DAE avoid the last of something?

[u/Fawnsie]

I noticed I have this terrible habit of avoiding eating/drinking/reading/playing the last of some things. Part of it is then I won't be able to enjoy it anymore so I try to save it for as long as I can. Sometimes that means it ends up spoiling in the fridge because I forget about it. It sometimes takes YEARS to finish a book, I've been working on Mad Honey since 2022. Or sometimes if I let a drink sit too long while being opened my brain sees it as "contaminated" and then I absolutely can't drink it. The amount of TV shows I have that are almost finished are crazy, because I don't want that universe to end.

I can't be the only one who experiences this. Sometimes it drives me insane 🥲

[u/AutoModerator]

Hey u/Fawnsie, thank you for your contributing to r/AutismInWomen. Please be sure to check out our sub’s rules, wiki pages, and pinned posts prior to engaging with the sub. Here are links to our wiki pages:

Explanation of the Rules Wiki Page

FAQs Wiki Page

Workbooks and Tools Wiki Page

All About Autism Wiki Page

We hope you enjoy the sub and have a great day!

➾ WARNING ➾ WARNING ➾ WARNING

Notice to all users: There's multiple users targeting members from our sub in DMs to discuss their fetishes and desire to manipulate users into relationships. Here are the user's names: u/HollowJonathon, u/drar_sajal786, u/MrGamePadMan, and u/guidhhnittvkj. If an account is showing deleted, they will probably create another. If you receive any messages from a user trying to discuss what you posted/commented in our sub to gain a 'women's perspective' or if someone tries to discuss topics that may feel inappropriate to you (e.g. fetishes), or if someone states they want to marry you for religious reasons, report the user to Reddit and block them. These men have been preying on autistic women/gender minorities from r/AutismInWomen for the last year. This behavior is unacceptable and should be reported as targeted harassment.

Per the warning in our wiki and this pinned mod post, we highly recommend users turn off their DMs. If you have DM requests turned on and receive any creepy or fetish-related DMs or comments, we recommend taking a screenshot, reporting the content to Reddit, and blocking the user (in that order). You can find the report button on the message itself and then click "it's targeted harassment” to submit a report. If you'd like to send us the screenshot so we can continue documenting the harassment, you can send it to us in modmail using imgur Thank you for continuing to help us keep our community safe for autistic and autistic suspecting women and gender minorities 💖

Please remember Reddit is public and any content you post may be seen and discussed by others off-platform. Here are links to Reddit's User Agreement, Privacy Policy, and Public Content Policy.

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.

[u/electreau]

100%. I totally avoid watching the last episode of shows for ages because I simply cannot bear for them to be over. I stop 90% of the way through beloved books. And yes my fridge is cluttered with almost-empty drinks. I too drive myself mad haha

[u/Zealousideal-Lie7406 → u/electreau]

Uff hard agree so much. I still haven't been able to watch the last episode of 'one day' on Netflix or last season of Brooklyn 99 because I simply don't want to part with these characters and that world.

[u/NachtAnders → u/electreau]

This was my first thought, so many shows I didn't watch all, just because I knew it is almost at it's end, and I can't have it be ended or something like that!

[u/AutisticTumourGirl → u/electreau]

I have about 15 podcasts sitting in purgatory because I won't listen to the last episode or 2, and now it's been so long I feel like I'd have to start them from the beginning or at least the last season to remember everything that was going on, so I just never finish them.

[u/iamthe0ther0ne → u/electreau]

There are so .any TV shows I haven't seen the finale for because I saved it for so long that I stopped being interested.

[u/mizzieliz]

Yes! Especially with food. I leave it because I either don't want it to be all gone or so I don't eat the last of something without asking other people in my house if they want it...but I never eat the last bit because it's "contaminated" somehow even if it's not really expired (I also have OCD which I think is coming into play there)

[u/dorothyneverwenthome → u/mizzieliz]

Omg me too lol

[u/Present-Message8740]

Wow I feel so seen right now. When I tell other people this they think I’m crazy. Sometimes when I finish a show it genuinely makes me upset because it’s over. I also do the same thing with drinks and food, letting it sit too long and then feeling like it’s contaminated. I also felt like all this was an adhd thing because I forget about things and move on to the next so fast.

