Airplane analogy for emotions in autism

[Nervous Rex]

I'm trying out a new analogy. Let me know if this makes sense to you.

The Airplane analogy:

Rational thought and emotions are like the pilot and copilot in an airplane. In NT's they communicate back and forth, and work together. In me*, it's like there's a wall between the pilot and the copilot.

More detail:

1. In me, often the pilot (logic) is working in his compartment and forgets that the copilot (emotion) even exists. That's dangerous, because the copilot is still responsible for half the cockpit.

2. Sometimes the pilot is struggling to steer plane the way he thinks it should go, but the plane is hard to steer and feels out of control - that's because the copilot is trying to go a different way than the pilot. To get the plane on course, the pilot has figure out what the copilot is doing and why. Only then can they work together and get the plane back on course.

3. If the copilot really wants something done, he pounds on the wall between them. This distracts the pilot and the copilot controls the plane for a while.

4. The instrument panel control is on the pilot's side. When it's dark, the copilot can't see outside and wants get away from anything that could be a hazard. The pilot has to turn on the instrument panel for the copilot.

Explanations (numbers below correspond to the numbers above):
1. I live my entire life in my head. It's easy for me to forget that I have a heart, too. A counselor once explained to me that, in autism, the lines of communication between the amygdala - which is responsible for emotions - and the rest of the brain are throttled and more limited.

2. Sometimes, I find myself acting mad, nervous, upset, etc. in situations where I shouldn't feel those emotions. It's frustrating because at those times, my behavior doesn't make sense even to me. I look at myself and think, "What am I, a two-year-old?" I've found that I have to think back to remember the last thing that triggered those emotions. Then I have to consciously think through the situation - I have to process it and resolve it. Only then will the emotions stemming from the situation go away.

Why do I have to watch my behavior to tell what I'm feeling? Because I'm often not consciously aware of the emotions I'm feeling. It's easier for me deduce my emotions from my own behavior than it is to recognize what I'm feeling.

3. I do feel and recognize very strong emotions immediately. But when that happens it is overwhelming.

4. There are times when the emotions of a situation tell me one thing, but I can reason through it. I have to repeat the reasoning in my head to get them to sink down into the emotional side.

*I put "in me" for my perspective, but I'm wondering if I can generalize this to "in some autistics."

 

[Fino]

I found it mostly confusing. Maybe I'm just a dum-dum, but the translating of multiple things from the analogy to emotions and then a third step of relating it to myself made my head hurt!

But on the general topic, I spend a lot of time trying to figure out what to call the emotion I'm experiencing and then figuring out why I might be feeling that way. About half the time, I don't know what I'm feeling, I just know if it's good or bad. And about half the time, I can't figure out the reason, either. But those halves don't coincide so it's even more scattered than it sounds!

 

[the_tortoise]

It makes sense to me, although my experience is different in some significant ways.

2. Sometimes, I find myself acting mad, nervous, upset, etc. in situations where I shouldn't feel those emotions. It's frustrating because at those times, my behavior doesn't make sense even to me. I look at myself and think, "What am I, a two-year-old?" I've found that I have to think back to remember the last thing that triggered those emotions. Then I have to consciously think through the situation - I have to process it and resolve it. Only then will the emotions stemming from the situation go away.

For me the problem is not that I don't know what triggered the emotions -- I almost always know what I'm feeling and why I feel something, but thoughts don't necessarily change my emotional state once it's there.

I may know, instantly and without really thinking about it, for example, that my anxiety about something is completely irrational -- the product of trauma, usually. But that fact alone is not enough to calm me. Rational analysis of the situation to determine an actual threat level may do little or nothing to calm the anxiety.

I theorize that part of the reason for this is that my thoughts about emotions are not very abstracted and it's difficult for me to regulate my attention at the best of times, to imagine and maintain focus on a not-right-now-but-possible emotional state (when upset, my focus is automatically and instinctively drawn not only to whatever has upset me, but also to feeling upset and it is difficult for me to shift away and imagine feeling calm again) -- it's all very concrete in my mind, thinking about an emotion means remembering it, and remembering it means feeling it....even if only very faintly. So focusing on the emotion, which I naturally do, can cause or worsen a situation where my emotions get out of hand.

 

[tree]

Oh dear.
Upon reading this, the first thing in my head
was those old Disney 'science explanation' shows.
Where Goofy or somebody is in a head/brain, operating all the body parts
and thoughts.....

 

[Nervous Rex]

Oh dear.
Upon reading this, the first thing in my head
was those old Disney 'science explanation' shows.
Where Goofy or somebody is in a head/brain, operating all the body parts
and thoughts.....

Well, that's two votes for "Rex Overexplains". This is why I ask for input. Clearly I need to shorten it. Perhaps just this:

Rational thought and emotions are like the pilot and copilot in an airplane. In most people they communicate back and forth, and work together. In me*, it's like there's a wall between the pilot and the copilot. They don't communicate as well, and sometimes they fight for control.

 

[the_tortoise]

Well, that's two votes for "Rex Overexplains". This is why I ask for input. Clearly I need to shorten it. Perhaps just this:

Rational thought and emotions are like the pilot and copilot in an airplane. In most people they communicate back and forth, and work together. In me*, it's like there's a wall between the pilot and the copilot. They don't communicate as well, and sometimes they fight for control.

I like your detailed explanation better. For me it paints a clearer picture.

 

[tree]

The first section makes the picture.

The second part seemed un-necessary, to me.

 

[SusanLR]

I don't feel a wall between the two.
If anything it is like twins caught in a struggle. I like how the_tortoise explains it:

(when upset, my focus is automatically and instinctively drawn not only to whatever has upset me, but also to feeling upset and it is difficult for me to shift away and imagine feeling calm again) -- it's all very concrete in my mind, thinking about an emotion means remembering it, and remembering it means feeling it....even if only very faintly. So focusing on the emotion, which I naturally do, can cause or worsen a situation where my emotions get out of hand.

 

[Progster]

A bit complicated, but yes, it does make sense, I do feel like I'm cut off from my emotions and that they are not operating in tandem.

A counselor once explained to me that, in autism, the lines of communication between the amygdala - which is responsible for emotions - and the rest of the brain are throttled and more limited.

This makes sense.

 

[offkey]

For me, the analogy makes sense. I was waiting for you to point out the burden of having to make sure the 300 passengers will get to their destination safely.

But yes, my thoughts and emotions are not interacting in an organic way. There's always the delay of processing. Some need for analysis, instead of just feeling and acting accordingly. Whatever that may mean. You could say that in some sense, for someone on the spectrum getting extremely mad after emotional overload is what it means to act in accordance with your emotions.