I tried installing Arch once about 10 years ago. I couldn’t get it to work even though I admittedly didn’t try my hardest. I was in a PhD program at the time, so my mental resources and time were quite limited. Still, I had real experience as a sysadmin, so I wasn’t entirely computer illiterate. Every time I see a potential user switching to Linux asking for distro recommendations and others suggests Arch, I internally roll my eyes. Unless that user is a computer programmer or similar looking to prove their skills to themselves, that is a great way to get someone to never switch to Linux because they will more than likely become overwhelmed with the installation.

If you are switching to Linux for the first time and don’t want to spend a frustrating week reading a wiki and troubleshooting lots of minute but consequential issues, don’t start with Arch! Linux Mint is by far the easiest for new users. Give it a run for a while until you feel like switching to more demanding distros.

Share away, please! Btw, I believe everyone has the right to understand in their own way how autism and society interact, so please don’t feel the need to exert too much effort on pedantry unless you really want to. Personally, I appreciate diverse persepectives because I feel it gives me a well-rounded view of the situation. It’s like if we were all standing around an object. I can only see my side, but if we all shared our own perspectives, then we could see 360*.

Like you, I’ve been through lots of psych meds. In general, the SSRIs sucked! Sertraline made me stupid. Paroxetine made me dead inside. Escitalopram made me disconnected from my surroundings. Citalopram did a great job at making me more relaxed and social, but it came with severe ED, and I became completely asexual.

The anti-psychotics were terrible. They either made me dead inside or sleepy and slow allll the time. One even made me feel like I was withdrawing from opiates. I also gained like 40 lbs/18 kg.

Mood stabilizers didn’t really seem to do anything for me at all.

What has worked is bupropion for general mood. It doesn’t make it so I’m not depressed, but it makes it so that I can still function and decide to live life even though I might be depressed. I’ve noticed that the depression also happens in waves rather than all the time now. Bonus: bupropion doesn’t cause the same side effects as the SSRIs and makes it so that nicotine isn’t rewarding anymore.

One med that seriously surprised me though was methylphenidate for ADHD. Prior to recently, my medical provider system was strictly not wanting to treat ADHD nor even assess for it. I went to a new provider that had me complete an executive functioning scale and found that I was a bit extreme with how poor my executive functioning was (99th percentile 😬). I was put on methylphanidate shortly after. At this point, I thought ADHD really only affected productivity…nope! Once I started treating the ADHD, I was not overwhelmed as much. I wasn’t upset that I lost my keys, worried that I would forget something important, or zone out and upset others during conversations. I have also been able to engage in tasks that make me happy even if they’re not my current special interest, so this has made my life more balanced and diverse. To me, this has been the most influential medical treatment for my mental health.

I’ve thought about this too! How much of our traits are the actual autism, and how much of our traits are a result of abuse and marginalization?

I wasn’t always afraid of meeting new people, but after enough bullying and being taken advantage of, I learned to not trust my ability to judge others unless I’ve known them for a longgg time. So, please excuse me if I’m not excited to meet you, but I don’t know if you’re going to be an asshole or not yet, and I’m not going to be insincere about it.

I agree with you and am happy for all three of you guys! You and your partner found each other, and your kid has loving and caring parents.

In retrospect, I think my life would have been much easier and happier if my parents would have told me about my differences early on, while still withholding the diagnosis until I was probably in high school, which I’m assuming is when I would feel comfortable with my differences and needed a name for it.

As for the differences, it would have helped to compare me to my mother’s style of perceiving and thinking, highlight my strengths and weaknesses in relation to other kids, and then use my strengths to help with confidence and tackle deficiencies stemming from my weaknesses. There would be no shaming, but honest acknowledgement, appreciation, and helpful guidance to make me better prepared for independence and navigating the world autistically.

I hope that helps! Is there anything else you would like someone’s perspective on, elaboration or discussion?

Wellbutrin/Zyban/bupropion is FDA approved for smoking cessation. I was prescribed it for depression and found it helpful for that. At the same time, I was smoking and didn’t know that it worked for smoking cessation. Shortly after starting it, I noticed that cigarettes no longer gave that calm feeling and tasted extra disgusting. I eventually stopped smoking because it wasn’t enjoyable anymore and seemed pointless.

Bonus: it can make orgasms insanely intense

[email protected]

[email protected]

[email protected]

thanks! I was trying the @username, but was not adding the instance. for some reason, perhaps a temporary glitch, the drop down menu was not popping up at the time I initially tried it.

test: @[email protected]