#WorldMentalHealthDay: ASC and Mental Health

Hi All!

Today is #WorldMentalHealthDay. I have been quite open on this page about my history with anxiety, mood problems and trichotillomania, so today I thought I'd talk about my more recent experiences with getting to know the relationship between my autism and my mental health.

This year's theme, I've been told, is young people and mental health in a changing world. As a young person with autism it feels like the world is constantly changing and changing far too quickly. The kind of change I mean here isn't global progress but rather that small, personal change that can send you spinning. We can all struggle with large change every now and again but for the autistic individual it can feel even more dizzying.

So what does this have to do with mental health? As many of you may be aware recently I've been forced to process an awlful lot of change, moving to somewhere new, going back to university, a new job. All these things are ultimately good experiences but they are also loud and big and the kind that feel wavy, almost wobbly. They'd be a lot for any young person but it doesn't help that change is a particular difficulty of mine. It overwhelms me, confuses me, makes me anxious. I think this is in part because I notice every little part of change, the loss of routine, the possessions that are no longer there, the new scents.

A big part of my autistic experience is feeling more vulnerable to everything around me, both in a sensory and emotional sense, which change is a part of. This can leave me prone to feeling overloaded with things to take in and process and this can lead to higher levels of anxiety. When I can't process everything the world expects me to this can cause meltdown or shutdown, leaving the world even more confused about me.

Mental Health problems are more common among those with autism spectrum disorders, and many autistic women are diagnosed with a whole host of mental health problems before an ASD diagnosis. I can understand why, both logically and from experience. The world is a lot for the autistic individual and world doesn't always like to recognise this. Change is just one example of something that makes the world challenging for folks on the spectrum. There's also the literal volume and chaos of the world, the pressure to conform and the stigma around autism. It makes perfect sense why so many of us struggle.

So to those also living on the spectrum, don't be asked to say when you're struggling, lots of us often are and understand you. We are surviving in a world that wasn't built for us. Don't be afraid to say you need support and be proud to say you need to practice a little extra self care. I know a lot of this is easier said than done but we need to start putting our needs first, not the stigma.

Take care of yourselves.

See you later Alligators!

Freya x

PHOTO SOURCE: http://www.southsomersetmind.co.uk/world-mental-health-awareness-day-2018.asp

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Winnie the Pooh: Piglet and Anxiety

Image
Hey All! As you will have gathered from my last post, very few things make me as happy as Winnie the Pooh. It is one of the things that I turn to for comfort when I am most overwhelmed and it has been something that has bought me joy for as long as I can remember. This last week is one that I found particularly overwhelming, and at times I have most definitely struggled and found myself feeling especially overloaded. For this reason I felt like writing something a little lighter today and I thought I would tie one of my very favourite things to one of the key themes of this blog: mental health. One only has to step foot into the world of the internet to find many theories about the various characters of Winnie the Pooh representing different mental illnesses. I'm not entirely sure how much I agree with the illnesses attached to certain characters and like many retrospective theories about children's media I think that these theories can be a little stretched. However, one
Read more

Spock vs. Data: Who is the true autistic icon of Star Trek?

Image
 Hello All! The title of this post might seem a bit silly. Honestly, I've been dealing with a lot of stress and fatigue lately and I've had this idea for several months so I decided to go for a light hearted post today. However, I do think this is an interesting conversation, especially for an autistic Trekkie like myself. Over the last year or so Star Trek has become a huge special interest and comfort show for me, having been introduced to it during a very difficult time by some very special and important people.  Spock has been adopted by many as an autistic icon for some time now. His literal thinking, difficulties with interaction and rigid behaviours are relatable for many on the spectrum. This has been undoubtedly strengthened by the questionable and unspoken portrayal of Dr Sheldon Cooper as autistic in The Big Bang Theory. For Sheldon Spock is not only a relatable character but a hero and role model. It is clear that Sheldon wants to be more like Spock than he already
Read more

Adulting with Autism

Image
Hey All! The last month or so has been incredibly stressful for me! As we near ever closer to the beginning of the new academic year for those starting or returning to university, I've personally had a lot to organise, primarily my flat, my courses and job applications. Adulting can be difficult at the best of times, but add the capacity for becoming overwhelmed that so often comes with autism and it can quickly become even harder! I think the primary reasons why my ability to become overwhelmed makes admin and adulting a little more challenging for me personally is that it involves a lot of organisation and is very often social intense. I don't wish to speak for everyone on the spectrum but I do feel like having a condition which is characterised by difficulty with communication and processing information makes 'adult' tasks a little extra challenging. There's emails and phone calls and meetings and numbers and dates and to do lists. When your takes in absolute
Read more