An Unravelling, a book proposal and a baby koala

A visual update from The Autistic Perimenopause due to her temporary regression

G’day mates,

I am coming to you today from Sydney, Australia! What a beautiful city!

If you read to the end, you will see the photo of a baby koala taken at Taronga Zoo!

NB: I only took the photo, I did not take the baby koala, tempting though it was! 🐨

Here’s my Mum and I at the Sydney Harbour Bridge!

And at Sydney Opera House!

Yes, I am here with my Mum - and one of my kids - trying to both see the sights and stay regulated, which is pretty much a contradiction and near impossible ask.

Thus sensory overload is on the rise for me. This morning I messed up big time by accidentally taking my usual sleeping pill twelve hours too soon, chased down with my daily low dose SSRI, my ADHD stimulant tablet and two freakishly large barista-brewed coffees.

What a ride!

I am now coming down just in time to take some melatonin and put myself to bed…

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Book Proposal course!

In other exciting news, my book proposal group course is in its third week of eight.

Please know that it is very hard to write in full sentences when you have completely ruined your usual meds regimen. So this evening, in lieu of completing my literary homework, I created a visual representation of the ways in which my autistic and neurodivergent perimenopause has unravelled. Unravelled like a ball of wool. The most irksome scratchy ball of wool imaginable. A ball of wool that causes caustic burns when you touch it, and hives develop from your being so exceptionally allergic to it. It is a burden to have to unravel such a material, and yet so many of us have had to untangle the mess of menopausal midlife alongside late diagnoses of neurodivergence. This is the fun topic of my future book, ha ha!

May I present to you, ‘Neurodivergent Menopause: An Unravelling….‘:

Basically, it is a list of all the ways I have been fucked over so far by auti peri. Once it was all bound up tightly, then as I managed to take hold of a loose end, I unravelled the symptoms and found “anxiety… autism…skill regressions… Neurodivergent Menopause”.

The Unravelling symptoms list includes:

Broken social mask

Memory loss

Depression

Fatigue

Raw vagina

OCD

Paranoia

Heavy bleeds

Failing at life

Joint pain

Weight gain

Meno belly

No focus

Suicidal thoughts

Loss of will

Scared and alone

Meltdowns

Trapped

C-PTSD

Can’t read anymore

Breast pain

Headaches

Relationship breakdowns

Alone

Intergenerational trauma

RSD

Irritability

Hairy face

Vaginal atrophy

Hot flushes

PMDD

Anxiety

B.O.

Disordered eating

Alcohol intolerance

Early onset dementia?

Gum graft

Can’t cook meals

Iron deficient

Progesterone intolerance

Aging parents

Night sweats

IBS

Lack of libido

Apathy

Regressions

Bloating

Parentiy

The Rage

Dry eyes

Hair loss

Sensory overlood

Skin crawling

Medical misogyny

Dizziness

Inertia

Broken

Lost

Too hot

Aggression

Decision fatigue

Tics

Drowning

Internalised ableism

Thickened endometrium

Impending sense of doom

Grief

Too loud

Shutdowns

Insulin resistance

Isolated

Bladder urgency

Palpitations

Menstrual cramps

Too late

Can't drive at night

Panic

Inertia

Increased support needs

Sensory hypersensitivities

Skill regressions

Regression in social communication

We see all those lists of typical menopause symptoms, but do you think they refelect the breadth of symptoms experienced by those of us in atypical, autistic and/or ADHD menopause transition?

I don’t and I think we should start our own list!

What would you add to the neurodivergent menopause symptom checklist?

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Lastly - because I think I am well and truly done for the day… Here are some Aussie holiday photos!

Can you spot the baby koala?

Aussie highlights!

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One more thing - this is super autistic of me and I know y’all are down for it. Yes, the bridge, the opera house and the Aussie animals are great.

But check out the interior of Sydney Opera House, that pattern and geometry are to die for! ⬇️ 😻

What a hypnotic interior design. Incredible!

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I hope you are enjoying The Auti Peri Q&A series! I am so excited and honoured to be sharing the stories of other people’s autistic menopausal transitions with you!

This week was the turn of Audhdpainter! The comments section is prolific and so full of wisdom and insight. I would recommend you check it out if you haven’t already.

Please reach out to me if you would like to participate in the series. I would love to share your story!

Thanks for reading, I look forward to chatting with you in the comments section 💕

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Fun fact: The Autistic Perimenopause: A Temporary Regression is fuelled by caffeine. If you would like to buy me a coffee, the button above will take you to my page. Thank you! ☕️

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