14 Jan 2011, 4:49 pm
14 Jan 2011, 8:39 pm
Ugh, not having a good writing day (or any other kind of day), but here goes:
I saw this about something called "complex PTSD":
Quote:
Complex post-traumatic stress disorder (C-PTSD) is a psychological injury that results from protracted exposure to prolonged social and/or interpersonal trauma with lack or loss of control, disempowerment, and in the context of either captivity or entrapment, i.e. the lack of a viable escape route for the victim. C-PTSD is distinct from, but similar to, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Though mainstream journals have published papers on C-PTSD, the category is not formally recognized in diagnostic systems such as DSM or ICD.[1]
I don't want to say it's the exactly the same as the full-blown thing, since that includes flat-out life-threatening situations, being a prisoner of war, and long-term childhood sexual abuse, and such. But, I wonder if on a lesser level this could be related to certain traits or responses to the world in (some, at least) autistic people. The idea seems to be that inescapable, chronic stress leads to certain things/responses.
The following is the "Child and adolescent symptom cluster," which is more interesting for my purposes here than the adult symtoms:
Quote:
Cook and others[31][32] describe symptoms and behavioural characteristics in seven domains:
Attachment - "problems with relationship boundaries, lack of trust, social isolation, difficulty perceiving and responding to other’s emotional states, and lack of empathy"
Biology - "sensory-motor developmental dysfunction, sensory-integration difficulties, somatization, and increased medical problems"
Affect or emotional regulation - "poor affect regulation, difficulty identifying and expressing emotions and internal states, and difficulties communicating needs, wants, and wishes"
Dissociation - "amnesia, depersonalization, discrete states of consciousness with discrete memories, affect, and functioning, and impaired memory for state-based events"
Behavioural control - "problems with impulse control, aggression, pathological self-soothing, and sleep problems"
Cognition - "difficulty regulating attention, problems with a variety of "executive functions" such as planning, judgement, initiation, use of materials, and self- monitoring, difficulty processing new information, difficulty focusing and completing tasks, poor object constancy, problems with "cause-effect" thinking, and language developmental problems such as a gap between receptive and expressive communication abilities."
Self-concept -"fragmented and disconnected autobiographical narrative, disturbed body image, low self-esteem, excessive shame, and negative internal working models of self"
Attachment - "problems with relationship boundaries, lack of trust, social isolation, difficulty perceiving and responding to other’s emotional states, and lack of empathy"
Biology - "sensory-motor developmental dysfunction, sensory-integration difficulties, somatization, and increased medical problems"
Affect or emotional regulation - "poor affect regulation, difficulty identifying and expressing emotions and internal states, and difficulties communicating needs, wants, and wishes"
Dissociation - "amnesia, depersonalization, discrete states of consciousness with discrete memories, affect, and functioning, and impaired memory for state-based events"
Behavioural control - "problems with impulse control, aggression, pathological self-soothing, and sleep problems"
Cognition - "difficulty regulating attention, problems with a variety of "executive functions" such as planning, judgement, initiation, use of materials, and self- monitoring, difficulty processing new information, difficulty focusing and completing tasks, poor object constancy, problems with "cause-effect" thinking, and language developmental problems such as a gap between receptive and expressive communication abilities."
Self-concept -"fragmented and disconnected autobiographical narrative, disturbed body image, low self-esteem, excessive shame, and negative internal working models of self"
It seems the idea is that those are the effects of chronic, inescapable stress (and trauma). It seems like this could fit with the OP's idea of being stuck in "survival mode," due to a hostile (sensory, socially, executive-funtcionally, etc.) world. Again, probably not as extreme as actual C-PTSD, but the symptoms above are interesting.
Random thing: while googling, I ran across this, which cat people might find interesing: Cats as a Treatment for Post Traumatic Stress
Another random thing: just had an interesting/amusing thought -- a fetus in the womb, stimming. Has stimming ever been shown to happen in the womb? -- like on an ultrasound scan, or any mothers ever report feeling it?
Another amusing image: fetus in the womb stimming, with a caption that says, "caused by refrigerator mother, my a**"
15 Jan 2011, 8:30 am
15 Jan 2011, 12:55 pm
15 Jan 2011, 4:31 pm
Verdandi
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Joined: 7 Dec 2010
Age: 55
Gender: Female
Posts: 12,275
Location: University of California Sunnydale (fictional location - Real location Olympia, WA)
15 Jan 2011, 8:28 pm
15 Jan 2011, 8:30 pm
17 Jan 2011, 7:57 pm
