MOTHER FUCKER
we’re having a Snow Day, which is fine.
except it’s NOT bc the huge shift in atmospheric pressure has rendered my autistic brain completely useless for the foreseeable future. all services have been shut down. the roads are closed and so are my neural pathways
when you said atmospheric pressure shut down your brain it took me a second to realize you meant the atmosphere as in how tense school is compared to how calm home is, and not that autistic people have some kind of internal barometer that is attached to their brain.
nope, I’m literally talking about barometric pressure!
for those who aren’t aware, autistic/adhd brains are sensitive to barometric pressure shifts. changes in atmospheric pressure (like those caused by rain) effect our blood oxygen levels in a way that messes with our brains. sudden changes in weather can exacerbate our symptoms, making us irritable, lethargic, anxious, twitchy, overwhelmed etc, while our brains work overtime to adjust to the change. it’s just one of the ways that environmental factors other people take for granted (weather, noise, overhead music, lights, etc) can affect our lives in ways people don’t expect.
so yeah, we basically do carry around internal barometers, attached to very loud alarms!
… I knew the weather pressure gave me migraines and made my joints ache, but are you actually telling me it’s also the reason for why I can’t power through my migraines like I can at other times? What the fuck.
Okay, I managed to find something that wasn’t a link to someone’s blog, and is on the CHADD website. Migraines and ADHD can often be comorbid for a lot of us, which I kinda guessed might be a thing. And given the overlap between Autism and ADHD, I’d say it’s a safe bet to speculate that migraines are also more common in Autistic folk as well.
Migraines, unlike headaches, are a neurological disorder that affects multiple aspects of the body. Including our blood pressure and our ability to regulate emotion. They can also cause sensitivity to sound, light and movement. So things that you were handling just fine a while ago, become completely overwhelming. Mood swings and depression can sometimes be a warning sign that a migraine attack is coming (prodrome), and they can also happen after a migraine attack (postdrome) as the body comes down from whatever chemical rollercoaster of misery it’s just been on. And weather change is absolutely a trigger.
This is purely speculation on my part, but it might be possible that the weather changes are triggering silent migraines (migraine without headache). Which means some folks might actually have migraines and not be aware of it, but it might also mean they could benefit from migraine treatment to prevent their bodies going on aforementioned misery rollercoaster every time the weather changes. They might also not have migraines. But the trigger switch might be the same for certain things, and the meds used for treating migraines might be helpful in terms of regulation, in the same way how certain blood pressure meds have been shown to help ADHD better than some anti-depressants.
Hmm. I wonder. I might bring this up with my specialist and see if she has any info on it.
…well fuck. Knowing this sure would’ve made high school A LOT FUCKING EASIER.