Personal Essays by Peak Afflatus
I write succinct essays on autism, identity, collapse, recovery, and the psychology of modern life. I explore the mind from the inside out, tracing its patterns, contradictions, and attempts at coherence. Think of it as autistic phenomenology meeting modern existentialism, written in a raw, lucid, and fiercely self-interrogating style. These essays sit between the personal and the collective, examining how perception twists, how systems shape us, and how clarity returns once life has come apart. They also touch on emotional regulation, burnout, perfectionism, and the cultural scripts that shape how we live.
Solo Through-Hiking and Wild Camping Across Norway
Six Self-Sufficient Days Through the Heart of Jotunheimen National Park
A Life Spent Elsewhere
Freedoms price is homelessness, explorations reward is estrangement.
When the Swindlers Swindle Themselves
How the Myth of the ‘Corporate Family’ Erodes Integrity and Traps the Mind
Questioning Love’s Contract
A Reflection on Marriage, Logic, and the Contradictions of Commitment
The Dangers of Emotional Processing Deficits
Reflections on a Childhood Desire to Disappear
Auto-Aggression of the Ego Ideal
When Failure to Become Yourself Results in Depression and Collapse
Leaving Home with Undiagnosed Autism
Family Heartbreak, Youthful Defiance, and Neurodivergence
The Cost of Supremacy Is Division
An Epidemic of Weary Minds, Washing Their Hands of Hope and Understanding
How Hurt Becomes Hostility
When online echo chambers turn personal pain into collective contention
Separating Negativity from Paranoia While Tapering an SSRI
Sertraline Withdrawal and the Fear of Meeting my Old Self Again
For the Harder Days
Seek Support: Peak Afflatus explores the terrain between collapse and recovery, tracing the inner climb as much as the outer one. If you’re struggling with your mental health or neurodivergence, these organisations offer confidential support worldwide:
Find a Helpline • Mind • Samaritans • Befrienders Worldwide • Autistic Self Advocacy Network • Autism Connect