Guest guest Posted March 6, 2004 Report Share Posted March 6, 2004 Norah wrote: >Is inertia one of the symptoms of an ASD? I have seen it mentioned on some >message boards by some people who experience it, but don't know if any >research has been done into it. I don't remember seeing it on any list of >symptoms. We just haven't been able to get ourselves around to putting it there. [end humor] Actually, I suspect that inertia is so much a from-the- inside thing (experienced rather than observable) that the 'experts' who make the diagnostic-criteria lists haven't recognized it yet. Either that or they lump it in as part of executive dysfunction. Jane Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 6, 2004 Report Share Posted March 6, 2004 Norah wrote: > Is it like procrastination? I'm trying to figure out > if I have it or not. I procrastinate a lot. Does it > come from fear or overload or....? Hmmm, procrastination. Sometimes I procrastinate because a job seems too large or difficult to do; it isn't clear where I should start, and so is overwhelming. Other times, it's something that I'm supposed to care about, but actually don't, and so it's not on my list of priorities. And then I avoid some jobs because there are other things I'd rather be doing, or I'd rather just veg out watching TV. There are times when I realize that I don't have the energy to accomplish what- ever the hell it is, and times when I realize I'm just a lazy SOB. ;-) Clay, who really should vacuum - tomorrow... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 6, 2004 Report Share Posted March 6, 2004 Norah wrote: >Is it like procrastination? I'm trying to figure out if I have it or not. >I procrastinate a lot. Does it come from fear or overload or....? As far as how I experience it, it doesn't " come from, " it just is. But maybe that's just myopia on my part. Inertia is...the same as in physics, I think. An object (me) at rest tends to remain at rest. Or if in motion, tends to remain in motion (barring the effecs of friction). Changing from doing nothing to doing something (anything) takes effort. Being inwardly motivated helps a lot, often (but not always), to get me over the hurdle between the state of being (not doing) and the state of beginning-to-do (whatever). It can be much harder to overcome inertial if I am facing some chore for which I have no inward motivation or interest. It's not a conscious process like procrastination, though procrastination-ideation may come into it in time. If I have got as far as trying to start to overcome inertia, I may employ procrastination (coming up with reasons for delay) in order to persuade the guilt-tripping part of my brain that it's really okay for me not to start yet. Sometimes I use a computer game (Solitaire or jigsaw puzzles on the web) at work as a mechanism for procrastination if I am having a lot of trouble with inertia. It's not safe for me to " do nothing " when I am in my office. So if I am stuck due to inertia and unable to do what I should be doing. I engage myself in a silly (but for me " addictive " ) game that both makes me look (to passers-by)like I'm doing soemthing and slo keeps me from being discovered in a state of non-beingness if anyone should enter the room. Somebody has weritten about inertia and put it on the web. Kalen? ? Can't remember. Sorry. For me (and I know this is not " universal " among autistics), putting many everyday tasks (e.g., tooth brushing) into fixed routines is one way to keep inertia from becoming disabling (to keep it, that is, from turning me into a person who would be perceived as not capable of living on her own). Jane Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 6, 2004 Report Share Posted March 6, 2004 wrote: >inertia >I find that I can give my self inertia by begrudgingly remembering the >stupid cliche Reebok ad " Just Do it " (I hate cliches, but anger is also a >driving force)... >I get the saying in my head and get slowly moving forward and another >cliche pops in from a claymation Christmas tale (I don't kid you- " Put >one foot in front of the other... " ) Sometimes I can kick myself into doing something if I catch msyelf at just the right time and say, " Don't be lazy. " Blame (self-blame, in this case) can be a useful goad, even when it has no foundation in reality. Jane Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 6, 2004 Report Share Posted March 6, 2004 --- In AutisticSpectrumTreeHouse , Jane Meyerding <jmeyerding@s... > Somebody has weritten about inertia and put it on > the web. Kalen? ? Can't remember. Sorry. It is my friend , although Kalen wrote something on it on Usenet I think. http://www.autistics.org/library/inertia.html Be aware that she is writing an addendum in which she states her belief that it really *was* a form of laziness, but that she just hadn't identified " try " correctly. I don't agree with the idea that that would be universal, so I am hoping she allows the original article to remain up with the addendum attached. But she is getting annoyed at the degree of circulation her inertia article is getting because she now thinks it would give lazy people more excuses, so I am putting this disclaimer on it despite thinking that it is useful and that many people with inertia are not lazy and do not have bad character. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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