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
JuniperFromGallifrey said:it could be the LEDs in my home creating a low grade state of stress
Im really interested to understand what this means?
Ah! The LED. Several problems: They flicker at a high-speed rate. And some of us are sensitive to catch it, so it's a non-stop disco. They also are a narrow band, some with too much UV, but a peak in the greens and no IR. It doesn't mimic the sun like filament. If they're wired into lighting fixtures made for halogen, they will give off a high pitch on-going grating tone. All of these or one can cause a headache in the least. But they are taxing to the human brain. If the flickering was slowed down and the tone adjusted and level raised for NTs to experience, They would get rid of them.
Human adaption/evolution takes a long time. As a species our eyes have never had to 'make sense' and respond to this kind of forced wave spectrum. It will have an impact.
Have a look at https://lightaware.org
To add: unresolved terrorising sensory elements continually taxing the brain to make sense of, cause stress and continued stress creates physical anxiety.
this is really interesting. Im not very good at understanding scientific stuff so im not quite sure what constitutes an LED. Are the new kind of lightbulbs LED? I noticed they were mentioned on the lightaware site. I have often wondered why lightbulbs destress me now and I find them so unbearably bright when I never used to when I was a kid. If the hallway light is on I have a meltdown these days
Also what about LED TVs?