It’s been a while, I know. A lot has happened, both inside and out. Out there we had/have the pandemic – it’s still happening, just not being reported on any more. Inside I’ve settled nicely into my neurodivergent brain. I know, I know, I was always in here. I just didn’t know it.

I now rarely feel that internal scream of body systems tearing away at each other of stress or near shutdown/meltdown. I manage my life to limit the factors I know contribute to overload. I’m fairly reclusive, seeing only immediate family and close friends, or scripted conversations with people like the postman, the grocery delivery team, the doctor/dentist.

For three years I was a trustee and then Chair on the board of a local food bank. I carried out lots of critical tasks to moving the organisation forward but eventually resigned because it took over my life with my all or nothing brain.

So, I’m back on the path of trying to create a meaningful life, giving back to my society, the world, in a way that doesn’t damage me, and it’s damned hard to do in a world set up for neurotypical people.

My current exploration is around my creativity. I’m dabbling with arts and crafts. I have an idea but I’m struggling to get it started, instead playing around with slow stitching, pen drawings of meditative patterns (see image above), clay work, pencil drawing, even making sauerkraut. All of this dabbling and impulsivity has me wondering about ADHD…

Anyway, back to this blog. A friend has suggested exploring blogging as a way of reconnecting with old friends who built relationships via forums back in the day. Social media has shifted and changed, with algorithms and bad actors getting in the way of deeper conversations, so maybe blogging will give a more expansive space for the exploring we used to do.