Theory of Mind

Hello all,

I have recently had three sessions with a clinical psychologist to explore whether difficulties I have had for as long as I can remember (depression, anxiety, intense social anxiety, difficulty maintaining relationships etc etc) might actually have an explanation, i.e. perhaps I am on the autistic spectrum.  

I approached this man in particular as his profile - on BUPA Finder - listed one of his specialisms as Autism Assessment.  I completed the Adult Autism Spectrum Quotient (AQ) and GADS questionnaires and I was told that I had 'autistic traits' but he could not go further than this - I would have to get an official assessment (which I thought I was getting but that is another story!).

The ambiguity of this has left me feeling quite confused and upset. 

However, from what I have researched, having issues around 'theory of mind' is fundamental to being autistic, and I don't think this is something I have difficulty with.  So, I was wondering if anyone would be willing to share real life examples of how difficulties with theory of mind might present itself/affect them?  

I should mention that I am a 44 year old woman.

Thank you so much.

Parents
  • Well I've got a bazaar example; I was feeling suicidal and went online to throw away psychological bad thoughts, but the police arrested me ................I then had a near fatal event just before going to court , where the jury , unsurprisingly in my view found me 100% not guilty of the major charge. I certainly did not do what I was accused of, but was caught in a scam which the police used to prosecute me.  And I thought the police were in favour of truth honesty and justice.  Seems the Met police are not though! But in court they withheld vita evidence and tried to misdirect the jury.

    My thinking was , I am not doing anything criminal, but police made out the opposite!

  • Well, that's the jury's job - to assess the evidence for and against, they can't read your thoughts and they can't read the thoughts of the police who investigated it, they just have to look at the evidence that's in front of them and work out what the truth is.

    As we have seen in recent years, the police have problems to sort out, abuses of power mainly - misogyny, racism, and ablism.  The police will check you out, not just what you posted, so that can lead to bias and perhaps malice.

    Be careful what you post online, things can be misinterpreted, you might scare/worry people even if that wasn't meant.

Reply
  • Well, that's the jury's job - to assess the evidence for and against, they can't read your thoughts and they can't read the thoughts of the police who investigated it, they just have to look at the evidence that's in front of them and work out what the truth is.

    As we have seen in recent years, the police have problems to sort out, abuses of power mainly - misogyny, racism, and ablism.  The police will check you out, not just what you posted, so that can lead to bias and perhaps malice.

    Be careful what you post online, things can be misinterpreted, you might scare/worry people even if that wasn't meant.

Children
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