If you are neurodivergent or you have trauma can you tell me if you experience this?  

Yes! It makes me irrationally angry, too. I also usually have a bag large enough to carry multiple things or a carabiner. When I dont, it irritates the hell out of me

I've never noticed this about myself, but now that you mention it - yes, I prefer to have my hands free. It's not a "hard no" type of sensation, but I have accommodated myself so that I rarely have to hand-carry something.

As a science nerd, my guess is that its a human thing exacerbated by neurodivergence. Brains, in general, are incredibly skilled at calculating our energy expenditure and updating our behavior to lower those expenses. Example: when standing, we mostly all tend to lean on one leg or another. Neurodivergence often makes us acutely aware of our sensory perceptions, things that often remain unconscious to many. I imagine these two traits, added together, cause this experience.

Fanny packs are awesome. I don't like to carry things either. I don't like to feel lopsided or unbalanced. Like something is tugging on me

Yes I’m the exact same! I will happily carry stuff like a donkey all on my back or attached with carabiners, even a shopper bag over my shoulder but I hate carrying things with my hands and will avoid it like the plague. Even more so now I have a physical health issue but I’ve always hated it. I wonder if it’s a sensory thing.

If I’m walking for a long time like on a hike I absolutely never want to have to carry anything. If it’s a short walk like taking things in from the car, I get very irritated by it as well, but mainly because I hate having to put things down to dig in my pockets for my keys or take multiple trips. I just want to get inside my house and do whatever the next thing on my mind is. I can think of very few things more naturally irritating than a locked door I have to unlock when I’m carrying stuff.

I think it is because: If you would be attackt you can't defense yourself with stuff in the hands. (Sorry für my Bad english I'm from Germany).

Absolutely 100% yes, I loathe carrying things in my hand and consistently can't wait to put them down. It's like I'll happily cut a nice day short because I need to go home and put this thing down. It feels like I have to constantly divert my attention to it and I hate that

For me it's not a trauma thing, it's more a sensory thing, but yes, I hate carrying stuff around. I'll always choose a bag with straps long enough to put on my shoulder, because I feel anxious if I don't have all my things, but I can't deal with one held in my hand for too long. If I absolutely have to hold the strap on especially a plastic bag, my anxiety levels will crank up and up and up until I can finally put it down and then there's a huge relief that isn't just from the weight. Also I love your scarf!

For me (multiple neurodiversities plus trauma) i think it's a combination of things. If I'm carrying it in my hand, i WILL set it down somewhere without realizing it - which is how i lose so many things. Also sensory etc. I actually feel unbalanced WITHOUT my cross body bag, but that's because i use it so much. Also, i can't wiggle/twitch/fidget my fingers if I'm holding something. My purse strap broke a while ago so now it's just a hand bag. Fortunately i could utilize my special interest to manage the handbag instead. (A character in a book i love uses a clutch as an improvised weapon a couple times.) This probably also ties into the trauma - the thing in my hand is a weapon, which can help ward off attackers if necessary. (The chances of needing it are slim to none, but try telling that to my anxiety 😂)

Yep! And I have had toooo many nightmares to count of having to carry more things than I can hold. My autistic kid also hates carrying stuff

Not precisely, but many adjacent things with hands and things and things and hands. Fantastic headgear, btw. ❤

Holding things restricts my movement. And my arms sway differently when I'm holding something and that throws me off.

Yes, this is me exactly. I literally have a desk job and still refuse to go anywhere without my backpack, and when I do have to I feel awkward and uncomfortable. I think it may be rooted in the fear that if my hands are occupied, I can't defend myself? (trauma related of course) Even when I am shopping I have to make sure at least one of my hands is free so I will carry stuff awkwardly in my elbow/inner arm.

Yes. I think it's a sensory reception thing. Especially when I'm in nature of any kind. As a reiki practicioner and neurodivergent person, my hands need to be free to receive nature's energy. Carrying things in them hinders this. The freest feeling is when there are no items being carried and no backpack or bag on my shoulder. If it's just my body walking, I am able to relax.

Interesting 🧐 i always have to have something in my hands either for stimming or as an extra security blanket of protection

both. someone else mentioned it, being able to defend is one thing. also for me its an issue of holding something interfering with stimming. suppressing stims makes managing harder.

