Sometimes I really don't understand how normal people go through life.  I seem to be hyper almost everything.  I process everything faster than most others, I have trouble sleeping because I'm hypersensitive to noises, and I seem to feel and notice things that the average person doesn't in a normal life.  Some of it has worked in my favor, particularly in academics and later in my jobs since I can do twice the work at the same high quality.  No one really can keep up with me, particularly because I also have a hyper memory that reminds me where I found the answer 2 years ago.

Of course there are the negative hyper things.  Sleeping is very difficult for me even with earplugs (I joke that the best gift my neighbor ever gave me was when he was out of town for 2 weeks over Christmas), and I desperately need to get decent sleep or it starts weighing on me physically and mentally more than others.  Add sleep deprivation to the normal stress of my job and it's not a pretty picture.  Often I can't get my brain to shut down because of that hyper intelligence and memory which can be a special torture in and of itself.

Mostly I've made some sort of peace with this since it's pretty obvious I'm stuck with this for life, but so often I wish I could be a little more normal.  A little more socially inclined since sometimes I intimidate people with my speed and intelligence.  I'm tense all the time, which anyone who tries to give me a massage ALWAYS remarks on, since my muscles are basically as pliant as wood. There are worse things, I know, and I'm doing ok, but sometimes I want a break. I just want to be normal and able to relax without a racing mind.