Anyone do this?

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I just remembered this today. When I was a teenager I used to walk around with my eyes closed, only opening them enough to keep my bearings and not walk into things. In hindsight it makes sense what with sensory overload and that.

Sound familiar?

Well, why did you quit?

I did it last night. Wife sent me to get a pizza. I didn’t want to talk to the guy, so I walked around the block for ten minutes before I could walk in and get it. Closed my eyes while walking a few times, did my “count the fingers” trick (one-two-three-four, four-three-two-one, repeat) and l looked at the old houses and tried to figure out how they engineered the additions – did they use trusses, flat-roof, beam and post for foundation or full footings, etc…

I’m 37 and it’s still easy to be overwhelmed by certain little things, including picking up a pizza.

Yes. How bizarre that I never connected the two until just now.

Thanks

I used to do that all the time as a kid, but never thought about it... I wonder if it's related to a seldom-discussed condition called "Static-Fluid Spacial Disorientation"? I have that, and what it does, is that you keep a mental snapshot of a familiar space; such as where objects are in a room. If someone moves something, you crash right into it without "seeing it". Very dangerous. I have to consciously watch where I'm going in familiar places, or that happens. It does not happen in public, or in places where my subconscious knows that things are constantly changing. It happens most often in the house, or I'll accidentally whack someone's glass off a table while reaching for something else, because it wasn't there last time I snapped a mental photo of that table.

To clarify: The SFSD may or may not be related to my high functioning autism... Nobody has written enough on it yet to know.

Charles

Yes, I did this. I also tend to leave lightbulbs unchanged for up to months at a time-- I used to think this was just laziness. Now I think it's both laziness and the unconscious desire for less light. I've recently stopped wearing my contact lenses when I'm not driving. Less input is good.

I still do this.

I also stopped wearing glasses shortly after I was prescribed them this spring, for the same reason.

I think the symptoms have just got less severe. I only get overloaded in crowds now and obviously you can't close your eyes there!

Also, like druidsbird, my eyesight's got worse and I don't wear glasses unless I'm driving.

I do this sometimes when walking outside in an empty area. It feels nice. I like to do it when riding my bike, but I'm afraid that it's dangerous, so I don't do it much.

I used to do this as a kid, now I don't experience this as being so.