I always take my own pillow (if going by car) and some art supplies and a headband with built in earphones so you can lie on your side comfortably, so if I can't sleep I can listen to something. It can also go over my eyes.
I love your description of unmasking being like restoring an oil painting.... Adding and taking away.
I'm inspired to get stickers now :) Just love the way you articulate your experience - it helps me reach deeper levels of understanding of my own unmasking process and the layers of choice that are available (and that it's OK not to always see them). Best description of the need for alone time ever - a vitamin you need higher doses of. Yes! Thank you.
My kid and I always travel with minty and sour candy (and fancy noise-cancelling headphones - worth every penny - favorite art supplies, and comfy clothes, of course). Mint mentos can be a welcome sensory distraction during a flight.
Taking alone time is the part I need most, and the part I struggle with the most. It feels so rude when visiting people, but I pay a large price for following social norms on that one. I'm working on it...
Ditto, Annie! I had the same worry--about being / seeming rude. I think maybe I'm learning to distinguish the seeming from the being? Like...can I trust that I am not a rude person, and release some of the feeling of needing to control how I'm received? Much easier to intellectualize than to enact, of course...
I LOVE the mint / sour candy suggestion!!! I'll be adding that to my list. (I love love love sour things.)
Yes, learning to trust that the people who love me, love me. If I’m direct and say what I need, it won’t be rude. Still so hard to do in practice. But slowly I’ll get there!
I don't have any neurodivergent travel tips, yet I wonder whether all of us carry the neurodivergent "gene" in various degrees?, so I loved your travel tips because (after just returning from always cacophonous Spokane where my car was stolen twice!), peace and quiet are a blessing today. Ear buds are a blessing; being alone is a blessing; hearing my cat purr is a blessing too. And because every word of yours is a beautiful prompt writing is a blessing today too!
I always take my own pillow (if going by car) and some art supplies and a headband with built in earphones so you can lie on your side comfortably, so if I can't sleep I can listen to something. It can also go over my eyes.
I love your description of unmasking being like restoring an oil painting.... Adding and taking away.
I was about to mention a bluetooth headband! I use mine for walks, too, because I need the buffer of music but can't stand having things in my ears.
Yes, it's so good isn't it!
Adding bluetooth headband to my purchase list!
I'm inspired to get stickers now :) Just love the way you articulate your experience - it helps me reach deeper levels of understanding of my own unmasking process and the layers of choice that are available (and that it's OK not to always see them). Best description of the need for alone time ever - a vitamin you need higher doses of. Yes! Thank you.
This comment makes me so happy, Morgana! Thank you for reading <3
I love your analogy of unmasking being like restoring an old Renaissance painting and putting back just as much as you’re taking off. Beautiful!
My kid and I always travel with minty and sour candy (and fancy noise-cancelling headphones - worth every penny - favorite art supplies, and comfy clothes, of course). Mint mentos can be a welcome sensory distraction during a flight.
Taking alone time is the part I need most, and the part I struggle with the most. It feels so rude when visiting people, but I pay a large price for following social norms on that one. I'm working on it...
Ditto, Annie! I had the same worry--about being / seeming rude. I think maybe I'm learning to distinguish the seeming from the being? Like...can I trust that I am not a rude person, and release some of the feeling of needing to control how I'm received? Much easier to intellectualize than to enact, of course...
I LOVE the mint / sour candy suggestion!!! I'll be adding that to my list. (I love love love sour things.)
Yes, learning to trust that the people who love me, love me. If I’m direct and say what I need, it won’t be rude. Still so hard to do in practice. But slowly I’ll get there!
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Sarah, as always, every sentence is a thoughtful and thought-provoking gem. <3
Thank you for writing...and wlelcome back!!
I don't have any neurodivergent travel tips, yet I wonder whether all of us carry the neurodivergent "gene" in various degrees?, so I loved your travel tips because (after just returning from always cacophonous Spokane where my car was stolen twice!), peace and quiet are a blessing today. Ear buds are a blessing; being alone is a blessing; hearing my cat purr is a blessing too. And because every word of yours is a beautiful prompt writing is a blessing today too!
Your tips are spot on and had me nodding along in agreement.
So grateful for your readership, Kathleen!