Published on 12, July, 2020
Hello all! This is a re-post as I've found many Autistic individuals are battling the Health Care Systems. I have a feeling prescribing Anti-Depressants might be useful for NeuroTypical humans who are adept at Sublimating a Problem. (A good word to research and understand!) Sublimation is part of NeuroTypical brain-wiring, it is a part of their 'coding' (computer-speak is the only analogy I can think of to reference here) which gives them a shield/defence against recurring problems. If you think of an Alchemist, they have the learned psychological rules to "transmute" a problem into something it's not.
This is a defence mechanism NeuroTypicals through Language according to 100 years of psychoanalysis. Autistic brain-wiring Does Not Operate this way. We have missed that coding because we don't use our Language/Meaning Lobes in the same way. This is CRUCIAL because repeat Trauma can cause a stroke. And CHANGING our circumstances, so we do not continue to encounter on-going problems is the only way of creating a shield/defence for us. Sorry for the big terminology, but it can be extremely helpful to recognise and understand!!
Anti-Depressants won't help stress.
Depression can be related to the Adrenal Gland, it can be related to the Thyroid. It could be a lack of Vitamin D, it could be the body shutting down. One thing Absolutely No One feels when depressed, is Stress. Stress (Anxiety) is the body's fight/flight mode activated. It's rarely, if ever, due to internal physiological mechanisms misfiring, but can be misguided or incomplete Perceptions. It's almost always due to external circumstances and many times ones we cannot properly identify and Lack the rules to deal with properly. But if you're in a heightened state of Stress, as an Autistic, you will never be able to think clearly and rationally about what's causing it, and alleviate / fix the problem. We do not live in the Wild, we cannot Out Run something causing stress.
Autistic individuals need Practical Resources to sort out the Sensory impact and Practical psychological 'tools', or Rules to engage with a society which acknowledges ethics while engaging with warped social contracts. Because unlike our NT peers, we are impacted SEVERELY - intensely.
For instance, someone saying Yes to getting a coffee but using that Yes as a possibility not a hard black and white yes. Thus, how can I ever trust they mean what they say? From someone who thinks for a minute or a few days about a Yes or a No, and who makes a point about not making promises, just giving a straight forward answer, this is crazy-making. This small thing can cause anxiety if it's someone we care for. The Rule of Engagement here now shifts from projecting on to them how I would operate, to only trusting them only as far as they're capable of being trusted. I cannot assume they actually mean Yes or No. I now have a whole extra set of rules to check in with when engaging with this person and that can create and Overload, a spinning beach ball, a rainbow-wheel-of-death. This can create anxiety.
However, I shouldn't need to take Xanax to deal with them unless I live with them. And if I live with them one of 3 things need to happen. I need to change and put up reminders they are not to be immediately trusted and be OK with that. Or we need to seek therapy and see if there is a negotiation which can be reached. Or I need to move out. NEVER assume the other will change. If I move out and they desire to change, it is more than reasonable to allow them a year or 2 to become integrated (words match actions) or build integrity. Once a substantial amount of time has concluded we can now operate with the same value, perhaps I can move back in.
This is never a small matter. But if I am in a heightened state of stress, I won't be able to breathe through the moment, identify the problem (it could be the LEDs in my home creating a low grade state of stress), and Fix It. This is what Anti-Anxiety medication is for. We take a micro-dose if needed, apply principles and rules to engage and think through the moment, and Troubleshoot the Problem. We can be naturally skilled at this. For me, it was around 35 - from about age 16 - hunting for perspectives, beliefs, understandings, finding mentors, learning ethics, learning morals (and learning how they change depending on ones economic status), trying out principles and social rules, digging through philosophy, psychology, psychoanalysis and discovering how NT humans treat one another and then discovering better standards of Being Human. x
I can't speak for depression, but anxiety is essentially excessive, irrational fear. It can range from mild discomfort/ a general feeling of unease to full blown panic attacks. The easiest way to describe a panic attack is having complete confidence that everything is going wrong, and there is nothing you can do to stop it. Usually panic attacks are triggered by something (such as watching Contagion) but there doesn't have to be. Essentially, it all comes down to how much control you perceive to have.
Even if this were true, which it's not, I would be careful to never say this to someone struggling. It is invalidating. The wrong individual, without the mental and emotional strength to reason through or work out the cause/effect of anxiety will be further traumatised. This is dehumanising at it's worst as it suggests the person is looking to dominate/control not escape a type of torture. At best it is simply an incomplete thought with lashings False Logic. Be careful not to further isolate someone who is having biological symptoms of stress. A pufferfish will die. The human body can only handle so much before it has a stroke.