Great to chat, Thomas! (For those who don't know; I was on a phonecall (yep, a phonecall!) with Thomas - and he did a great job getting this to work live. Next time, I'll record locally - we totally need to do this again!). Thanks for having me! -Mike
I have three little dogs and two cats,and when I fractured my foot in February I was concerned that I wouldn’t be able to take care of them, but I managed. Feeding, watering, changing puppy pads and cat litter became my main focus. Maybe having those responsibilities helped me heal faster. I don’t know, but I’m grateful I have them, and they seem very happy to have me.
Excellent content, thank you Thomas and Mike. For me, dogs are essential in my life. I've had dogs (and succession planned them) for over 35 years now - my dogs keep me regulated, keep me in a routine, daily bring me deep contentment, and have saved my life because I have to keep going for them. I'm fortunate to have them with me 24/7 - sorry Thomas, but I can't sleep without a dog stretched out and pressed up against my back with his/her head on the pillow; the warmth, pressure and weight is a kernel of life. I don't mind when they snore or breathe in my ear, but if I hear a human snoring the dogs and I go and sleep in a huddle together on the sofa 😄 However, one thing I can't bear is slobbery dogs so I have whippets and lurchers because they have watertight mouths, and watching them run at warp speed is another deep joy for me 🥰
My last cat was an official emotional support animal. It just meant that she could live in the apartment that said I couldn't have her after I already had moved. Oops, I meant to post this on the main thread.
One downside of having an animal is when you are low income and the vet bills get too high. And this person got me to take her cat who was being bullied and wasn't honest about all the problems he had.
Me too and thank you for taking the poor little ham in , and one is enough to feel the benefits of their love. One kitty bean is better than no kitty bean :3 much peace and love to you both ❤
Have just started watching. Do you talk about birds? A bird flew in to my life a few years back and I ended up adopting him. But it’s been really challenging and actually the endeavor of trying to understand why it is so hard for me has been a main thing that has led me to discover the question of autism for myself.
@@ThomasHenley thanks for asking! You are very kind. Thank you for your channel too, I have learned so much from your content. The bird is a cockatiel, a small pray animal yet very intelligent.. so he needs constant protection and stimulation and companion being a flock animal. Birds require a very clean environment and there are lots of things that can harm or kill a birds. I find the constant vigilance to be exhausting. If he doesn’t have what he needs, he lets me know by movement and sound and flight all of which set off my nervous system (in a way that I realize now is not “typical”). I am highly empathetic to his needs! I do everything I can to keep him content and healthy and happy or else I am just utterly distracted and upset by his needs and desires. People say I am doing an amazing job! He rides around in a backpack with me… on walks, in the car, on the bike. And it can be amazing to see the world through his eyes, developing communication with him is amazing and when we are in sync, it’s a wonderful experience. People mostly do not see the immense sacrifice I am making as I do not show the crisis I feel I am in, as I am quite practiced at hiding my internal crisis. And I don’t want the bird to feel rejected. But yes, I realize that for ME, I need a lot of order and time and quiet surrounding my executive function. And the chaos of living with a wild animal in captivity sends me over the edge… at a time in my life when I have just come to feel that I have finally figured out how to manage important life functions for myself. I have managed to bring a fair amount of order in to place with him, but it doesn’t leave me much room to focus on where I would like to go in my life. It doesn’t leave me a lot of room to maintain and grow my human relationships. It doesn’t even leave me a lot of room to focus on and executes my daily living functions like preparing food and cleaning etc Trying to figure it all out occupies a huge amount of my mental energy… which I believe is part of the autistic trait… to continue to problem solve… I feel I need to be careful what problems I let in to my life to solve because I am not capable of turning off this aspect of my brain. Just as I am not capable of tuning out his constant communication. It’s this conclusion that I am not capable of changing these aspects of my brain and nervous system that makes me see them as autistic traits (once I started looking in to it). I have had dogs and cats in my life. I find them to be more than 100 times easier. Even so, I had happily resolved to be a non pet owner at least not on my own…I worry too much about them having a good life and I don’t feel I can ever measure up to give back what a dog gives, cats I find less difficult emotionally as they are more independent. In seeking physiological help to figure this out, I have been mostly met with professionals who react to the story of him coming in to my life (l ike most people do) as it being such a special gift and so sweet. It is… I see that side too. But for me. ME, the kind of individual I am and how my brain and nervous system works I am sorry to say it also feels like a curse. Hope I haven’t gone overboard with my answer. It is more nuanced than I can approach with a simple summary. Again really appreciate your work and thanks for caring.
