Pressing Puzzles

I realize Christmas is coming and coming soon. I've always heard that Christmas time is one the most depressing times in the whole year! I have no numbers or articles to back this statement, but I think we can agree that depression can run really high during this time of the year. As everyone else, I've always heard about it and I thought I understood it, but I think in some way I really didn't. I could recall on several occasions as a teacher when I felt 'down' and disheartened, but I wouldn't call being it being depressed. Before I even knew that I had Asperger's, I probably assumed I was in a chronic state of being depressed, but I can honestly say that was never the case. There were many times when I was highly stressed, but not depressed. At this point it would be a good idea to see how the Webster Dictionary defines ‘depression’:   a serious medical condition in which a person feels very sad, hopeless, and unimportant and often is unable to live in a ...

This topic is a great combination of several previous posting I have written, everything from #12 Temper, #18 Money, #20 Stress, #30 Failure, and #52 The Blues. So how is this different than the rest? Frustration is the catalyst of all of these problems. I got to thinking about what ties these all together because if I am ever to overcome these issues, I really have to get a handle on the frustration I get when it comes to all of these problems. I don't usually use dictionary terms to define my topic for the blog but, here's the Merriam-Webster definition:   a deep chronic sense or state of insecurity and dissatisfaction arising from unresolved problems or unfulfilled needs . As you notice from the postings that I mentioned a minute ago, all of these can be filled right into that definition. I think the word that bothers me the most in the definition has to be "chronic". I never would have thought that 'frustration' would be a chronic condition. The definitio...

As I hope you've been able to read, I have had a difficult time with being able to function 'normally' in this world as an adult with Asperger's Syndrome. Some of the hardest things I have had to work through are the way I do things. Earlier I have discussed my thinking pattern, my dealing with other people and so on, but here I want to address the simple and complex way I do things like from driving a car to teaching a class; I don't always do it the same way most other people might perform the task. Everyone has an opinion on the best way to do certain tasks and in all fairness, the logic can be very sound, but when you have Asperger's, logic has a way of getting twisted. One of my wife's biggest pet peeves is how I generally drive a car. Technically you would use one foot to drive (unless you drive a stick shift). I however drive with two feet. Can I drive with one foot? Yes, I can easily drive with one foot, but there are times when I'm really pay...

S-T-R-E-S-S, this I believe is something that keeps building and getting worse every single year. In some cases, this is a beneficial thing because I don't think I could've finished any college paper or something for work without it. There are many times when I wished I did things a little sooner than the 'last minute'. My bad habit though seems to get the best of me because without the stress of getting something done on time, it may never happen. I try to put self-imposed deadlines for all my work and there are times when it works, but not all the time. A recent article talked about stress in the work place, it talks about how you look at your own approach to the job and how you should adapt to the changes that take place. The problem with this idea is that change is very difficult for me with my Asperger’s. It goes on to suggest that I "gain control" and "get physical" which all sound great, but I'm in a job ( teaching ) were control is a  c...