Comment by Telaneo | Hacker News Reader

Comment by Telaneo | Hacker News Reader

A somewhat common sentiment I've heard among those with autism and ADHD is that an untraumatised autist or ADHDer doesn't exist. The literal statement obviously isn't true, but a lot of the downwind effects of it are.

Most people are diagnosed with autism or ADHD because they have problems due to trauma, or they have problems which gave them trauma, or them having these problems made them more sensitive, which in turn traumatised them when it wouldn't have done the same to others. Many of the diagnostic criteria are trauma responses or otherwise external signals which have very little to do with the internal experience of actually having autism or ADHD.

What does a well-developed, untraumatised person with autism or ADHD even look like? We can make some broad statements based on assumptions, but many of those people won't even be diagnosed, since they've never had reason to. What made life work out for them isn't an active area of study, since finding that group of people is close to impossible.

I have schizophrenic disorder and OCD and most likely undiagnosed Asperger‘s because I’m an old fuck.

I continue to be traumatized by my disorder. In fact, I’m currently homeless living on disability with my mental illness and also connective tissue disorder.

You can’t have these disorders and not be traumatized, at least not at the level of disorder I have. I was a brilliant child and a brilliant college student, but had psychosis that made me drop out and having me change my major every other year. I still manage to graduate on the Dean’s list though it took me seven years.

So yeah, still traumatized by my family just not wanting to talk to him anymore because I remind them too much of my nephew who died by suicide. And that’s literally the truth. I didn’t do anything to them. I’ve never heard anyone in my life or even punch someone.

I was relentlessly bullied in junior high through high school not only by fellow students but also by my brothers all older than me. Mostly due to the fact that they had mood disorders as well.

But I know trauma isn’t the cause of my disorder. I know it cause I see it in my genetics. I’m a genetic freak and I can’t get anyone to care about it. And that further is a trauma. The sense of being alone and ignored even though you’re highly intelligent. I mean, I taught myself genetics and have conversations pretending I’m a scientist all the time with people who write all these studies it only falls apart when they ask me what school I went to, and I finally tell them the truth. Then they just stopped talking to me. That’s crazy right? That’s trauma. Anyway, just venting.

Europe here

I think it’s a miracle that you’re still alive. I can relate to a certain extent.

It was during the last year of my education as a Systems Engineer, where I was hospitalized into a mental institution due to a failed suicide attempt. I was 19 at that time. There I got my first diagnosis: paranoid schizophrenia (ICD-10, F20.0). Due to my persistent depressive mood and suicidal ambivalence (as I understood) it was revised to schizoaffective disorder (ICD-10, F25.1). Several antidepressants, mood stabalizers and antipsychotics were tried like: Escitalopram, Duloxetine, Sertraline, Lithium, Quetiapine, Haloperidol, Clozapine and Olanzapine (as far as I can remember) and also electroconvulsive therapy (ECT).

By a coincidence, I was assessed for autism spectrum disorder, because my behavior couldn't still really be explained (myself was also unable). My parents also got interviewed. It has become apparent that my father is also on the spectrum. Autism spectrum disorder (Asperger syndrome ICD-10, F84.5) and with recurrent depressive disorder with psychotic symptoms (ICD-10, F33.3) were the diagnoses when I was transferred to a locked care facility after more than a year.

In the facility I had weekly therapy with my psychiatrist. He confirmed the autism diagnosis and additionally diagnosed a PTSD (ICD-10, F43.1), after I told him about situations in my early childhood and my time in high school. The psychiatrist told me that, people in the spectrum are often victim of abuse, because of a certain vulnerability malicious people (like NPD) make use of.

Today, 9 years later I am still living in the facility.

I'm sorry for your troubles and I hope you find some peace. But don't focus too much on ICD-10 codes. Those were designed for classification purposes and — especially for mental health conditions — don't necessarily align to any specific underlying cause or provide useful guidance toward effective treatment.

Yes, you are absolutely right. However I mentioned the exact diagnosis with the ICD-10 code intentionally. It helps me to describe how I feel. I wanted to make it as unambiguous as possible between the systems DSM-5 and ICD-10 (I only know ICD-10 and I am not an expert at all) so on an international board we can refer to the same.

> provide treatment

Yes, they can force you to stay in an isolation room for weeks or longer and inject medication. Sounds like a trauma, but it is sometimes necessary.

> effective treatment

Something like that is always desirable. However, reality can look different.

Hey BGPestablished, Yes, kind of a miracle I am alive, as with you. Mental Illness is the worst disease to have. I gave up on most medications, now take Klonopin just to keep me down when I need it. Through self education I came a long way but no one cares and no one believes me.

It does sound like we are similar, and frankly I wish I could be institutionalized as well. I have twice attempted suicide but managed to avoid ECT. I think scizoaffective is another name for complex Asperger's.

what country are you in? Just curious because I believe my illness comes from my mothers side, Finnish/Sami heritage.

Before ASD was established there was(I think it is still alive) an idea for spectrum, that included also schizophrenic and other neurodivergents as they overlap.

@Telaneo >>>What does a well-developed, untraumatised person with autism or ADHD even look like? We can make some broad statements based on assumptions, but many of those people won't even be diagnosed, since they've never had reason to. What made life work out for them isn't an active area of study, since finding that group of people is close to impossible.

I was diagnosed ASD quite late, but only because of circumstances, where I was sliding even further down. Before that I was surviving, sometimes struggling, but I did not thought it as something to blame others or even life circumstances, including traumatic events(like death of my dad, when I was small), but simply because I was different, but clearly that attitude can only last as long. So, yeah - it really depends on how you look at it - if you think that you have a trauma, then you can find it, especially when dealing with traumatic events in later life. But if you ignore trauma and as long as you ignore it - you can be trauma free. It is rather contradictory, but mind works that way - and even now only my mind is the wall, that stops me from going further, while before I was able to circumnavigate that wall. The "wall" in my case right now is understanding that there is lack of helpful people around, that I can call my own. No real friends, and loss of those that were thought to be friends and no means to bond with people to make friendship, especially when getting older.

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