@@ThomasHenley possible solutions are… get him a bird friend so that all the companionship and communication is not reliant on me. A lot to organize and take on and may not have the desired effect. Getting a babysitter would help but still a lot to organize and take on in closing financially. I truly work so hard just taking care of myself. I would still have to figure out how to focus in a space with birds who rely on me. Ugh I’m kinda in over my head. At least I’ve learned a lot along the way. Maybe I will find someone who can help me sort it all out. But what the big thing I’ve learned is, how much of a different experience this is for a person like me and that I think these qualities that I am referring to are described in the umbrella of “autistic traits”. It’s been useful to see it all/myself through that perspective.
@@ThomasHenley just finished watching the full conversation. Mike seems to really enjoy animal husbandry. I can relate to what he describes as far as scheduling goes. It’s very precise with me and the bird. It’s just extensive as far as a parrot’s needs go. I appreciate what he described as far as the meltdown goes and the dog who brought the love bagel. I soooo don’t want to stress my little guy out, and like Mike describes abo it feeling bad that he didn’t respond to the dogs loving gesture. Stuff like this really gets me. In a way, the bird has been great for lifting me out of bouts of depression… he simply will NOT allow me to wallow. But I really do cherish being able to wonder in thought and this is not possible without interruption for me during birdy waking hours . I raised chickens when was a kid, the. Neighbors always had roaming peacocks… they are outside fitting in to the environment, and like Mikes dogs and cats that can go in and out, they have some independence and sense of belonging. With a single parrot, that needs to be simulated by the keeper. I think most people just dont understand that their birds are unhappy, they keep them in their cages to scream away and frantically play with the “toys” in the cage and figure they are doing “bird stuff”. But if you start to listen to them and want to give them a good life, it’s quite a journey. Anyhow that was a great talk. Mike is amazing for helping all those animals. I was exhausted just hearing about it haha, glad it was him and not me And yet, here I am living with a parrot!! 🤪
Great to chat, Thomas! (For those who don't know; I was on a phonecall (yep, a phonecall!) with Thomas - and he did a great job getting this to work live. Next time, I'll record locally - we totally need to do this again!). Thanks for having me! -Mike
I have three little dogs and two cats,and when I fractured my foot in February I was concerned that I wouldn’t be able to take care of them, but I managed. Feeding, watering, changing puppy pads and cat litter became my main focus. Maybe having those responsibilities helped me heal faster. I don’t know, but I’m grateful I have them, and they seem very happy to have me.
Excellent content, thank you Thomas and Mike. For me, dogs are essential in my life. I've had dogs (and succession planned them) for over 35 years now - my dogs keep me regulated, keep me in a routine, daily bring me deep contentment, and have saved my life because I have to keep going for them. I'm fortunate to have them with me 24/7 - sorry Thomas, but I can't sleep without a dog stretched out and pressed up against my back with his/her head on the pillow; the warmth, pressure and weight is a kernel of life. I don't mind when they snore or breathe in my ear, but if I hear a human snoring the dogs and I go and sleep in a huddle together on the sofa 😄
However, one thing I can't bear is slobbery dogs so I have whippets and lurchers because they have watertight mouths, and watching them run at warp speed is another deep joy for me 🥰
My last cat was an official emotional support animal. It just meant that she could live in the apartment that said I couldn't have her after I already had moved.
Oops, I meant to post this on the main thread.
Love this topic and I love my cat and dog
One downside of having an animal is when you are low income and the vet bills get too high.
And this person got me to take her cat who was being bullied and wasn't honest about all the problems he had.
I can only handle one cat at once because my executive functioning is not good.
Me too and thank you for taking the poor little ham in , and one is enough to feel the benefits of their love. One kitty bean is better than no kitty bean :3 much peace and love to you both ❤
Have just started watching. Do you talk about birds? A bird flew in to my life a few years back and I ended up adopting him. But it’s been really challenging and actually the endeavor of trying to understand why it is so hard for me has been a main thing that has led me to discover the question of autism for myself.
We do talk a little about Mike’s peacocks! Is it executive functioning aspect that’s hard for you?
@@ThomasHenley thanks for asking! You are very kind. Thank you for your channel too, I have learned so much from your content.
The bird is a cockatiel, a small pray animal yet very intelligent.. so he needs constant protection and stimulation and companion being a flock animal. Birds require a very clean environment and there are lots of things that can harm or kill a birds. I find the constant vigilance to be exhausting. If he doesn’t have what he needs, he lets me know by movement and sound and flight all of which set off my nervous system (in a way that I realize now is not “typical”). I am highly empathetic to his needs! I do everything I can to keep him content and healthy and happy or else I am just utterly distracted and upset by his needs and desires.
