Dave B wrote:
I am guilty in making the assumption that autism is less amenable to such therapy, is this correct?
I'd like to jump in here, if that's ok. Are people on the spectrum less amenable to talking therapy? Well, that depends. And here's where I am less black and white
It depends on where the person is on the spectrum ie. verbal or not, how much introspection they possess etc. Depends on the why the person has the anxiety/depression. Is it caused by external or internal factors or combination?
Dave B wrote:*One of the most commonly used "techniques", used by well meaning friends but also by therapists, is, "Get out more, meet people, join a club or two . . ." For the person who is, say, naturally a little reclusive, who can happily curl up with a book for weeks' worth of evenings - but who cannot even achieve this level of relaxation and recreation due to whatever problem they are experiencing - suggesting that they change what is a natural behaviour pattern, for them, to an artificial one that requires constant effort to maintain, may eventually make matters worse.
There's potentially a big difference between a recluse and someone with ASD. A recluse may choose to distance him/herself from others on purpose but still has the typical neurological responses that most others have regarding ability to connect, how to speak in such a way as to facilitate this, reading non-verbals etc. For the ASD person, no matter how many skills they obtain, no matter how hard they try, they won't be able to communicate/connect like an NT (neurotypical) person.
That's where depression/anxiety often come in for people 'higher' on the spectrum. If you can see that you are different, if you can analyze what you do and how you do it but you can't change it, depression will set in. That's not to say that one can't learn new skills but it's more like 'cut and paste' since the change is probably superficial. That is to say the wiring of the brain hasn't altered but you've added something on.
Dave B wrote:It may be possible in very small steps, little experiments, and the sufferer may genuinely find something new that occupies them sufficiently to perform a "cure".
Sometimes, it really hurts when I see other people connect easily just by chatting and I'm on the periphery. If I try too hard to join with them, I'm excluded as much as if I remain detached. And I have no clue what I'm doing wrong.
That can lead to suffering because many people with ASD
want to have friends, connect, share and be included. It's why I like this forum. Here I can feel included so much so that I bravely stepped out of my created reclusiveness, bought a plane ticket and flew 5000 km to meet the fine folks here.
I think what helped me take such a huge chance, imo, is that I got to show who I am here first without having to worry about the non-verbals. I was honest to a fault (very typical of many people with ASD), blunt and opinionated but they didn't kick me out. At least not yet.
And to end this selfish narrative, the other thing I have done is to learn to be happy with who I am, regardless of my eccentricities. This is who I am. Take it or leave it. I'll be okay no matter what. And I don't say this in a snippy, 'I'm better than others' way but rather out of having gone through the very hard work of being an 'outsider', someone who is different, someone who has struggled to fit in and ended up finding a place where I like me. It's still a work in progress...
I think I need to apologize to Daniel if I've taken up your thread. It's not all about me but you sure wouldn't know it...
Transformative fire...