I knew how to take care of myself better than other people knew how to take care of me. I made my own rules all the time, in almost everything. I didn’t understand neurotypical rules. Too often they didn’t make sense. They wouldn’t protect me. I didn’t feel like they applied to me. I would never have survived just following neurotypical rules. The same way a black person coming from a plantation wouldn’t have survived following white people’s rules. But my rules weren’t necessarily the best ones to follow in a relationship. For example, my rules said disconnect the minute I’m overwhelmed. Stop
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