People say I am doing an amazing job! He rides around in a backpack with me… on walks, in the car, on the bike. And it can be amazing to see the world through his eyes, developing communication with him is amazing and when we are in sync, it’s a wonderful experience. People mostly do not see the immense sacrifice I am making as I do not show the crisis I feel I am in, as I am quite practiced at hiding my internal crisis. And I don’t want the bird to feel rejected.
But yes, I realize that for ME, I need a lot of order and time and quiet surrounding my executive function. And the chaos of living with a wild animal in captivity sends me over the edge… at a time in my life when I have just come to feel that I have finally figured out how to manage important life functions for myself. I have managed to bring a fair amount of order in to place with him, but it doesn’t leave me much room to focus on where I would like to go in my life. It doesn’t leave me a lot of room to maintain and grow my human relationships. It doesn’t even leave me a lot of room to focus on and executes my daily living functions like preparing food and cleaning etc
Trying to figure it all out occupies a huge amount of my mental energy… which I believe is part of the autistic trait… to continue to problem solve… I feel I need to be careful what problems I let in to my life to solve because I am not capable of turning off this aspect of my brain. Just as I am not capable of tuning out his constant communication.
It’s this conclusion that I am not capable of changing these aspects of my brain and nervous system that makes me see them as autistic traits (once I started looking in to it).
I have had dogs and cats in my life. I find them to be more than 100 times easier. Even so, I had happily resolved to be a non pet owner at least not on my own…I worry too much about them having a good life and I don’t feel I can ever measure up to give back what a dog gives, cats I find less difficult emotionally as they are more independent.
In seeking physiological help to figure this out, I have been mostly met with professionals who react to the story of him coming in to my life (l ike most people do) as it being such a special gift and so sweet. It is… I see that side too. But for me. ME, the kind of individual I am and how my brain and nervous system works I am sorry to say it also feels like a curse.
Hope I haven’t gone overboard with my answer. It is more nuanced than I can approach with a simple summary.
Again really appreciate your work and thanks for caring.
@@ThomasHenley possible solutions are… get him a bird friend so that all the companionship and communication is not reliant on me. A lot to organize and take on and may not have the desired effect. Getting a babysitter would help but still a lot to organize and take on in closing financially. I truly work so hard just taking care of myself. I would still have to figure out how to focus in a space with birds who rely on me.
Ugh I’m kinda in over my head. At least I’ve learned a lot along the way. Maybe I will find someone who can help me sort it all out. But what the big thing I’ve learned is, how much of a different experience this is for a person like me and that I think these qualities that I am referring to are described in the umbrella of “autistic traits”. It’s been useful to see it all/myself through that perspective.
@@ThomasHenley just finished watching the full conversation. Mike seems to really enjoy animal husbandry. I can relate to what he describes as far as scheduling goes. It’s very precise with me and the bird. It’s just extensive as far as a parrot’s needs go. I appreciate what he described as far as the meltdown goes and the dog who brought the love bagel. I soooo don’t want to stress my little guy out, and like Mike describes abo it feeling bad that he didn’t respond to the dogs loving gesture. Stuff like this really gets me. In a way, the bird has been great for lifting me out of bouts of depression… he simply will NOT allow me to wallow. But I really do cherish being able to wonder in thought and this is not possible without interruption for me during birdy waking hours .
I raised chickens when was a kid, the. Neighbors always had roaming peacocks… they are outside fitting in to the environment, and like Mikes dogs and cats that can go in and out, they have some independence and sense of belonging. With a single parrot, that needs to be simulated by the keeper.
I think most people just dont understand that their birds are unhappy, they keep them in their cages to scream away and frantically play with the “toys” in the cage and figure they are doing “bird stuff”. But if you start to listen to them and want to give them a good life, it’s quite a journey.
Anyhow that was a great talk. Mike is amazing for helping all those animals. I was exhausted just hearing about it haha, glad it was him and not me And yet, here I am living with a parrot!! 🤪
Ohhhh. I have been studying Toxoplasma gondii for 25 years. About a third of humans are chronically infected.
And no it doesn't give you autism 😉
Maybe it contributes to children later contacting schizophrenia though. But I am not sure how good the studies are.
Where do you find the music playlist?
I wanted to watch this, but the audio on Mike's feed was so blown out and distorted, I couldn't listen. 😢 I'll read the transcript. ❤
I’m so sorry about this, I’ll defo try work out something else for my next pod :)
@@ThomasHenley Thanks. You're tops. 😀