"Spacing out"

Post Reply New Topic

I tried to explain to my dad once the disintegration I experienced when he (or anyone) would yell at me for extended periods of time. The disintegration was very frightening to me.

I said that first it was as if his head were getting smaller and smaller and his voice were getting fainter and fainter. I didn't know the phrase "tunnel vision" at the time, but that was what was happening to me. I said that when he got smaller, everything around him got black and he got smaller and smaller and fainter and fainter until it was like he was on television in a pitch black room. But he kept getting smaller until he was just a pinpoint of light and then he would wink out and I was in compete darkness and complete silence and very frightened that I would never be able to get back out of it again.

His response was to sneer and say, "I always thought you weren't listening to me."

Last edited by Sparrowrose on 19 May 2010, 4:29 pm, edited 1 time in total.

looking at maps, pictures of places, listening to music. Of course, none of these are absolutely necessary for me to space out

I space out all the time, often for no reason at all. I just like being in my own little world

Gosh, sparrowrose... my Dad and I have our issues, but he has never ever, even for a millisecond, sneered at me. I'm so sorry.

My dad has asperger's, too, and sometimes it comes across as a particularly nasty case of I'm-always-right.

It happens when I'm talking to people, stressed, or tired. Those factors often coincide.
That also happens when I see something I really like.
That is usually something that spins or sparkles or spins AND sparkles.

Things that both spin and sparkle: My favorite.

I'm almost always in my own world. One of my favorite things to do is to mentally go for walks in places I've been before. It's like a dream while I'm awake, a contemplative state that engages all of my senses; conversely engaging in "real world" things that require attention are extremely difficult for me.

When someone is talking to me I tend to zone out. If a question is asked I won't even realize it sometimes. Other times I do realize it but won't be able to answer because I didn't hear the majority of the question.

All the time, I'll be at my computer, reading something or typing something or whatever and my husband will say something to me and by the time I realize he's talking and by the time I realize he's talking to *me* and not to his WoW friends on his headset, a good three-quarters of what he's said has gone by and I have to ask him to repeat the whole thing again. I'll deal with whatever he said, go back to my computer, and not three minutes later it's happening again.

I've learned that I have to get his attention before I say something if he's playing WoW (and not to try to talk to him when the screen's flashing all pretty swirly colors because that means he's in a battle and can't talk anyway) so I'll say his name and wait until he says "what" and then say what I was going to say (because I HATE repeating myself.) He never seems to have caught on to that trick, no matter how many times I tell him that if he just starts talking, I'll miss the first part of his sentence.

I space out loads
I never used to notice but recently people have been waving hands in front of my face waiting for me to notice.
My mother recently told me I might be more organised if I wasn't so vague, so, Yeah, I'm a definite spacer!
I have to make an effort to reconnect with the world quite a fair old bit, but sometimes, I do it on purpose, especially in noisy, social situations.
Other people?

I space out loads
I never used to notice but recently people have been waving hands in front of my face waiting for me to notice.
My mother recently told me I might be more organised if I wasn't so vague, so, Yeah, I'm a definite spacer!
I have to make an effort to reconnect with the world quite a fair old bit, but sometimes, I do it on purpose, especially in noisy, social situations.
Other people?

The river sometimes hypnotises me when I'm taking the dog out for a walk. (Interestingly this corresponds exactly with one of the "aspie quiz" questions)

It's something about when the river is high and gliding so smoothly, and there are interesting subtle little folds and features on the surface.

Other than that, maths. When I was doing some practice entrance exam papers for university, I was as happy as I've ever been in my life - completely lost within myself and finding myself in some crazy postures where I'd unconsciously climb onto my chair and press my face against the table.

Does that help you understand it when he comes across cruel? I imagine it would still hurt, but be easier to deal with understanding he's on the spectrum.

Speaking of hypnotizing, has anyone else been professionally hypnotized and subsequently told that they are far easier to hypnotize than the average person? I am frighteningly easy to hypnotize.

Last edited by Sparrowrose on 20 May 2010, 11:10 am, edited 1 time in total.

I space out whenever I start thinking about my favorite movies.