Dan Metevier
Curious Shrink
Welcome to this website. I hope you find it as informative and satisfying as I have.I was diagnosed with PTSD and aspergers officially 2 years ago.
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Welcome to this website. I hope you find it as informative and satisfying as I have.I was diagnosed with PTSD and aspergers officially 2 years ago.
I am beginning to agree with this as I read more of what is being written in this thread and others. It seems that aspergers (at least in some) may turn down or turn off the part of the brain that "normally" signals danger, leaving that person without much of a first line of defense. Back in the day, so to speak, people were not aware of this possibility so parents and others didn't even think of providing this line of defense on behalf of their children (not to make excuses). Does all this sound right?
Sorry, Kari, for the psychobabble. Dissociative just means that your mind goes blank, like you're not really there, so to speak. The lights are off and no one is home. One might have this kind of experience while drinking heavily, where they have a memory "blackout" afterwards. Or it might be a survival mechanism that allows a person not to have to experience something particularly painful or overwhelming.
Emotional flooding means just what it sounds like. One gets so filled with an emotion (anger, fear, etc.) that they're not able to function effectively. Typically, this requires a "cool down" period to return to a state where one can function OK.
I hope that helps. If not, I'll take another go at it. Sorry! Thanks for asking.
Your needs sound familiar and I'm sorry you did not have a therapist that was able to "get" what you needed. While I want to continue to be careful about not doing online therapy here, you may wish to look at a book on a topic called "Dialectical Behavior Therapy." This method was originally developed to treat people who had been labeled "Borderline Personality Disorder," but has been found useful for other people as well. Here is a link to a workbook that one might use to work through many of the issues you mentioned: . You may find this helpful or you may not. Just a thought. Let me know what you think either way. And thanks for sharing your story.
Many thanks Dan, that is kind. I appreciate your comment and wish you all the best.LJ, in my mind that statement could have been made by any human being. I believe we all learn to live behind a front in order to get along in this world. Even us "neuro-typicals" (definitely this one). There is a great tension in our lives between being who we are (whatever that might be) and being someone who is acceptable to others. It can be a balancing act, or it can go out of balance, one way or the other. This is not to discount your particular experience and struggles. This is to let you know that you are not alone in this struggle. I join you in this struggle, though in my own unique way. I wish you the best with yours.
Many thanks as well, but I am soooo far from overcoming what causes my own PTSD or controlling my reactions to my triggers without using some kind of avoidance like shutdowns or staying far, far away for decades at a time. It's just not a healthy situation all around, and my emotions are so strong about it I've got a tenuous grasp at best on controlling it. I just wish I could get the people causing it to understand that whatever "help" they think they're giving is so much more disastrous than what they think they are preventing. And blast it all if they aren't federally protected so I can't give them a proper demonstration and let them see for themselves! But knowing my luck I'd just get locked up, strapped down even more, and then get assaulted much more often than I already am by those "helpful" people.AsheSkyler, thank you for your compassion. I am new to learning about ASD, and have never had anyone understand this situation before. The expression you use, to force oneself into shutdown to avoid an explosion, is so fitting. Thank you for your understanding, your kindness, and your wisdom. Seems that you have overcome much, and have an amazing well of inner strength and resiliency. I'm wishing you good thoughts for today.
Are you sure that it's not the other way around? That you are sensitive / panic stricken in that area BECAUSE you were "handled" traumatically when young?My trauma and autism are linked. I've written and re-written this post several times, and I keep trying to fend off panic attacks. Whoo, deep topic!
Due to ASD, I have some extremely hypersensitive areas on my body. Touch in one area in particular causes a sudden physical/psychological agony and instant flight-or-fight/meltdown. I was born with a medical condition that (oh, joy!) means that area needed to be examined/handled every 3 months by a specialist doc. As a tiny child, Mom or Dad would often suddenly take me out of playing outside, even on a seemingly lovely day, to go to the doc. I was usually held down by 4 - 6 adults while having a part of my body touched that was excruciating. I was a compliant, timid kid, but I had meltdowns during this. As an adult, I must still regularly see a specialist. Now, I can ask to be examined without contact in the area of hypersensitivity. But some procedures may need handling there-- and I absolutely cannot manage it without going Chernobyl.
Shutdowns (due to stress of dealing with a trauma trigger) can mean one is trapped in a vertical tunnel of fog, going through life disembodied, so it's hard to answer medical questions such as "Do you have pain?" and "Where?" In a fogged-out shutdown, it can even be hard to distingish if you are nauseous, in pain, or have to pee. And in this inward, zombie-like state, you still need to manage executive functioning and, yikes, even run errands so there's food in your house.
Due to the ASD, when stressed, like Rain Man, I keep repeating the same few phrases over and over. If stress continues, I lose speech altogether. So as a child, I learned I can be tortured, it can happen at any time, and that I figuratively had no voice. It so happens that when in a scary situation, I also literally have no voice. So, I now live with PTSD and ASD-- with the ASD hamstringing me when I'm in the PTSD situation!
I'm fascinated by someone trying to help ASD people with trauma. Thank you for what you are trying to do to help! I am so grateful that someone is exploring this.
PS-- As luck would have it, tomorrow's my routine specialist appointment. I've lost speech twice this month. Whee!Good thoughts for my exam warmly welcomed.