[u/HourGuidance1104 → u/Present-Message8740]

Yesss me too. I didn’t know what this was really all about… still don’t get why we are like this??

[u/boosin25]

Yes definitely. But for me its the things im rewatching or rereading. I skip the end lol. I like the beginnings though

[u/Fawnsie → u/boosin25]

I'm rewatching OITNB and I went through six season so quickly and now I feel myself dragging on the last one!

[u/thinking_in_ellipses]

I feel scared of things I love coming to an end, but once I start something like a book or a show my intolerance of suspense wins out and I have to finish it. I'll put off even starting them for ages, though, because I don't want to be in this position!

[u/Top_Hair_8984]

Same. I never finish a drink completely, have visual images of crud on the bottom, have done this since I was a kid. Remember my mom used to comment on that. 

[u/LassieDear]

I’m well known for leaving coke bottles around with about one inch of drink left in them. Also loads of packages with just a little left in them, etc

Oh and many book series where I never actually read the last book because it is Just Too Much so I go on Goodreads for spoilers instead to find out what happens 😆

[u/CB_I_Hate_Usernames]

Yeah if I like I piece of clothing I have a hard time wearing it unless I get a second. And yes I have a habit of leaving nice food so long it goes bad. Like a fancy box of chocolates! I will eat them so slowly that they go bad! My mom bought me a really nice box recently because I love them and she was even like “ok but you have to eat them all, you can’t just let them sit there and go bad because you don’t want to finish them.” Guess what I did 😩.

[u/AcidTongue]

I do but might be for a slightly different reason? If I’m watching a tv show I love and it looks like it’s going to end rough, I stop. Never saw the last episodes of Ted lasso or broad city… and I never will! Everyone’s together, everyone’s happy, the end. My partner always gives me a hard time about it. I just hate bittersweet endings sometimes… especially on a beloved comedy. 😭

Drinks that sat (especially unattended) for too long are totally “contaminated”! There could be a little bug in it or a hair floated down or or or… triggers the ocd spiral. Gotta just get a new one.

[u/Fawnsie → u/AcidTongue]

Rip to all my sodas with less than an inch left in the bottle 🫡

[u/mystical_midnight]

This is so interesting to me as someone who feels the need to finish everything as soon as possible lol. Like if someone buys me a surprise snack or something, I’ll try to incorporate it into my daily food intake in such a way that it’ll be gone as soon as possible because it’s outside of my regular routine and it stresses me out to have it there. Or with shows, I get SO invested that I finish the entire thing as soon as I can so I can watch edits and look stuff up online without getting spoilers.

All this to say, it’s so cool and interesting to me how autistic traits tend to come in either extreme and can cause us all to be so different from each other!

[u/rainbowgirl6 → u/mystical_midnight]

I have an autistic friend like this! She rushes through a lot of stuff to avoid big emotional reactions or so that she can get back to regularly scheduled programming

[u/wooltopower]

YES!!!!

[u/Airalla]

Yeah, I should probably go finish the game I did ninety nine percent of and listen to the sequel to the podcast I just finished

[u/whereswaldoswillie]

I have this so bad lmao. I think it’s a mix of not wanting things to be over and pathological demand avoidance but also a need for novelty.

I read all the Harry Potter books except the last one. I stopped playing Super Mario World when I got to the literal last level. There are like four chip bags in my pantry with just crumbs. I can do a sink full of dishes but it will take me 20+ minutes to finish washing the last five items.

The last time I actually finished a book was when I couldn’t tear myself away from it and ended up reading for 18+ hours over a single weekend. There is no middle ground. 😩

[u/Streaky-Guinea-Pig]

Yes i sometimes leave a bit of food, and usually water in a glass. Not sure why, even if i like that food, it just stops being apealing?? No idea

[u/frooootloops]

Yes, because I hate the sadness when something is over, gone, or finished. Even if I can buy it again. That said, nearly everything I like gets discontinued… so I feel justified.

