.Being.Us

Content warnings: Venting, Medical Records, SSI, Psychiatry Content in this blog represents my own personal opinions and experiences. So, story time: I need SSI paperwork completed by my psychiatrist's office immediately, or it could add a whole year to my wait. It's the only office that hasn't turned in the SSI paperwork, yet. They emailed me today and said that they will not do it because I "haven't seen my current psychiatrist 4-6 times," and it is department policy that I do so before paperwork is completed. I've been with my psychiatrist's office for around 2 years. It's part of a major hospital network in my city, and they've had some turnover in the department during my time with them. My first psychiatrist,  Dr. Vaka , was okay. He didn't really get  autism, but he worked with me until we found meds that helped me. He also listened to me, even though I had a lot more trouble communicating when I started to see him than I d...

People with vision disorders often have a sort of sixth sense that enables them to tell when something is in front of them. This sense can be developed intentionally over time in sighted people, as well. The sensation is something like feeling the object in front of your face as a force. Scientists say that we are actually using echos and sounds to locate things when we perceive distance that way. Although I am by no means blind, I have some vision disorders, as well as headaches that come with extreme light sensitivity, and I have developed this sense over time. That's actually really cool, but it does create some different needs for me regarding personal space when coupled with autism, PTSD, and anxiety. For me, autism means experiencing things around me more intensely than neurotypical people do. Specifically, I'm more aware/hyperaware of things near me because my brain does not “tune out” or “filter” sensory input to select what’s important very well. Also, my feeling of ...