2w ago

ELI5: how do people with autism/high functioning disorder not experience the same mental health problems as those without it

For example, people with autism often have difficulty focusing or relaxing, anxiety, and other issues like anxiety attacks and body image issues. They may also develop PTSD, depression, or other forms of anxiety. People without these issues often struggle to fall asleep, stay asleep, and/or regain consciousness in a normal state, especially if they experience severe distress/unhelpful behaviors.

32 comments

How is it possible that some people with a mental disorder have normal functioning?
- Its the same way with autism. They just dont get it. They have a mental disorder and cant express it. They cant communicate, but they dont experience it. If they could express it, theyd have a perfectly normal functioning autism. Im not saying that you have to be an autist to understand this, Im just saying that the idea of "normal functioning" has a long history of being used as an excuse to deny people with autism the ability to express themselves. If you believe you have a mental disorder, thats a mental disorder. If you are a "normal functioning" autistic person, that doesnt make you a mental disorder. Its not that bad, and Im sure it isnt wrong.
  
  To expand on what you said, you’d be surprised how many people with autism experience the exact same problems as those without it. I just finished a course on autism and I was shocked at the sheer number of people who were diagnosed with it and still struggle with a lot of things. There are some really interesting stories, but I’m going to leave that at that.
  
  I was always impressed by how many people don’t have autism, just "normal functioning" . And then you go on a rampage in your house, it’s a fucking insanity.
- I don’t think I’m even a medical doctor, it’s just the lack of knowledge of how people with a mental disorder might be able to function in society. That’s why I’m so interested in autism and other mental illnesses.
  
  The only real answer is that it is extremely hard to come up with a standard of criteria for a mental disorder, and if you think a mental disorder has a single symptom and it has a lot of symptom-like symptoms, then you may be very far off from what you think a mental disorder is. The "no symptoms, no diagnosing" model is the standard, and that’s how the vast majority of people with a mental disorder end up with no symptoms whatsoever.
Telling my partner what my thoughts are is a good way to tell someone they're overthinking their situation, which is exactly what my friend needs to hear and would appreciate some clarification
- And it also gives me more information than my buddy
  
  The person is likely not overthinking their situation or understanding their situation
- That’s what I always told my autistic friends, the people with autism are so hyperfocused on their own needs and don’t consider any of their partners thoughts, they’re way too narcissistic and shallow and never consider what they’d like or think about.
This post makes sense because it describes the psychological and psychosocial impact of ASD. The people with ASD tend to be extremely vulnerable to their neurotypical personality traits. Therefore, it’s more than a personal loss. The people without ASD are also vulnerable to their neurotypical personality traits. As I mentioned earlier, we aren’t perfect. It’s important to recognize that people with autism are not unique and I wouldn’t consider them special, we have all been affected by the same mental health issues. In addition, we are not unique because they’re all just confused.
- If you try to just not talk to someone with an ASD, it is quite likely to break them
  
  How is this an argument to not talk to someone with an ASD? If you try to avoid talking to them, they will become convinced that you don’t care about them. It’s kind of the opposite of what autism is, and you should try to talk to them. The flip side to that is that it's ok to be a bit weird, especially if you try not to be weird themselves.
- This makes sense because it describes the mental health issues of the people with autism.
  
  Yes. The people with autism experience the same mental health issues. People with autism may be particularly vulnerable to their neurotypical personality traits because their brain doesn't fully function. But they are not unique in that regard.
- How are people with autism and neurodivergent personality traits able to do all that without actually experiencing the same mental health issues as those with autism?
  
  That’s why we shouldn’t have the same mental health issues for everyone. In other words, why do we not have people who get PTSD while having PTSD? I know that’s not unique to autism.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The way you describe the type of mental health issues I experienced from having ASD/HPD was one of the best I have ever heard
- That’s some really low effort, uninteresting stuff
- What was the reason?
  
  Because you can’t do what you can't see
  
  I have been on my phone a lot for the past 5 years.
- It’s a lot like how autism doesn’t affect a lot of people in general but it does affect those with certain conditions or conditions that people with it don’t have. This is not true for everyone though because everyone is different. I’ve seen a lot of people with autism struggle with anxiety, depression, anxiety of various kinds etc and these mental health issues can be quite concerning for people with autism and it makes it more difficult for people with autism to function.
  
  A lot of people who don't experience the same type of issues as others suffer from the same problems. I have multiple things in common with one of my siblings that make it very hard for him to be in any normal mode. It would also mean he has less access to support that he needs when trying to make a decision on his own.
The best way for someone who has Autism Spectrum Disorder – including nonverbal children–to understand what this topic means is through their interaction with others around them. As such I encourage anyone interested here to read my book , which gives tips on helping individuals interact well with friends and family members online via social media using different approaches based off feedback gathered by our team over time since we started working together three years ago! You can find out all sorts details regarding each chapter right HERE .

32 comments