Halloween is my least favorite holiday
Doomscrolling
Came across a new term, rather a term that's been around for a while.
Doomscrolling is the act of compulsively scrolling through negative news or social media feeds, often for hours at a time, despite feeling upset or stressed by the content. The term "doomscrolling" gained popularity during the COVID-19 pandemic, as people spent more time online and were inundated with a constant stream of alarming news about the virus and its effects. This behavior can lead to feelings of anxiety, hopelessness, and helplessness, as well as difficulty sleeping and concentrating
So it became this "vicious cycle in which users find themselves get stuck in a pattern of seeking negative information no matter how bad the news is."
Satici SA, Gocet Tekin E, Deniz ME, Satici B. Doomscrolling Scale: its Association with Personality Traits, Psychological Distress, Social Media Use, and Wellbeing. Appl Res Qual Life. 2022 Oct 19:1-15. doi: 10.1007/s11482-022-10110-7. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 36275044; PMCID: PMC9580444.
National Society of Leadership and Success
Dear Hari,
I am pleased to share that you have been recognized as an exemplary college graduate and meet the criteria to become a member of The National Society of Leadership and Success (NSLS). Congratulations!
This invitation is only offered to a select number of UC Berkeley alumni, and we’re proud to extend this opportunity to further your leadership development....
SIB and Suicide Ideation
- 30% of autistics have Self-Injurious Behaviors (Soke et al., 2016)
Isn't this worth finding REAL solutions to, through autism research.
At the end of the day we also need to remember that psychotropic drugs only help to manage symptoms or dampen behavioral symptoms. So what is also needed is biomedical research into underlying issues at a physiological level that translate into affordable mainstream healthcare - its that research into gut issues, sleep issues, auto-immune issues, neuro-inflammation, movement issues etc - these are real issues that many autistics are facing - cuz if we get to the bottom of those, maybe we can reduce SIB by that much.
PD Soros Fall Conference wraps up
Sunday
The morning started with some of the fellows having breakfast with Damian Williams, the first black US Attorney in Manhattan, heading the Southern District of New York. It was followed by his super interesting at today's conference. It was such an interesting keynote.
Group photo as the 2022 class bid farewell and left with a box of Mithai (its Diwali tomorrow)
Dare to Grow
Takeaways from CAN conference
In Tordano Country
In Tornado country
Tornadoes twist and turn
Nature's fury unleashed
A dance of destruction
As homes and lives are breached
They roar across the land
Leaving a path of despair
In their wake, broken dreams
And a sense of overwhelming fear
But even as they devastate
They also have a strange allure
A force of nature's power
That we can't help but endure
So we watch with awe and fear
As tornadoes touch the ground
A reminder of the forces
That constantly swirl around
We can only stand in wonder
At their raw and primal might
And hope that we are spared
Their destructive flight
========
Today was very unnerving experience for sure.
Emergency Tornado Alert.Sat in basement with a helmet on. Channel 5 live updates said rotation part turned into "just" a thunderstorm before it hit our area. Still heavy rains and hail nearby.
Guess not making it to college autism summit session today.
Warning came as just about to leave, phones screeching with alert. Lucky was not on road.
College Autism Summit 2022
Headed there in a bit. Looking forward. https://collegeautismnetwork.org/
Changes in Big-5 during Pandemic
I always think of the exponential effects on autistics.
(https://view.info.apa.org/?qs=ab2c9530baf7a6ce1051f3f9254b1595fbcf171f4a81ad3eed135b5a5f2cec4508d1f4b727d406c0bea89be99e8df4a9ad7fee31eba4572980be2e27faddf3b287ffdd23c1cb6fc2f324d4ab0e197f72)
Friendships in Autism Adulthood.
"In 1990, only 3 percent of Americans said they had no close friends; in 2021, nearly 12 percent said the same. The United States is in the grips of a loneliness crisis that predates the Covid pandemic."
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/01/well/live/how-to-make-friends-adult.html
If this is state for NTs, imagine the situation for autistics who generally have little - no friends through childhood.
However, some of the suggested ways to making friends is hardly the easiest for autistics either - "You really have to try and put yourself out there."245 years to get to Indigenous Peoples' Day
Reflecting below on an assignment done on Zitkala-Sa for American Literature back in Grade 10 and an essay on Black Elk Speaks for my American Indian Ethnic Studies course a few years back.
(Grade 10 assignment)
Zitkala-Sa’s recollection is a poignant account of the conflict and clash between two cultures and the frustration of ending up in a no-man’s land. She is a young Indian girl who is taken away to be assimilated into the white society; by teaching her the mannerisms and customs of the white race. The problem with assimilation seems to be an all-or-nothing attitude by the teachers. She is forced to forsake her own native customs and language (including cutting her hair) and then told to go live on the reservation. So she can never be fully Indian. Even her own mother is not able to relate to her and vice versa. Yet the color of her skin will always make her a second class citizen in the white community. She will never get full acceptance there either. She may have won the speaking contest, yet every time she goes to a new place it would be like starting over with the new set of audience. She would have to prove herself over and over again. The reader is profoundly affected by the stark realism and detail of her experiences in her narrative. The reader journeys with her on her loss of innocence - “ we had been very impatient to start our journey...” (207) to a dissatisfied state of bewilderment - “The little taste of victory in my heart, did not satisfy a hunger in my heart.”(221).
The story has all the elements of realism. It is devoid of emotionalism or melodrama. The events are presented in a very matter of fact way. “Their mothers, instead of reproving them such rude curiosity, looked closely at me, and attracted their children’s attention further to my blanket.”(208). At each stage there is another grim reality to be faced. There are outside forces (the assimilation process) and events that affect that affect her at every turn.