In the course of the day there are moments when I do not feel my best physically. Just as it is in a nonspeaking person it takes a certain amount of guesswork to estimate of what I need to do in order to feel better. This is part of a process called interoception, the sense that tells humans what we need to do to take care of ourselves. Because I am autistic does not mean that I experience the sensation to care for these needs all the time.

Oftentimes I do not realize that the reason behind what I am feeling is because I haven’t taken care of my needs.

I have highlighted some of the things that I may need to do in a post earlier this year along with my brain not letting me know that I need to do these things, it at times can be my nervous system wreaking havoc on my internal system making me have to use the restroom because that too is a part of being autistic and as such we have to get what we are holding in out because we are all knotted up inside and all we can sometimes need is some relief from the pressure that we are feeling at the moment.

I often believe that there are other reasons that I do not admit to myself that I believe that are the culprits of why I am feeling the way that I am but realize that it can be some of the most elementary things like needing to use the restroom or get something to drink to make me feel better than what I am currently experiencing. Sometimes if I let things pass, things do get better as time evolves and most of the time, I am patient with myself, but not always.

It takes knowing my body and how things work along with planning things that need to be taken care of with it in the process. Sometimes these things come naturally but other times they are just what I need to do to feel better when I realize that I do not feel my best then something is wrong that needs to be taken care of and if not I need to apply something in order to feel better.

While it can be a guessing game for me just because I do not speak also means that I do not always have the ability to understand just what it is that I need to do to remedy the pain or sensation that I do not know I am experiencing or why I am experiencing what is happening at that moment. While I am getting better, it is still a touch and go. There is no perfect solution but when the relief comes, it can be the most rewarding thing to experience.