(health update) (personal) (for close followers) As most followers know I have a

(health update) (personal) (for close followers)

As most followers know I have a rather obsessive thought pattern common to the autism spectrum. Aside from reduced empathy and exaggerated systematizing it’s really the only symptom I have to deal with. But, this ‘talent’ makes it extremely difficult for me to switch contexts, and switching contexts is somewhere between frustrating and aggravating’ because it’s so difficult – My mind wants to constantly work on (obsess on) one problem or another. And for most of my life this has been extremely advantageous as you can imagine. Collecting reams of information isn’t work. Learning isn’t work. Working isn’t work. Not collecting information, not learning and not working is work. It’s like having a gravity well for your attention that’s relentless as being in a loud steam powered factory, and you have to feed it constantly to keep it at peace. It can be useful especially in the current era. And I’m sure it was also useful as a hunter-gatherer, and we are clearly adapted to long winters, in cramped quarters with others indoors. I would have no problem working away on whatever winter crafts in communal space in a Scandinavian long house, or Saxon hut. None at all. Watching my sister, mother, grandmother, its pretty easy to see her extremely happy in that environment.

But over the past two years (since I’ve come back to the states to care for family) my productivity has suffered because in my current environment I’m not able to insulate myself from stimulation and get ‘into the zone’ very often, and when I do it’s for short time periods. I’ve managed huge progress on the grammars, on religion, and on the operational description of human consciousness because it’s just information consumption and contemplation. But when I move from problem solving to ‘authoring’ it’s like pulling teeth. So this summer I’ve been trying everything in order to up my productivity to previous levels despite the ‘environment’.

My daughter Caitlin manages drug field trials for medical research, and has the same behavior (as did my grandmother, my mother (less so), my sister, and my niece, my other daughter (who is classified as mildly autistic), and my niece. My son manifests it slightly differently.) She suggested that I ask my doctor to try migration from OCD treatment (reduce resistance) to ADHD treatment (stimulation), because it would allow me to work, and switch contexts without depending upon coffee.

The effect has been rather immediate and obvious, in that context changes, and cognitive tunneling seem to have been radically reduced; my need to use physical motion or talking to myself to break out of the ‘cognitive well’ seems eliminated; with the only side effect being that ‘what comes to mind comes out of the mouth’ a bit more rapidly. And given my plentiful and hyperbolic sense of humor I might have to be careful.

Everyone in family and extended family has noticed, immediately and they say something along the lines of “you’re here” or “you’re present” rather than constantly detached (focused on whatever I’m thinking). Yet I can easily switch topics and return to work, break from work, and return to it again, easily.

So cross fingers, think good wishes, or say a prayer that this works and I can get more of this done before the boogaloo happens.

Hugs all. Thanks for your participation, encouragement, support, and most of all – patience.

Revolution Comes.

-Curt