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CheshireCat1
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23 Jun 2011, 3:03 pm

Do you feel the need to be alone at least once a day? If so, for how long? What do you do during this time?



TenPencePiece
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23 Jun 2011, 3:05 pm

Absolutely. I do not like being out or with people other than family for over 3 hours or so before I want to be alone. Though I'm not sure about the validity of my case because most of the time when I am alone in person I am still in contact with people online. But, I do still spend some time totally alone.


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23 Jun 2011, 3:43 pm

I definitely feel I need some alone time on a daily basis.



AardvarkGoodSwimmer
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23 Jun 2011, 4:04 pm

To unwind and to process.

which might involve stimming with a soft T-shirt (holding, squeezing, twisting the T-shirt) as I imagine sports or movies,

might involve talking to myself as I kind of bounce around my apartment (when I used to live alone)

might involve lounging in front of the TV as I eat ice cream

or laying on the living room floor with just a pillow and resting

or attempts at meditation (briefly '03 and '04 and '05) sometimes "working"

or when I used to do speech practice, reading passages from different books that interested me, as well as my more formal word lists. The whole thing kind of had a meditative effect.



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23 Jun 2011, 4:16 pm

CheshireCat1 wrote:
Do you feel the need to be alone at least once a day? If so, for how long? What do you do during this time?


I see friends a lot, so I'm hardly ever on my own. But when I am alone (as in having the house to myself) I do housework because I like to make the house look all tidy, and I then have a walk out to the shops, get a nice treat for my lunch, then walk home, back into a nice peaceful tidy house, and I go on the computer. Then in the afternoon I watch a DVD (I like this best when it's raining. When it's sunny and hot, I sit out in the garden).


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23 Jun 2011, 4:21 pm

Yes I do. It's usually all day or a lot and I do computer or video games. Of course I can't really be alone literally anymore because I live in an apartment and share it with my husband and our son. In fact it's my husband who gives himself alone time by going in our bedroom just to talk to his brother on the phone. I am still not alone because I have to watch our son and keep getting up to bring him back to the middle of the living room again if he gets near my computer cord. He just likes to grab it. I move him back to the middle of the room. I'd be lucky if my son falls asleep, then I have peace which I do now.

I can also be cleaning in my alone time.



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23 Jun 2011, 7:19 pm

I spend the majority of my time alone. It's not 100% alone as I am in a house with other people, but it's in my space which no one else enters.



the_curmudge
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23 Jun 2011, 7:43 pm

For me the question is, do I need to spend time with other people? Yes, every couple of days or so I get sick of spending time in my head exclusively and need to get away from myself for awhile. An hour or so of light socializing is usually enough to sweep away the cobwebs.



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23 Jun 2011, 7:44 pm

yes i need alone time everyday. at least 2-4 hours a day. i read, i watch tv, i listen to music, i go on wikipedia, youtube, wp, pandora, i sleep. depending on my mood and energy level of course.



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23 Jun 2011, 7:47 pm

Not so much alone time, but relaxation time in general. The problem is that it's hard to relax around other people.


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gallimaufry
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23 Jun 2011, 8:13 pm

CheshireCat1 wrote:
Do you feel the need to be alone at least once a day? If so, for how long? What do you do during this time?


Yes, I need quite a bit of alone time. I live by myself and spend most evenings alone. If my boyfriend lived in the same town, I'm sure I would see him a few days out of the week. But I would still need my alone time. If I didn't have to work, I would go about 3 days without seeing anyone, and then spend a few hours with friends or family, and then back to my alone time.

I spend my time making dinner or cleaning house while listening to music, playing on the computer, reading, going for a walk, swimming, or taking a nap. When I had a cat, I would play and snuggle with her.


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Graelwyn
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23 Jun 2011, 9:37 pm

I would have thought alone time would be needed by most people, whether NT or Autistic actually. I would be quite surprised if there are many people who can simply live in others' pockets 24/7.

I personally have to have a large proportion of time alone each day, just to be in my head, to live in my world without outside intrustion, and to do the things I enjoy alone, such as reading things online, playing music, playing Second Life and writing. Equally, I do like to have daily contact if I am with someone in a relationship, and even the occasional full day with them. But without my alone time, I would probably become very unstable and agitated.



Verdandi
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23 Jun 2011, 10:21 pm

Graelwyn wrote:
I would have thought alone time would be needed by most people, whether NT or Autistic actually. I would be quite surprised if there are many people who can simply live in others' pockets 24/7.

I personally have to have a large proportion of time alone each day, just to be in my head, to live in my world without outside intrustion, and to do the things I enjoy alone, such as reading things online, playing music, playing Second Life and writing. Equally, I do like to have daily contact if I am with someone in a relationship, and even the occasional full day with them. But without my alone time, I would probably become very unstable and agitated.


I agree with this, but it is interesting to me that autistic people (and some people with ADHD as well, and others) describe needing more alone time than many NTs (although not necessarily more than many introverts). Like there's a need for decompression that other people don't have quite as strongly.



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23 Jun 2011, 10:47 pm

Verdandi wrote:
...it is interesting to me that autistic people (and some people with ADHD as well, and others) describe needing more alone time than many NTs (although not necessarily more than many introverts). Like there's a need for decompression that other people don't have quite as strongly.


Decompression, yes. Especially after a long day at work, listening to the constant chatter of coworkers and customers. At the end of a work day, I feel this (seemingly impossible) combination of being completely overloaded and yet totally drained. Interacting with people is hard work, and I have to be alone for at least a couple of hours. Preferably longer.



Graelwyn
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23 Jun 2011, 11:11 pm

I cannot imagine how I would cope if I worked in an office environment or somewhere that involved a lot of human interraction...in that sort of situation, I think I would have to spend just about the entire evening alone afterwards to get back to myself, so to speak.



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23 Jun 2011, 11:16 pm

not sure. never had the not alone time be constant.