Jonathan Mooney’s Normal Sucks , Roy Richard Grinker’s Nobody’s Normal: How Culture Created the Stigma of Mental Illness, and then try Empire of Normality by Robert Chapman.

Neither are feelings! Both can feel like facts, though, and it can be helpful to have systems in place to support your thinking when these areas become muddied. Our thoughts are a delightfully tangled mess of impressions, assumptions, predictions, past experiences, fears, and random chance bouncing around in our sentient squishy meat-and-bone-sacks. It can’t hurt to verify that what you’re thinking aligns with the experiences or understanding of others you trust.

When you find your mind wandering, take a break + get back to it when you’re ready

This is true, and it’s also totally okay to gently redirect your attention back to the thing you’re doing when you realize that you’ve gotten distracted. Take a second to check in with yourself. Did you realize that you got distracted? Do you feel capable of re-engaging? Yes? Then go for it! No? Take a break, and perhaps switch to a task you can start and get all the way finished relatively quickly. The dopamine boost you get from finishing something will help you re-engage with your initial task. 

This matters, you guys. When we understand the dynamics at play in the systems around us, when we have a good idea of what to expect based on our actions, we can make intentional, strategic decisions that help us hold on to our autonomy. We all deserve this.

Figuring out how your actions align with your values can be super motivating and help you stay engaged. There are lots and lots of resources online to help you identify your values. Here is a list of free assessments that are currently available online!

If this works for you, check out Cognitive Connections. This is a link to the research paper which outlines their method. 

Work with someone who is also working. Body doubling is a strategy which the majority of neurodivergent people use (knowingly or unknowingly) to help them get things done. Here’s a cool research paper about it!

Like an apple! While sugar can actually make you feel more stressed, this study found that people who eat plenty of fruit like apples are linked to lower levels of stress.

This study found that nurturing a long term jigsaw puzzle habit can improve your cognitive function. Harvard agrees that doing crossword puzzles is good for your brain!

This is a silly reset! It's hard to take yourself too seriously when you're trying your best to sound like a rooster

This falls into the realm of theory: I think that, when you’re feeling really stuck, sometimes doing something silly and ALL IN can serve as a ‘reset’ for your brain and body. TicTacToe doesn’t take your full attention…unless it’s HIGH STAKES. The absurdity of linking a game like TicTacToe with an imaginary massively important outcome can be silly and fun. Silliness can lead to laughter, which is good for your brain! It relieves stress. Humor engages our brains in different ways, and it’s a step away from the typical rank and file ‘get it done’ brain mode.

Go here and enjoy!

Exercise can boost your attention and regulation, and it has a positive impact on your memory. It’s also good for your impulse control!

(Even small amounts of exercise can improve brain function)!

Stimming can relieve stress and anxiety, and it’s not just for autistic people!

This awesome PDF includes instructions on the 54321 grounding exercise as well as other strategies. Here’s a website with even more things to try!

There are many documented and theorized benefits to mindfulness, and mindfulness is SO much more than meditation. This is an exercise which helps to bring your attention and focus to the present moment. Using your tongue to individually touch each tooth and keep track of how many there are is…really really hard to do if you’re distracted. Returning to the present moment is a perfect example of how to use mindfulness in your everyday life. The internet tells me that ‘use your tongue to count your teeth’ is also an African proverb which reminds people to be self-aware and know the resources at their disposal. This is also very good advice.

Being hugged (with consent) can reduce the cortisol response to stress. It also works with self-soothing touch, so even if you’re not with someone you feel comfortable hugging, there’s something you can do! It can even work when you’re hugging robots! Deep pressure has been shown to have a calming effect on some autistic people (whose sensory profile includes a preference for tactile or proprioceptive input. There is lots of research to support the idea that deep pressure has a psychologically calming impact on people (autistic, non-autistic, adults, kids…lots of people).

This is another mindfulness exercise that doesn’t involve meditation, and tangentially involves some if-then science. What we DO know: anxiety is a response to threats or unpredictability that are either far away or uncertain. Our brain pays attention to sudden, rapid movement because it could be DANGEROUS (this is so, so simplified but bear with me). Anxiety can cause the visual system to be hypervigilant for any sudden movements that might indicate a threat or a sign that immediate action is needed.