When we think of wellness, it is good to remember that we are not only in the food and drink arena but the overall arena of being well mentally too. Part of that is building and attempting to keep up a defense wall of sorts to not let yourself become easily influenced whether that is a food or drink item or someone influencing you to do something you are uncomfortable doing.
Autistic people are easily led into things and it can cause trouble if we do not have the senses within us to not be tempted into something that has a negative effect on us. We can be easily influenced to do or be with someone or something or consume an unhealthy food item just because we see peers similar to us or have catchy advertising telling us we are going to enjoy it. Do we do something because it is just easier to comply with the person instead of having to put a metaphorical barrier around our personal life because we have led them into our personal life and feel accepted and wanted?
If there is not a delicate balance of what makes two parties and their needs are not explicitly stated and followed by both parties, then it is going to become an unhealthy environment for you. You as a human being have the right to feel safe and do and do not do what you want or don;t want to do. When you request to have some time for you, it should by all means be honored by the opposite party and respected as time to regroup. You shouldn’t have to deprive yourself of something because it is easier to give up instead of having to fight the fight on your own by keeping up the metaphorical barrier that is intended to protect us in the first place.
Think of your metaphorical barrier like a fortress. You get to let in who you want and keep out who or what you know will do harm to your wellness. Being autistic, we can be easily led to let things and people in our life that we think in the beginning are good for us. However, over time we learn that they are being detrimental to our mental or physical wellbeing and realize we have to extend that wall of that metaphorical fortress around them so we are not intrigued or bothered by the thing that causes us harm to our overall well-being. Being aware of this and understanding the need to be sensitive of ourselves is a big step in learning that we are not totally the problem and that we have to protect ourselves from being damaged or repeating a cycle that has constantly evolving over time and finally has to be broken to prevent extensive damage
Wellness, as much as one’s recovery journey is an ongoing process that requires constant updating. For many, it cannot remain stagnant in a world that is constantly evolving. If we want to live life to the fullest, we must understand the need to be well and make it a part of our recovery journey if we are in that arena. I am neurodivergent while facing many mental health challenges and realize that I need to take my mental and physical health seriously to be well. It is not something that cannot be an on-again off-again sort of thing. You have to buy into what it offers on many fronts and put your parts in it when you are invited to do so.
I lived too long in a very unhappy place because I felt that I had to want the attention and the validation of others. I now realize that I am who I am and no one can define that for me . Nor can I be and do the things that others want me to do that makes me uncomfortable. I must stand my ground and be firm about making my life what I want it to be. Life is what you make it. I have been blessed to have the opportunities provided to me in my life. It takes us time to realize that for decades we couldn’t be who we truly saw ourselves as because we weren’t given the arena to do so. Then when we do, we get trampled into something we don’t want to be and it sets us back to a place where we have to discover ourselves entirely. When we do, we realize that we need to do some housekeeping by rebuilding our guard up to better protect ourselves and better surround us with people and things that help us not us, just like medicine has been intended to do for me all along. Once we get our ducks in a row and can see the life we want clearly, it becomes clear to us that we need to protect ourselves from repeating a cycle we know is bad for us and hurts us more than helps us. It isn’t easy that we have to do it, but when we do it, we are glad we did.
Wellness, as much as one’s recovery journey is an ongoing process that requires constant updating. For many, it cannot remain stagnant in a world that is constantly evolving. If we want to live life to the fullest, we must understand the need to be well and make it a part of our recovery journey if we are in that arena. I am neurodivergent while facing many mental health challenges and realize that I need to take my mental and physical health seriously to be well. It is not something that cannot be an on-again off-again sort of thing. You have to buy into what it offers on many fronts and put your parts in it when you are invited to do so.
Dustin's Dynasty 