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Beany Brain Newsletter #24: Book 'Em, Danno
Abigail Munday
January 14, 2025
Beany Brain: loving our jumping-bean brains!
Welcome to this issue of the Beany Brain! I hope today’s newsletter will bounce us up as we contemplate the upsides and challenges of being neurodivergent, a little beauty, some creativity, and just general yeehawesomeness.
Table of Contents
Photo by Abigail Munday
Bookish
“Abigail!”
“Abigail!”
“Abigail!”
“Mom!”
“Mom!”
“Mom!”
Even though I am autistic and ADHD, I don’t have a lot of hyperfixations.
Books though. Definitely books.
And sometimes people can’t even get my attention when I’ve got my nose in one.
I don’t hear them.
I don’t hear my name.
My ENT says my hearing is “OK for someone of that age.” (Hmmm. Thanks, I guess.)
If for some reason reading doesn’t interest you or you don’t see the point, here are 7 reasons that reading is good for you.
(Reading challenges such as dyslexia are another subject altogether.)
I’ve probably mentioned one of my favorite podcasts, Happier with Gretchen Rubin. Every year she and her sister Elizabeth, who co-hosts, set a new challenge for the new year, and this year it’s #Read25in25. In other words, read at least 25 minutes each day in 2025.
I don’t know how I missed The Incredible Journey as a kid, but so far in 2025 I’ve read that one, The Prophet by Khalil Gibran, and How the Grinch Stole Christmas! I’m currently working through Uprooted, a fantasy novel, and I have these lined up: Remembering (a novel by Wendell Berry); Food for All Our Tomorrows: Poems on Seed, Soil, and Sustainability; The Gift of Gab by Randall Ivey; Learning To Walk in the Dark by Barbara Brown Taylor; and The Stationery Shop of Tehran by Marjan Kamali (this last one was recommended by both of my parents).
Reading, for me, helps:
my mental health
keep me regulated
my imagination
my writing
my curiosity
What are you reading? What do books do for you? Would you like to join the #Read25in25 challenge with me?
Slow Simple Season
Garden of Bright Images; Artist Florence Fuller
www.belcastroagency.com
@fiercereads
Yo_Runner
Alison Wearing
Photo by Abigail Munday
Curiosity > Anxiety
Reading sparks my curiosity, which is a good thing to help combat my anxiety.
According to Dr. Jud Brewer in an article in Psychology Today:
Studying addiction in the brain led Brewer to a profound insight: Anxiety could be driven as a habit by triggering worry as a mental behavior. Moreover, the inner tool that could help break this pernicious habit is not mighty willpower but humble curiosity. Brewer calls curiosity a superpower based on its far-from-humble effect on our psychology.
Did you know that anxiety is a common comorbidity with autism?
I’ve noticed that when I get curious about something, or work on a creative project, I suddenly don’t have the extra bandwidth to harbor the anxiety in my brain/body.
Dr. Brewer says the first step to breaking anxiety is to notice it.
And that’s the hardest part for me. When I get in a negative loop, it’s hard for me to realize what’s happening. I feel icky and don’t know why.
Dr. Brewer says:
To break this cycle, ask yourself, “What am I getting from this behavior?” Don’t think intellectually about the answer. Rather, feel it in your direct experience. Worrying doesn’t feel good. And it doesn’t solve the problem because if the problem were solved, we would stop worrying. We have to see clearly that the behavior is not actually helping. In fact, it’s making things worse—we get tightened into a contracted ball of anxiety. When our brains perceive the behavior (worrying) as not actually rewarding, we start becoming disenchanted with it.
Disenchanted.
That’s what I want: to be disenchanted with worry/fear/anxiety, and to be enchanted with interesting aspects of life around me.
This is how he says to remember to be curious and to form it into a habit:
Knowing about curiosity intellectually will not turn it into a habit. We have to experience how good it feels to be curious. To form a habit, repeat a behavior over and over again. Short moments, many times.
Anytime we notice that we’re naturally curious and how helpful it is to be curious, reflecting on it can grow its reward value. We can also practice curiosity throughout the day. For example, when we’re in a conversation, we can explore, “Am I actually interested in what the other person is saying? Or am I already planning my response?”
As soon as we start comparing those two things, our brains are going to weigh curiosity as the bigger, better offer. Curiosity feels better than judging or waiting for our turn to jump in. When we start noticing the joy and ease that emerges from expanded mental states, such as curiosity, kindness, and connection, in the moment, we’ll grow them as habits.
Curiosity killed the anxiety! (My hope. Time to keep practicing.)
The New Yorker: Adam Douglas Thompson
Yeehawesome!
Yeehawesome! is a happy-brain roundup in each issue of Beany Brain. What’s happening that’s good in brain land? What’s bringing me joy?
Tea. Good ol’ tea. Almost any variety is OK by me. Just don’t put sugar or milk in it.
An easy way to lower your stress: humming. It stimulates the vagus nerve, slows your breathing, and gets your heart rhythm happier. Watch a short video on the BBC here. I’ve been trying it so I’ll let you know how it goes.
The results of the Humble Pie survey are in. The question last week was “What flavor is humble pie?” and the 5 responses are as follows (1 vote for each):
sour cherries
poop
dog food
fermented soybeans (natto)
and an “other” response that is a quote from the British TV show Fawlty Towers that I can’t repeat here because it would need a trigger warning!
Beany Brownie Points and Extra Bonus Funniness
Wonderful Wednesday
Wonderful Wednesday was a day once a year in college when they would suddenly and surprisingly call off all classes and we’d play all day. The cafeteria provided special fun food and we’d do stuff outside like slip ‘n slides and jello wrestling in sumo suits. This segment of Beany Brain is dedicated to that memory of silliness and fun—no words, just a photo from the week that I’ve taken or found that reminds me to let the joy in. Since Beany Brain is published on Wednesday every week (at least, Wednesday in Japan), I hope you enjoy this Wonderful Wednesday.
Photo by Abigail Munday
Today’s Beany-full Summary:
Books are fantastic—for lots of reasons.
Practicing the habit of curiosity can help break the habit of worrying.
Go forth in Beany joy. What will help you feel yeehawesome this week?
Thank you for reading this installment of Beany Brain! You’re very welcome to hop on by any old time.
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