Welcome back to Reading the Research, where I trawl the Internet to find noteworthy research on autism and related subjects, then discuss it in brief with bits from my own life, research, and observations.
Today's article helps to clear up a misunderstanding about autism and mental illnesses like depression and anxiety. Autism, after all, often comes with depressive disorders and anxiety disorders, such as bipolar disorder, major depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and panic attacks. These things can be so well-intertwined with the symptoms of autism, that people equate the conditions. Having autism, to some people, includes having depression and anxiety.
While this is generally accurate, statistically speaking (the statistics vary, but 80% is often quoted), it's not accurate in the absolute sense. Autism, as this study shows, does not innately include depression and anxiety. Instead, the cause of those conditions is social stress, and the stigma people attach to our lives.
In much plainer words: we aren't broken (soul-less, rude, inhuman, un-teachable, hopeless, weirdo) people, but other people treat us like we are, and that's painful and hurtful. Over time, that stress and pain add up, and mental illness can result.
The researchers describe this stress as "minority stress," equating it with the kind of systematic stress that racial minorities suffer in the US. The good news about this is that we already know how minority stress can be handled: better education, integration, and better support systems. When people are exposed to autistic people young (or when they're older, if they're flexible-minded), they can learn to treat us like we're people instead of weirdos. Our eccentricities can be considered acceptable, even if they're not entirely understood.
In short, the stigma can be undermined. With fewer people subscribing to that stigma, and treating us like second-class people, the mental health of all autistic people will improve. And that will mean fewer suicide victims.
Today's article helps to clear up a misunderstanding about autism and mental illnesses like depression and anxiety. Autism, after all, often comes with depressive disorders and anxiety disorders, such as bipolar disorder, major depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and panic attacks. These things can be so well-intertwined with the symptoms of autism, that people equate the conditions. Having autism, to some people, includes having depression and anxiety.
While this is generally accurate, statistically speaking (the statistics vary, but 80% is often quoted), it's not accurate in the absolute sense. Autism, as this study shows, does not innately include depression and anxiety. Instead, the cause of those conditions is social stress, and the stigma people attach to our lives.
In much plainer words: we aren't broken (soul-less, rude, inhuman, un-teachable, hopeless, weirdo) people, but other people treat us like we are, and that's painful and hurtful. Over time, that stress and pain add up, and mental illness can result.
The researchers describe this stress as "minority stress," equating it with the kind of systematic stress that racial minorities suffer in the US. The good news about this is that we already know how minority stress can be handled: better education, integration, and better support systems. When people are exposed to autistic people young (or when they're older, if they're flexible-minded), they can learn to treat us like we're people instead of weirdos. Our eccentricities can be considered acceptable, even if they're not entirely understood.
In short, the stigma can be undermined. With fewer people subscribing to that stigma, and treating us like second-class people, the mental health of all autistic people will improve. And that will mean fewer suicide victims.
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