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Searching for scary image

NAS23822

Hi, my Daughter is 12 years old and was diagnosed with Autism at 4 years old.  She has developed  over the last 12 months or so a huge fear of Wonka and everything associated with it.  For the past two days she keeps searching for a certain image which is when the girl turns into a blueberry and this makes her shake. cry and even made her physically sick last night.  She keeps searching the images and when I ask her why she says her brain is telling her to do it.  Has anyone had any similar experiences as I am at a loss as to what to do.  Thank you 

Parents

  • I think if you have something you can't process or quite figure out your brain keeps looping back to it. It wants to work it out.

    I have done this with distressing things because my subconscious knows there is something it wants to know. It is also a kind of self-induced repeated exposure therapy type thing, each time I encounter it it slowly becomes less of a problem.

    Also note that scary images release dopamine (along with adrenaline and cortisol). Which is related to reward. Autism is linked to insufficient dopamine.

    I realise most of my coping strategies were related to dopamine seeking activities.

    Your brain is clever and does things without you being fully in control.

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  • I think if you have something you can't process or quite figure out your brain keeps looping back to it. It wants to work it out.

    I have done this with distressing things because my subconscious knows there is something it wants to know. It is also a kind of self-induced repeated exposure therapy type thing, each time I encounter it it slowly becomes less of a problem.

    Also note that scary images release dopamine (along with adrenaline and cortisol). Which is related to reward. Autism is linked to insufficient dopamine.

    I realise most of my coping strategies were related to dopamine seeking activities.

    Your brain is clever and does things without you being fully in control.

Children
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