• 18 Posts
  • 465 Comments
Joined 2 years ago
cake
Cake day: July 9th, 2023

help-circle








  • I read some piece of advice a while back (on lemmy I think) about when to talk, “Does it need said? Does it need said right now? Does it need said by you?” and it really stuck with me.

    I’m definitely a talker, and my friends and family will talk all day. But I know my partner can find it a bit much, so having a basic rule has been surprisingly helpful. I might want to tell him about the intresting thing that I read, but does he really want to hear that? We might need to talk about something important but stressful, maybe bringing it up just before bed isn’t the best idea?

    It is all pretty obvious stuff, but I spent three decades only really spending time with people who talked all the time too. I didn’t need to worry about bringing something up at the wrong time, because if I did, they would immediately say “oh I don’t want to talk about that because…” and explain or change the subject. I didn’t worry about a conversation being uninteresting, because if it was we’d quickly tangent into something that worked for us both.


  • I don’t think it’s very common, partners and flatmates have definitely (and understandably) been frustrated. When I was younger and used to smoke, my friends would be horrified that I wouldn’t tap ash into the an ashtray, but just into the floor or couch I was sitting on. It wasn’t intentional, I don’t like getting ash over myself (or having to pick up envelopes, or find socks scattered over the house) but if I was occupied by a conversation or even just thinking about something, it would happen without my noticing.

    But to be fair, I have adhd, so I’ve got a bunch of issues around attention and impulse control. It’s a tiresome habit, and I’m definitely not condoning it. I’m just so glad that I don’t act like that outside my home. There I’m just normal levels of thoughtless, like forgetting to use coasters.


  • Not to justify littering in the slightest (it’s gross and I don’t do it) but I think I can give you an insight in some of the thinking. Because in my own home, I frequently and unthinkingly ‘litter’ even though it annoys me! I open an envelope and read the letter, unconsciously dropping the envelope on the floor. I constantly find empty food packaging in weird places because as soon as I’m done with it I just drop it.

    Fortunately I don’t do this in public because I’m always more aware of my actions when I’m out of my own space. But within my home, if I’m doing something while focusing on something else I’m prone to abandoning things carelessly, and when I find them latter I’ll be mad at having to tidy up after myself. So, maybe some folks are like that in public? Also, some folks consciously and shamelessly litter, and there’s really no excuse.





    • 25-30 living with a flatmate, seeing friends and being sociable & fun all the time, probably 6 days a week on average.

    • In my 30s, living alone, having a longer commute and more responsible job, still made the effort to see different friends, with something bigger (dinner or game night) once a week. So seeing folks 3 / 7 days.

    • 40s moved with partner to a different country. So now it’s seeing friends 4 times a year when I go home, and another 2 or 3 times when they come visit. Definitely less than I’m happy with, and sometimes it’s a source of frustration, but it’s mostly OK. It’s nice having the different experience of having a friend stay for a week, feels a little like being a teen when friends would sleep over.

    I need to improve my language skills so I can spend time with my partners friends here. But because of demands of life, work, renovations, etc I think that even if my friends lived around, it would be closer to once/twice a week. Also, it’s worth noting that as well as having lots of good friends who enjoy spending time with each other, I’m lucky to have lots of friends without kids or busy careers. One of my closest friends has both those things, and we really struggle to even fit a videocall in. But my autistic crafter buddy is good for a chat and a cup of tea anytime.