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

• Beany Brain: loving our jumping-bean brains!

  • Welcome to this issue of the Beany Brain! I hope t …

• They’re Simplifyin’ (to the tune of “You’re the On …

  • What the heck…

    • Yeehawesome!

  • Wonderful Wednesday

  • Today’s Beany-full Summary:

They’re Simplifyin’ (to the tune of “You’re the One That I Want” from “Grease”)

(Oooh, oooh, oooh, honey!)

A friend of mine recently shared this Apartment Therapy article about clutter and dopamine menus.

I’d heard of dopamine menus before, but here’s an explanation from the above article:

If you’re neurodivergent, you might have a dopamine imbalance, which can lead to either seeking too much input or might lead to decreased motivation and energy. An imbalance can affect impulsivity, inability to focus, and even difficulty making decisions. I can relate to all of that.

Back to the article about dopamine menus (written for neurotypical people but we can adapt it as needed).

What do you do when you want to declutter and simplify but you also crave buying stuff? As someone with ADHD it’s easy to get distracted and end up collecting stuff and dust instead of simply simplifying.

They recommend going to your dopamine menu whenever you feel ooohed and aaahed by shiny new objects over there instead of keeping what’s here under control.

How do you make a dopamine menu?

I’ve taken a couple of their ideas to incorporate here and added in some of my own:

1. Get rid of old charging cords. See the above photo? That curry bag is full of various cords, all tangled up, so I went through it with my boys yesterday and we recycled 5 or 6 that we don’t need. There was even an old cord for Apple products, and none of us has ever had an Apple anything. Ha! The rest I untangled and then put the very short cords into a Ziploc bag inside the bag.

2. Clean out my purse and wallet.

3. Go through the baskets on our bookshelves.

4. Clean out under the kitchen sink.

5. Go through our shelf-stable foods and throw away the expired stuff.

6. Exterminate the two or three piles of papers and projects I have.

7. Plan another book swap in the fall.

8. Use our board games more. Starting tonight after dinner! Dust each box as we take it down to play.

9. I have a list of recipes I’ve adapted or developed that I want to post on my food blog, Mamatouille. I need to write them up and get them out there, which helps others who search for gluten- and dairy-free food and helps me when I need to make one of the recipes again.

10. Make the embroidery kits that I have before buying more.

What would your dopamine menu have on it?

Hey, dopamine! Hit me, baby!

What the heck…

…Can I do?

I’m sure out of all of my readers there are varying political opinions among you. And you’re from different countries too.

Honestly, personally, I think just on inauguration day itself in the US (January 20) I felt like I went through every.single.stage.of.grief.

No matter how you’re feeling today, whether it’s connected to politics or personal stuff or where politics and personal stuff intersect, do you ever wonder what the heck can I do?

When you feel stuck?

I mean really, what next step do I need to take?

Similar to the dopamine menu above, maybe today I need a WTH (what the heck) menu.

If you’re neurodivergent, maybe your menu might look different than a neurotypical person’s list.

Maybe you need to do some sensory avoidance. Or some sensory seeking.

I’ve brainstormed (because my brain is particularly stormy at the moment), and I’ve come up with my own personal…

WTH Menu

• Walk and pick up trash. This always makes the world seem a little bit more liveable and doable. (Yes, there is trash floating around in Japan. Hard to believe, but yes.)

• Email or call pertinent people (senators, representatives, governors) for whatever issue is weighing on my heart. For me, this is usually about the death penalty (although not always).

• Write thank-yous, a real snail-mail letter or postcard, to folks who have gone above and beyond. I’m sending a postcard today to former North Carolina governor Roy Cooper to say thank you for commuting the death sentences of 15 folks on death row in that state before he left office recently.

• Stop and chat with a neighbor.

• Hug those around me (but not Japanese people if they are not close friends and aren’t used to that—don’t want to scare anyone).

• Pray using cuss words if needed. God can handle it. I don’t cuss at God but he knows my heart and knows when I’m overly frustrated and upset and scared.

• Allow myself time and grace to watch cute videos on my phone. Sometimes I just need to see a dog running and jumping into a pile or leaves or a cat molding itself into a glass jar or my friend’s tiny dog Cookie bounding through the snow.

• Read.

• Latch hook. It’s repetitive and meditative.

• Remind myself that I have a voice and I have choices.

What would your WTH Menu look like? (I’m sure nobody’s would ever involve chocolate. As if.)

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?

1. A charity for young people in Sheffield, UK, that helps autistic folks with support for taking the next steps: Autism Plus SEND Youth Hub Programme. It’s one of only two in the UK that helps young autistic people “progress towards education, volunteering, or employment.” Excellent work!

2. Shadows: I’ve been on the hunt for them recently and what I’ve come to realize is that there are no shadows outside without sunlight and no shadows inside without electric lights (or a candle, I suppose). I’m grateful for shadows, and being on the constant lookout for them is fun.

3. Cups of hot tea. It’s snowing outside this week (possibly a large amount of snow between February 4 and 10), and having a steaming cup of Rooibos or lemon-ginger or green or just good old plain black tea makes my happiness and contentment meters shoot up.

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.

Today’s Beany-full Summary:

• A dopamine menu can help you feel more balanced. Adapt as necessary for your specific needs and supports.

• A WTH (what the heck) Menu can provide impetus when you’re feeling stuck. This is a Beany Brain original, folks.

• 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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