How ANCOR was Discovered - The Creator's Story

HOW ANCOR WAS DISCOVERED

The Creator's Story - Pattern Recognition and Lived Experience

By Seth A. Horn

The Problem I Was Trying to Solve

For years, I experienced what I now call "internal meltdowns" - this rising pressure inside my body, burning sensations on my skin, overwhelming internal chaos that would eventually lead to complete shutdown.

Traditional sensory strategies (reducing lights, wearing headphones, taking breaks) helped with external overload but did almost nothing once the internal escalation started.

I needed something that could interrupt the cascade once it began.

The DOMS Discovery - Pattern Recognition

I've always been someone who analyzes everything. I notice patterns, sometimes obsessively.

One day I realized something unexpected:

On the days after I did heavy lifting with slow, controlled movements, the internal pressure and burning sensations were significantly reduced.

At first, I thought it was just the workout itself - the immediate calming effect of heavy proprioceptive work. But then I noticed the pattern more clearly:

The therapeutic muscle soreness (DOMS) that appeared 24-48 hours after training seemed to provide ongoing grounding.

The soreness wasn't just soreness - it was:

A clear, localized sensation

Predictable (I knew it was coming, I knew why)

Purposeful (I earned it, it made sense)

Interpretable (my brain understood this signal)

And while I had that "good soreness," the confusing internal burning and pressure stayed quieter.

Why This Works (My Theory)

I think what's happening is sensory signal replacement.

The problem with internal meltdown sensations:

Diffuse, hard to locate

Feel "wrong" or alarming

No clear cause

Unpredictable

Your brain doesn't know what to do with them

What DOMS provides:

Clear, localized ("my quads are sore from squats")

Has obvious cause ("I worked out yesterday")

Predictable pattern ("this will fade in 2-3 days")

Purposeful and earned

Your brain trusts this signal

When you have a reliable, interpretable body sensation, it seems to reduce your brain's focus on and amplification of the chaotic, alarming internal signals.

It's like: When you have one clear radio station playing, the static from ten others becomes background noise instead of overwhelming chaos.

Optimizing the Method - The Hydration Discovery

Another pattern I noticed: nighttime bathroom trips were disrupting my sleep and making it hard to get back to sleep.

I don't like waking up in the middle of the night. It bothers my sleep architecture, and I struggle to fall back asleep afterward.

So I started tracking: When was I drinking? How much? What happened?

The pattern:

If I drank normally up until bedtime (4+ oz for supplements), I'd wake 1-2 times

If I stopped hydration at 6 PM except for minimal amounts, wake-ups decreased

But I still needed to take supplements and avoid dry mouth

The solution I developed:

7:00 PM:

Take magnesium with Greek yogurt (provides some moisture)

Maybe 1-2 oz water if needed

The yogurt provides enough moisture without excessive fluid

6:00-8:00 PM:

Fluid restriction window

8:15 PM:

Empty bladder (taking advantage of the 75-90 minute window after eating yogurt/taking magnesium)

8:30 PM:

Bedtime supplements in only 2 oz water (reduced from 4+ oz)

The yogurt earlier means I'm not parched

Minimal liquid means less bladder pressure overnight

Result:

Total evening fluid: 2-4 oz vs. previous 4+ oz

Deeper sleep before first wake

Sometimes sleeping through to morning

This is the kind of pattern recognition and optimization that autistic brains are good at - noticing subtle cause-and-effect relationships and adjusting systematically.

The Breathing Component - 4-6 vs 4-7-8

I also noticed patterns with breathing:

During exercise or acute meltdown (4-6 breathing):

Need something simple

Can't think too hard

Just: Breathe in (4-6 sec), Breathe out (4-6 sec)

Keeps you regulated without cognitive load

When calmer or before sleep (4-7-8 breathing):

Can handle more structure

In for 4, Hold for 7, Out for 8

Deeper parasympathetic activation

More suited for relaxation vs. crisis

Pattern: Different situations need different breathing approaches. Match the tool to the state.

The "Life Happens" Contingency Plan

Another thing I learned: Rigidity doesn't work for real life.

If I planned to do ANCOR at 4 PM and something came up, I used to get frustrated and skip it entirely.

Then I realized: Just slide everything back.

Original plan:

3:00 PM: Pre-workout glycine

4:00 PM: ANCOR session

5:00 PM: Recovery

Life happens, now it's 6 PM:

6:00 PM: Pre-workout glycine

6:30 PM: ANCOR session (exact same workout)

7:30 PM: Recovery

The timing relative to each other matters more than the clock time.

This removed the "all or nothing" thinking that was causing me to skip sessions.

The Integration Pattern

Eventually, all these discoveries came together:

A - Breathing (adapted to context: 4-6 or 4-7-8)

N - Environment control (learned what MY triggers were)

C - Body calibration (found the specific movements that work for me)

O - Proprioceptive loading (optimized for therapeutic DOMS, not just immediate effect)

R - Regulation (optimized hydration timing, identified MY stabilizer foods)

This wasn't designed in advance - it emerged from systematic observation of what actually worked.

Why I'm Sharing This

I'm sharing my discovery process because:

It shows this is real - not theoretical, not copied from textbooks

It demonstrates how to discover YOUR version - pattern recognition, systematic testing

It validates autistic ways of knowing - we notice patterns others miss

It shows adaptation is key - rigid protocols don't work; flexible principles do

You might discover completely different patterns for YOUR body.

Maybe you'll find:

Different exercises work better for you

Different foods stabilize you

Different timing windows

Different breathing patterns

That's perfect - this is about principles, not rigid rules.

The Core Principle That Emerged

Through all this experimentation, one principle became clear:

Your nervous system calms when it receives strong, predictable, trusted signals.

Everything in ANCOR serves that principle:

Slow breathing = predictable autonomic signal

Heavy proprioception = strong, clear mechanoreceptor signal

Therapeutic DOMS = ongoing predictable sensation

Consistent fueling = predictable metabolic state

Heat = unified interoceptive signal

When your brain has clear, interpretable signals to focus on, the chaotic internal noise quiets down.

That's the core insight that ties everything together.

An Invitation to Experiment

I encourage you to approach ANCOR the same way I developed it:

Notice patterns - What makes you feel better vs. worse?

Test systematically - Change one variable at a time

Track objectively - Write it down, don't rely on memory

Adapt continuously - What works now might need adjustment later

Trust your observations - Your lived experience is valid data

Autistic pattern recognition is a strength.

Use it to discover YOUR optimal ANCOR protocol.

Final Thought

ANCOR wasn't handed down from research labs or clinical trials.

It emerged from an autistic person paying very close attention to their own body and systematically figuring out what helped.

That's disability justice - people with lived experience creating solutions that actually work.

If ANCOR helps you, wonderful.

If you discover modifications that work better for you, even better.

Share your discoveries with the community. That's how we all move forward together.

Created by Seth A. Horn (2025)

Part of The ANCOR Method

Shared freely with the community