ASD & PTSD

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Yes, lack of control is a crucial part of trauma. In this one rat study I read, rats were stuck in linked Skinner boxes, and at random moments, the floor of both boxes would electrify and shock the rats. One rat had access to a lever that turned the shock off for both boxes. (Therefore, both rats in a pair received exactly the same amount of shock, but only one had control.) When they studied anxiety and depression symptoms in both rats, only the one without control over the shock showed elevated symptoms compared to non-shocked controls.

Although we don't know how to diagnose PTSD in rats, I'm guessing the rat with the inescapable shock was a lot more likely to have PTSD.

Yes, yes, yes, yes, " " " " ...

It's also common for us to calmly process certain types of inputs that many people would find very disturbing.

Yes this is true also.

Read the DSM 5 description of PTSD and how 'trauma' is defined.

Examples would be...

Dunno what olympiadis is getting at, but I was a lot less bothered by relational bullying than most NTs would be, because of a mix of being socially oblivious and having less of a need for friendship. It was the verbal and physical bullying that really got to me, whereas most NT victims rate relational bullying as worse than verbal or physical bullying.

Interesting. Even though I'm a guy, I'm quite sensitive, so relational bullying did affect me more than it affected NT guys.

I have delayed reactions to a lot of things. Could be anything from a real crisis, to something really ordinary like an unexpected phone call. I can take it very calmly while it's happening, but at some point later on I break down over it.

I've wondered sometimes if I have something like PTSD resulting from my bad experiences at school. These experiences weren't in the same league as combat or facing sexual assault but most nights I dream I'm back at secondary school being degraded and I have frequent flashbacks of teeth-gritting, toe-curling intensity. My emotional development also seems to have stopped in my teenage years, despite constant attempts to "be my age".

I definitely have ptsd symptoms from some exceptional life changing incidents. But I have a trillion small traces in my brain of avoidance tendencies from my asd. As the years go on my world has gotten much smaller. I am always on guard because of all the 'unspoken' ... 'unknowns' that are inherent in a world that spins on people. I have found that the goal in this world is to get by...not operate on 'truth' or 'honesty' but to protect oneself by holding back the information that I think should be available to everyone. I don't understand why 'pride' or 'fear' should keep anyone from telling the truth....'dude it is broken...I don't have a clue...I don't like that...I love that...

It is not an easy life to be raw, completely vulnerable and unafraid to say who I am. It is not valued or well received unless it is 'relevant'. It is not acceptable to not care if I'm relevant. But there is happiness in accepting it and then walking around to my own beat. They aren't wrong they just don't hear it. I'm just glad I do.

Thankyou, thankyou, thankyou for your replies.
I brought up the issue of trauma with my therapist yesterday (this is the third time I've done so with different therapists so I was half expecting not to be taken seriously) and it turns out for me and for other people with ASD this is definitely a 'thing'.

Quote from DSM under causes of PTSD:
Exposure to a stressful event or situation (either short or long lasting) of exceptionally threatening or catastrophic nature, which is likely to cause pervasive distress in almost anyone.

Therapist: So, do you think you're anyone, or do you think you're someone who experiences things quite differently from other people?

Me:

What a dufus question! They must have to get honours in obtuse to graduate.

I don't understand what the therapist said or meant. Was it sarcastic? I hope not!!

The way PTSD is defined, if you've experienced actual or threatened death, serious injury or sexual violence, you meet the criteria in regard to the stressor, though many people who have experienced such a stressor don't develop PTSD. I would think the question should be whether in your subjective experience, such a threat existed at some point?

I had a very strong need for friendship and acceptance, thus why the treatment I received wore on me so heavily, even though I was never physically threatened.

When I was in school, the relational bullying (if I'm understanding "relational bullying" correctly, never heard the term before ) wasn't even considered a thing. To this day I still tell myself I wasn't REALLY bullied, because nobody ever beat me up, nobody ever accosted me in the halls (well, almost never), nobody ever set out to publicly humiliate me in a major way, nobody ever even surrounded me and mocked me mercilessly. It was very, very subtle in most cases for me, and there was far more rejection/ignoring than outright mockery. But it took its toll on me anyway. Back then, I was told to just ignore it, get over it, those kids weren't worth thinking about, sticks-and-stones-may-break-my-bones or whatever.

--digression--
The ONE time I did summon the courage to talk to the guidance counselor about a couple of girls who were harassing me daily, he asked if I could identify them, and I looked in the yearbook and picked out their pictures--to this day I still remember their names. Nothing was ever done. What was the point of that? I ended up having to take a circuitous route through the school, nearly being late for class, just to avoid them. Still don't understand why they targeted me...the saddest thing is, they vaguely reminded me of myself and my former best friend, even in physical appearance. Did they consider what they were doing to be just a fun time, the way my old friend and I would do goofy stuff together...?
--end of digression--

I see all the anti-bullying ads on TV nowadays and while I think it's good that it's finally considered a thing, I also feel rather resentful and ask myself, where was this awareness when *I* needed it...?



Interesting. I too feel like I stopped growing up at a young age; I identify it as around age 12, which incidentally was the last time I was truly happy, around the time the one friend I ever had who really understood me moved away, the time when I entered junior high and left the happiness/simplicity of elementary school behind, and when I started getting rejected by my peers. I. e., when life started going downhill. Though in reality my emotional/mental age seems to be somewhat higher than that...in my dreams of returning to school (which I have VERY frequently, had one just the other night) I'm usually a teenager.

I'd still be playing with toy animals and running around pretending I'm a talking dog if society--and my overbearing self-awareness--permitted it...



Ugh God I hate questions like that. They feel like traps--no right answers.

I guess my own therapy experience has left me bitter. I was so humiliated and ashamed when my treatment was terminated that I never even summoned the courage to fill out and return my dismissal forms so they could close my case. I was so glad when my dentist moved his office out of that same building; I could never go back there for treatment even if I had the chance. Yet more trauma!

I had very bad ptsd after a person tried kissing me against my will, I did treatment and I'm ok now, but I experience flashbacks, nigthmares, etc... I think most nt wouldn't have ptsd after that, but for me was truly horrible..

I've yet to see the full lecture (will post again around noon) but I'm about to have a lecture on Autism for my Challenging Behaviours module and one of the slides has "Post Traumatic Stress" in regards to memory, as far as I could discern in meant about sensory processes but I could be wrong.

I will get back later and see if any references are provided.