👁️Emotional Regulation

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I’ve been watching Astrid et Raphaëlle, a French crime series, and I can’t stop thinking about something that keeps happening while I watch.

One of the leads, Astrid, is autistic. She has these particular movements, hand gestures, a kind of rocking, small repetitive motions she doesn’t bother to hide. And I’ve noticed that sometimes, without meaning to, I find myself mirroring her. And it feels… good? Settling, somehow.

Which made me curious. Why?

Turns out our nervous systems don’t really care whether we’re autistic or not. They still crave rhythm, repetition, and something to hold onto. Rocking a baby. Knitting. Walking the same path. Making potholders, honestly. These things work because they work, not because we’ve been given permission to need them.

There’s also something about the way Astrid moves through the world without apology. She doesn’t mask. She doesn’t hold herself tightly for other people’s comfort. Watching her is like being handed a small permission slip: you don’t have to be so composed all the time.

I’ll admit I recognize something in her. Not a diagnosis. Parts of myself that learned early to stay quiet and still. Seeing those parts expressed so matter-of-factly in someone else feels oddly like coming home.

So I’m asking myself a different question when I feel that tension: what is my body actually asking for right now? More rhythm? Less performance? A little more softness?

It’s not about labels. It’s just about noticing what brings you back to yourself.

(And maybe a little gentle rocking while nobody’s watching.)


Janis at Maison Tranquille 

Still Curious. Still Growing. Still Grateful.

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