Yes! Instead of carrying a purse or handbag to look more ‘feminine’ like my mother’s opinion, I always try to wrap my belongings with a piece of cloth and keep my hands free. I never ask myself why but now that you mentioned it, there’s an inner voice saying “who knows when I will need to climb a tree (neurodivergent) or fight for my own safety (trauma)?” And I realize it is really important for me to keep my hands available to grab anything from the environment at the moment.

Absolutely! Hard no for me too Adhd/trauma thing maybe

Yes. ASD/ ADHD. I have a backpack, and inside it, I have additional clips and straps for times when I have more than expected to carry. I strap things onto the outside of my totally stuffed backpack rather than carry it.

This resonates. I love daypacks for this reason.😊

Uh huh, if I'm traveling more than in and out of somewhere I ensure my hands will be free. Pockets, back packs, wife's purse if needed but hands free for sure. Thanks for sharing.

YES! Omg I didn't even think of this ❤

I generally need to feel balanced but I tend to need something to fidget with in one hand and a strong need to have the other hand free. My brain just kind of goes "but what if I need my hand?". I used to be big on back packs but don't love the feeling of them touching my upper back.

I don't know if it's an ADHD thing for me or not, but I love carrying things usually! I'm usually overloaded with stuff. At work, I run around with too many packs of baby wipes in my arms, or I'm pushing a cart with a load of stuff on it. If my hands dont have anything in them, I'm doing my personal stim of touching each finger tip to my thumb in an order and trying not to count it.(if I lose count I get upset so the solution was to stop the counting) Its my invisibility spell.... it sounds dumb but my hands must be busy, or I can get underwhelmed and upset.

I can relate to this, I have to have things in bags or under the pram. If i have to carry something I get stuck focusing on it until it’s not possible to focus on anything else till i’ve put it elsewhere. Carabiner for the win for hanging things on the pram too!

I got enough baggage i aint carrying even 1 more thing lol

I never thought of it in these terms, but absolutely I do this. I like my hands to be as free as possible. Like, 1) I trip a lot and need to catch myself, and 2) I drop things ALL the time and if I get distracted, things can be left behind really easily or they can break. As a kid, I loved finding things on the ground. I went for a walk once and found a glass coaster that was so shiny, I was so excited to bring it home but I dropped it on the road a block from our house and it shattered. I still may never recover. 😂 Seriously though, I will drop it. Whatever it is, I will probably accidentally use it to mindlessly stim and drop it.

Yes I hate carrying things or even wearing bags sometimes but forced by anxiety to bring the things

Hmmm, if I'm walking a distance and or uphill, then I'll avoid things in hands because I walk quite fast and it's hard to walk with hands not free. It's also hilly here.

I have to ethier carry everything in my hands or nothing in my hands.

"Aversion" is a strong word, but i ve been called "the turtle" because i have everything in my backpack, and i have had to re sew the pockets of my coats because of all the things i put in them. 😅😅 Like pockets are life, people. Spread pocket awareness.

Yep. I have to have a place to put whatever is in my had away before I loose it.

Yes, but also sometimes someone will say I NEED a basket... and I'll hold EVERYTHING in my hands... it more if I have something big ish in hand I'll put it down and fucking forget...

Our hands are meant to be free to balance while walking and break falls. Completely normal to not want to carry things when walking and to maintain the bodies natural defenses from injury/harm.

I prefer using backpacks or using pockets whenever I can, but I'm thinking it has alot to do with my hypermobility (anything heavier will pull on my wrists and arm and if I don't feel it right then, I WILL feel it the next day), my size: some things might be too close to the ground when carrying, my balance: if i don't have something in my other hand to balance it out i feel "off". I also like having my hands free in case I fall or need them for something...doesn't seem very practical to me to have them occupied ....

YES! I don't even own an umbrella because I hate carrying it and will never use it. I don't like carrying a bag either... so I flip flop between being a phone-wallet-keys girl and a giant suitcase bag girl 🤣 I have ADHD (suspect AuDHD) and CPTSD; I think it is more the neurodivergency but I could be wrong!

Omg YES! I always said that, but didn't know it had anything to do with it.