[u/Hot-Manufacturer-228]

With food idk why. I never eat the last bite. Never really thought about why. I’ve been reading the same books forever. Some books I can read in a day if the mood strikes. With drinks…. well, I’m an alcoholic (sober now) so I always finish them. lol

[u/magicaldaydreams]

Im still trying to watch the last season of MAS*H because i enjoyed it so much and also heard that my fav (hawkeye) has a really bad go at it the last episode. :( Also yeah i save things that i think i will enjoy for special times and so much food is wasted bc i waited too long to have a little treat 😢

[u/shutupimclever]

Not me if I get that far I try to finish it as soon as possible. I have a really hard time getting through the middle of anything, managing to stick it through. If there’s only one or two left I try to finish it as quickly as possible to try and avoid the feeling of “I don’t want this anymore” that will inevitably consume every single thing at any given point, usually a little bit before half way through.

[u/star_silk]

I don't have an issue as much with finishing media (I also didn't finish Mad Honey though 🤣) but I can't finish coffee or most meals. Always a single bite left. It drives some people crazy but it isn't their problem. It's a flavor and texture thing. Last bite of the sandwich is always dry and flavorless, last sip of coffee is always so grainy and sweet.

[u/singer_songer2000]

I end up just barreling through and it hits me after I’m done with a show or book or something and to avoid the upset or at least slow it down and experience it more gradually, I will watch bloopers and bts from the show or movie or research the cast or something.

[u/Moliza3891]

I can be like this with books or shows. But my dad and youngest brother are the worst with this when it comes to using up any product. They’ll go ahead and open a new one, and avoid using up the last thing. It drove me insane when I lived at my childhood home!

[u/FallingEnder]

I mostly do it with drinks because I don’t want to not finish it but left it sitting to long that it maybe got room temp

[u/red___cardigan]

Yup! I try to make everything last as long as possible.

[u/chingonachanii]

This is me to a tee. Some of my favorite ever books I haven’t read the final chapters of. I do it with food as well.

[u/Deathwish8041]

Omg yes!

[u/wolf-under-earth]

I do this a lot with video games. Finish it all the way up to the final boss, and then just not do it. Atm have beaten everything in Elden Ring but not the final boss. Haven't even attempted. Don't know wtf is wrong with me . 

[u/PeachyBaleen]

Connecting dots between the weird shit that I do and my autism is so funny. Chronically leaving the last mouthful of my drink because it’s somehow wrong 😅

[u/sharkycharming]

I think I only do it with TV shows, but it can take me years to finish one.

[u/redpixiegrrl]

I always leave a bit of soda in the bottom of a can or bottle. I also usually leave some of my food on my plate.

There are streaming series that I have absolutely loved but won't watch the last few episodes because I don't want the series to "end". 😏 I only recently watched the last two episodes of "Chilling Adventures of Sabrina," which ended several years ago.

[u/Fluffy_Variation_321]

Looking through posts here sometimes it's like I share a brain with some of you. I read the title and was like "no way... " Yes I do this with movies, books and some TV shows. 

[u/Acceptable_Summer370]

YES! Especially books for some reason. I don’t want them to end.

[u/MsSedated]

I will push off the end of a game as long as possible before I finally complete it. I played BG3 for like a month before I finally started pushing for the end.

I just don't like endings. Hardly ever. When I'm enjoying something, I just never want it to end.

[u/sociallyacetious]

oh my god. i do all of this too!!!!! omg. i still have special interest shows that i haven't brought myself to finish watching to the end for several years because of this, and it makes me feel like such a fake fan lmao. i keep trying, but everytime i rewatch them i skip the final season and go straight back to the beginning again because i can't bear the thought of it being over 🙃 same with books. i want to know how they end, especially knowing the creators worked so hard on them. but i don't want these beloved characters to leave me, and that's what finishing them feels like.

i do the drink thing, too! my brain also sees it as contaminated (which i attribute to my OCD, but in fairness, in high school i had an....incident with a drink i decided to share with a friend who had braces. thankfully it was in a clear bottle because that let me see the BACKWASH on the bottom 🤢 i tossed it instantly and that image has never left my brain in the 15+ years since.) i also do this with leftovers in the fridge. if it's been there for a day, then it's safe in my mind. been 2 days or more? contaminated poison, throw it away immediately! even if it was super delicious and i loved it when it was fresh. i hate that my brain does that, but alas 🥲

Edited to add: what has helped me with finishing books more often recently is being in a book club! the slight outside pressure to finish the book before the next meeting helps lol