renaeden wrote:
FrostBender wrote:
I want to go under electroshock therapy like john elder robison did. To get the normal parts of the brain switched on. However I don’t have the funds for it.
I didn't know John Elder Robison had ECT. I wonder why he had it. I've had it too, about six months after I joined WP. I had eight sessions in total and it made me happier for a while but it had no effect on my autism. Not even a little bit. The reason I had it was because I had deep depression that medication didn't fix. Two psychiatrists had to approve it and I had to sign a form that listed the risks.
In short, ECT has no effect on autism.
Based on his story, I deduced that it had affected his alexithymia -- a very common thing amongst autistics that affects areas in emotions and empathy, not his 'autism' -- but definitely altered his own emotional, social, sensory and cognitive profile.
It just not told that it's alexithymia, and was told that it's the stereotypical autistic 'insensitivity' of aspergers.
At least it is acknowledged that it's a spectrum; that not all autistics are like this. But that's usually not where readers are paying attention.
I'm not sure if it's due to his upbringing, his personality trait, his trauma or part of his sensory and cognitive profile (insensitivity related).
As far as I'm concerned, it doesn't affect autism itself at all.
More like he didn't 'switched on' his attunement to emotions and 'became more empathetic and NT' -- he 'switched off' his alexithymia and had gained more insight to the human fundamentals that an aged and experienced autistic would benefit in understanding NTs and humans overall.
And deep meditative states, if deep enough, CAN change a person's perspective over humanity.
In fact, this is one of the major ways I gained insight over humans and humanity and one of my major sudden changes -- but instead of ECT, it's just dumb luck over a successful meditation session with random binarual music.
And gave me this weirdest week of my life -- actually becoming a literal empath that feels so, so, many things that I'm so sure it isn't me.
And -- unlike John who was a 50s something year old man who want to be 'more human' by treating his depression, I was a 24 year old overemotional woman who was so sick of herself for being 'too human'.
Heck -- I experienced the inversed myself which is turning down whatever made me too sensitive to emotions; and there are major alterations that needs at least a period of adjustment to a significant overnight change.