I love all your colours 😍👀 rainbows are the best

*backpack* *Big pockets* This is the way 😂 I wonder in terms of trauma if its the urge to keep my hands free so i can protect myself and for neurodivergentness maybe the hand need to be free for flapping or putting in pocket for safety or to be out so when my clumsiness is at peak clumsy i can balance myself or catch myself if I'm falling... Though the last one may be a combined disability thing?

I am also the same with plastic bags. I HATE my stuff being in a plastic, shop carrier bag. I'm okay if it's in a backpack, satchel or suitcase. I would understand it if I was like, and ex foster child who had to transport my things in a bin bag or something but I've never experienced it. I'm just ND.

thats totally me too 🙋🏼‍♀️

I absolutely hate it! It feels so much more freeing to have empty hands. For me, I think it has a lot to do with coordination or lack there of. Too many things to have to think about with occupied hands. Which also makes me hate myself/my situation even more so because I can't leave my house without my cane due to a severe orthopaedic disability/issue. So no matter what, I'm always going to have at least 1 hand occupied!! I feel like I have a target on my back, like I could easily get robbed or taken advantage of at any minute. Being neurodivergent presents its own issues with public anxiety, but throw in being disabled too🤦‍♀️🤬

Interesting to hear, and interesting to read the responses. It's of course going to be a self-selected group of people who will have left comments here. So just as a point of balance: I am autistic with various traumas, as many of us do, but I do not mind carrying things in my hands. I often walk around with my foldable umbrella in my hands if it looks like rain, even if I also have my backpack with me, I will also happily carry my reusable grocery bag in my hands when walking to the store. Of course it's a different thing when going on a fairly long walk or on a multi-hour hike. For the latter especially it'd be uncomfortable as soon as it gets a bit strenuous and I start to sweat. I also think carrying even light loads in only one hand, but not the other, is not advisable for reasons of balance - it might well be possible to develop muscle tension and unnecessary strain on joints, especially shoulders and spine.

Totally with you, Sister💜

Certainly, drive me mad to carry things in my hands. Even at home I have to have phone ect in pockets. So cloths have to have pockets or I feel undressed. I think its because if I put something down, my mind can get distracted. Then I can waste ages looking for my stuff.

Yes, I am a grown adult, who still wears a backpack, because I don't want to carry anything! 🙂 Also, I recently replaced all my pants that don't have pockets with pants that have pockets. No more pocketless pants for me! I'm not gonna carry anything. 😆

I would purposely take the 0 in school for not bringing my books etc leaving them in my locker instead for this reason 😂 sometimes I would use my backpack depending on my mood

Do I have a physical aversion? No. Do I know damn well I will need to Do Something that requires at least one free hand? O hell yes.

It's not a new problem. It's why pouches, purses, wallets, suitcases, backpacks, etc were invented.

Hmmm. Curious. I do love me a cross-body bag or backpack if my pockets won't do. If I am carrying something like a plastic bag, there's a pretty good chance that I've got it secured via friction to the back of my wrist and just kind of supporting it with my hand as opposed to hooking it with my fingers. Crook of the elbow is also good if the straps are big enough to allow it (and preferably won't dig in). BRB, trying out all sorts of preferred carrying methods... 😂 Theory - it interferes with dino hands (trex arms), so any more passive way to convey items about your person that doesn't involve maintaining an active grip is better. Position, weight, friction, relaxed hand shapes... etc. all play a part. In testing, I also liked having something: dangling from loosely hooked fingers at my shoulder & slung over my back; having my elbow fully bent, palm horizontal facing up & dangling from fingers there (weight against a locked position); interlacing fingers so handle is woven between & needs less active support... Very curious indeed!!!

Lol I feel like I'm the only person in this comment section that hates carrying things because it will disappear if its not my phone. 😂😂😂

Dude I’ve got the same glasses. 🌈😎✌️

Yeah, totally, I would never. But why do you think it has to do with neurodivergent or trauma? 😂 Maybe we just decided we werent gonna carry shit anymore 😂❤ Not emotionally or mentally ❤

i suspect it's a neurodivergent thing

Wait, it does not bother some people?

Yeah kinda yes

Yes, this is why I have a backpack. And my phone is attached to my wrist via a strap. My hands need to be free