Lots of neurodivergent people don’t have as clear signals as neurotypical people do. Some ADHD people, like me, don’t get the urge to eat. Even before getting diagnosed and medicated, I only really know it’s time to eat if I start feeling shaky.
I also don’t typically feel thirsty, but eventually my mouth will get dry or I’ll see my water bottle and think “ah yeah I should probably drink something”
I’d imagine lots of people have varying degrees of how strong their bodily urges are and how easily they can ignore them.
It also seems like it’d be evolutionarily advantageous for our ancestors to be able to tune out hunger and thirst when focused on a task. Since there’s always shit going on in the world and we’re always stressed to be “productive” constantly due to capitalism, I don’t think it’s all that surprising that many people (even those who are otherwise neurotypical) are distracted from the urge to eat or drink.
shalafi@lemmy.world 3 days ago
I, uh, still have a hard time buying that, and my daughter is light-mode autist, ADHD as well. She often sucks down food or water as an afterthought, and I do to! Not neurodivergent, but I can unconsciously dial out hunger and thirst when on task. LOL, I remember dialing out the need to eat and piss when I was a kid programming my VIC-20!
I think neurodivergent folks do have evolutionary advantages, as members of a larger group. But having a problem remembering to eat or drink would not serve in prehistory. You can get away with that now because a clean water tap or bag of chips isn’t far away.
Ever get out there? Far away from civilization? No hope of aid from other humans? You’d best plan a bit, or know for certain where water and food can be found. People get into places like Death Valley or the Grand Canyon, subconsciously thinking help is available, can’t be that bad. And they die.
Anyway, I’m wondering if the problem isn’t drinking in general but more the issues with drinking coke and other crap. ?
AnarchoEngineer@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 days ago
I wasn’t meaning that it’s just an evolutionary advantage for neurodivergents. I mean hell I know several neurodivergents with the opposite problem of being unable to keep themselves from eating.
I meant people in general might have the ability to tune out senses while being on a hunt or escaping danger etc. Being able to prioritize focus for the largest danger or the bigger stressor. Since we’re always stressed now days and the danger of starving isn’t likely to be as immediately detrimental as it used to be, some people’s bodies naturally tune down those urges to eat and drink.
And yeah I used to hike and camp a lot and when I did, I tended to feel hunger and thirst more often. Tend to feel calmer in general too. That seems to support my theory that it’s the constant stress of needing to be productive (and the stress of seeing the news and seeing the government drag people from their homes) that contributes to the dulling of our urges to eat or drink.
Out on fire camps in Nevada and California, 113F days will wreck you fast if you’re not downing water and Gatorade constantly. Good news, when in your in the middle of nowhere, only needing to do manual labor, there’s not much else to think about besides how beautiful the land is (before you get sick of it lol), not much to distract you from your body’s indicators.
Anyway, I doubt it has much to do with “drinking coke and other crap” Sure, if you get thirsty and the closest drink is always a Monster Energy, you’re likely not going to drink much else. But that’s not really the fault of the Monster Energy is it?
Hell, I don’t really drink soda at all, but both my sister and her husband drink energy drinks multiple times a day and eat much more snack/junk food than me and still I’d be willing to bet they remember to drink more water than I do.