Anxiety Poem

Here is a poem I wrote about anxiety that I feel I should share with my readers:

Anxiety: By Ryan Comins

Irrational Fear

Grips me at

The times where

I am most vulnerable.

When I am anxious

It is at these times

When my decisions

Seem irrelevant

My accomplishments

Seem null.

Everything I am

Is dictated by my fears

My feelings

Determine all

Such are the challenges

Of anxiety.

*I reserve all rights to this poem.  Although, anyone familiar with poetry knows that trying to sell it is no quick and easy way to make money.  It is done through passion or not at all.  

How Sensory Overload Feels to Me

My job at the grocery story was particularly challenging this past Sunday.  The workday started out alright enough; I was talkative and even joked around with friends and coworkers.  However, as the day went on, I began to have sensory issues, even though I did not recognize them for what they were at first.  Over my lifetime, I have tried to find reasons for the sensations that accompanied sensory overload.  I've tried to tell people that I was just tired, I had a headache, things like that.  My most recent reasoning for sensory overload was that I was empathetic and was reading the emotions of others.  Finally, I have not only identified when I am having a sensory overload, I can also describe how it feels.  It is sort of like a hard, pressing feeling in my head that came in waves and becomes increasingly painful.  This is what it feels like for me to have a sensory overload.

Dennis Leary Autistic Statement Response

I have never been particularly fond of practical jokes.  I personally prefer slapstick comedy like "The Three Stooges," or "America's Funniest Home Videos," or even "World's Dumbest Drivers."  However, in my experience, practical jokes are normally someone laughing at my expense.  I just never know how to react.

Recently, actor Dennis Leary made comments in his book about autism that has greatly offended many parents of autistic children as a joke.  Now, Leary is a good actor.  I particularly like the character "Diego" from the "Ice Age" franchise.  It won't stop me from seeing the new "Ice Age" movie. However, I can honestly say that I was offended by his statements that blamed parents for the behavior of their autistic children and stating that autistic kids are just "lazy" or "stupid."

That really irks me to no end.  I may have had difficulties in my own past where even I considered myself stupid, but in five months I will graduate from college with a Bachelor of Science and a 3.3 GPA.  If that is considered "stupid" then we really need to rethink our priorities as a society.  Jokes are supposed to be funny. Comparing stupid or lazy people to those many people on the spectrum is a very poor excuse for a joke, in my opinion.

To read the article about Leary's comments made in his book, click here.