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    • Spectrum & Cycles

    Chronicles from an atypical mind — Unfiltered and unapologetic

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    Bipolar disorder Journal

    Caught in the rapid cycling of bipolar disorder

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    I wrote many of the articles on this blog within just a few days. A month earlier, I had written two books in under two weeks. Before that, in March 2025, I experienced an incredibly stimulating period where I was socializing from morning to night during a ski trip. In January — the same pattern. The common thread? Each time, these were hypomanic episodes that systematically escalated into full manic episodes. After a chaotic and eventful Season 28, Season 29 isn’t starting well: in the September episode, my psychiatrist confirmed that I had entered rapid cycling.

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    Autism

    My stims and stereotypies (and what they are)

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    Stereotypies are those movements or sounds that may look like tics to someone unfamiliar with autism. Yet they are very different — both in how they appear and in what purpose they serve. They are regular, repetitive, rhythmic, and seemingly without purpose. Seemingly is the key word. In reality, they play a role in sensory and emotional regulation. In short, they are essential to the life of an autistic person. In autistic communities, we often use the term stim. It’s the autistic version of the word stereotypy, which is more clinical and carries a negative connotation.

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    Journal Neurodiversity

    New: a glossary of autistic jargon

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    When talking about autism, we often use terms that don’t usually appear in everyday language. Most of them aren’t even defined in dictionaries. Within the autistic community, these words make communication easier — they give language to experiences that otherwise have no name. However, this vocabulary can seem confusing or obscure to non-autistic people, as well as to autistic individuals who are undiagnosed or newly diagnosed.

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    Autism

    The invisible senses

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    I’ve already talked about the five main senses (hearing, sight, touch, smell, taste), but the human body has several others — most notably four: the vestibular system, proprioception, nociception, and thermoception. The last one you know well: it’s the reason you turn into an ice cube in winter and a boiling pot in summer. In autistic people, these senses are often altered in the same way as the five primary ones. Yet these so-called invisible senses shape our everyday experience. When they are atypical — as is often the case in autism — they can turn ordinary situations into a full emotional and sensory rollercoaster.

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    À la une Autism

    My disrupted sensory world: caught between too much and not enough

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    One of my oldest memories is watching tiny floating dust particles in the light of my bedroom window. That sight fascinated me. And yet, for most of my life, my sensory sensitivities have been my greatest struggle. They were the main trigger for my autistic meltdowns. When I experienced my first autistic burnout, my sensory hypersensitivities intensified to the point where I described them as “broken.” Things that used to bother me mildly — or things I had adapted to — suddenly became unbearable. Since sensory sensitivities are a core part of the diagnostic criteria and a major aspect of autistic life, it feels important to explain them and share my experience.

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    Autism

    My rituals (and what they are)

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    After explaining routines and talking about my own, it’s clear that I need to turn my attention to rituals. Rituals, like routines, transform a world perceived as unpredictable into something stable and manageable. To recap, the key difference between these two concepts is that a routine is a sequence of regular, organized actions or gestures, while a ritual carries symbolic, emotional, or identity-related meaning.

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    Autism

    My routines (and what they are)

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    Routines are part of the diagnostic criteria for ASD—autism. They involve sequences of repetitive actions, gestures, or behaviors. Behind this somewhat dull medical criterion lies a daily reality for many autistic people who experience it in a much more vivid way. Each repeated gesture is in fact a compass for the autistic person, guiding their day. Routines provide them with structure and organization.

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    Autism

    My special interests (and what they are)

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    In life, I have several major special interests. Two of them are very old, one probably dating back to my childhood. But what is a special interest? The correct term to define it is “restricted interests.” The term is rarely used because it implies that autistic people are not interested in much. Special interests are the equivalent of a passion in a allistic person (non-autistic person, see Glossary). The difference lies in their intensity, their pervasiveness, and the role they play.

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