Thoughty Auti - The Autism & Mental Health Podcast

Why are Autistic people more prone to addiction? What is the difference between substance addiction and process addiction? How can you recover from addiction?

Patrick Casale (@allthingsprivatepractice) is a licensed clinical mental health counselor and addiction specialist in Asheville North Carolina (USA), diagnosed Autistic at the age of 35 years old. Patrick runs group psychotherapy sessions and retreats for LGBTQIA+ and Autism individuals but also coaches mental health practitioners on how to grow their businesses.

My Links - ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://linktr.ee/thomashenleyUK⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ // Patrick's Links - https://beacons.ai/allthingsprivatepractice

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Thomas start's the conversation fanboying about the recent Divergent Conversations podcast episode they recorded with Dr. Megan Neff from @neurodivergent_insights where they talked about Thomas' favourite topic... Autistic alexithymia!

Patrick soon goes into the basics behind understanding addiction through a bio-psycho-social lens, highlighting that addiction is caused by a loop of obsessions and compulsions. He provides some clarity by distinguishing between the mechanisms behind process addiction VS substance addiction , and addiction VS dependency.

Thomas speaks on his experience with nicotine addiction and alcoholism which took place during his university years, as well as his rabbit hole of research into the recreational substances that were taken by those around his dormitory. Nicotine and caffeine are perhaps some of the most readily available and addictive substances, being particularly enjoyable at first before becoming an expensive and boring habit.

Many people who become addicted often have a naive illusion of control, hiding their dependency from others due to feelings of shame and making deals with themselves that will soon be broken during the height of addiction. Thomas highlights that motivation is often idolised, but tends to be inherently fleeting in nature... humans are, after all, creatures of habit!

Patrick opens up to Thomas about the destructive nature of his gambling addiction, illuminating that the process or lead-up before placing the bet was the most addictive part for him. The level of shame and depression he felt leaving the casino early in the morning is a common feeling for most addicts and leads to a high rate of suicidality.

Lies, financial destruction, personality changes, impulsive action, desperation, and extreme lows... are all the parts of addiction that ravage the lives of addicts and those around them.

Thomas and Patrick contemplate and discuss the reasons why Autistic people may be more prone to addiction in any form. Some use it as a form of reliable regulation, some seek those good feelings to replace their need for connection, and others lack self-care due to the overlap between <

What is behind the 'profound Autism' backlash towards the ASD-1 adult community? What unique challenges face low support needs Autistic adults?

In this episode of the Thoughty Auti Podcast, Thomas Henley talks to @NeurodiverJENNt about low support needs autism, the unique challenges it presents, and the conflict between the autistic adult and parenting spheres.

Thomas’s Links: https://linktr.ee/thomashenleyUK⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

@NeurodiverJENNt - https://www.youtube.com/@NeurodiverJENNt

Chapters:

00:00 - 05:15 Introduction

05:15 - 15:36 Jenns Diagnosis Journey

15:36 - 32:30 Unique Challenges Of ASD-1

32:30 - 44:37 Autistic Masking

44:37 - 01:04:54 ASD-1 Adults VS Autism Parents

01:04:54 - 01:08:49 Jenns Takeaways

In this live podcast episode, Thomas Henley and NeurodiverJENNt discuss lower support needs autism. They talk about their experiences with caffeine and how it affects their ADHD. They also discuss looking younger than their age and the challenges it can bring. The conversation touches on topics such as live streaming, the pressure of being on camera, and the trial and error process of creating content on YouTube.

Thomas introduces the episode and explains why they chose to focus on lower support needs autism. They also mention a previous episode about autism and sleep with Dr. Megan Neff. In this part of the conversation, NeurodiverJENNt and Thomas Henley discuss the challenges of communication and social interaction for autistic individuals, particularly those with lower support needs. They talk about the difficulty of initiating and reciprocating social interaction, the energy and mental effort required to respond to messages, and the feeling of being stuck in the middle and not fitting in anywhere. They also touch on the impact of a late diagnosis and the process of self-discovery. The conversation then shifts to the topic of masking and its effects on well-being, self-perception, and social interactions.

In this final part of the conversation, Thomas and NeurodiverJENNt discuss the challenges of unmasking and the perception that unmasking is an act or performance. They also address the controversy between autistic adults and autism parent advocates, emphasizing the need for compassion and understanding between the two groups. They highlight the importance of listening to the experiences of lower support needs autistic adults and dispel the misconception that autism has a specific look or set of traits. They conclude by encouraging patience, kindness, and collaboration in advocating for the needs of all autistic individuals.

Song Of The Day (Listen Here) - ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5UDIyN5TSYN4zMcRoQPrG8?si=9255ed3480d840b5⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Subscribe to the channel to get notified when I next go live 🙌

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Why do Autistic people gravitate toward Philosophy? Why did Emily turn from Christianity to Buddhism? What is existentialism and how can it positively or negatively affect someone?

Emily Robyn Clark is a multi-award-winning screenwriter, filmmaker, poet, songwriter, and practicing Buddhist under the SGI organisation. Her film 'Love Spell' (which she wrote, produced, and directed) which won 12 awards and nominated 2 major film festivals.

My Links - ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://linktr.ee/thomashenleyUK⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ // Emily's Links - https://linktr.ee/emilyrobynclark

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They start off speaking on the stereotype of autistic people being good at maths and computers, before diving into the controversial practice of type-casting Autistic people and women within the film industry.

Meditation isn't only a spiritual practice, but something backed up by science as being beneficial for mental health and wellness. Emily speaks on her own practices of Gongyo and how her meditative Buddist rituals helped improve her life.

Brought up in Tennessee (USA), in a highly conservative, Christian fundamentalist culture, full of homeschooling, homophobia, and church gatherings... Emily explains her negative experiences within the Religious groups she grew up in and when she first identified she was bisexual.

Thomas speaks on his very secular yet existentialist view on life, going into his history with Christianity and his attraction to Buddist tenants and Philosophies.

Since his youth, Thomas has always questioned the meaning of life and the experiences we have as humans... going through multiple existential crises before exploring Philosophy. Diving into his own perceptions and beliefs he entered a rabbit hole of Nihilistic despair, before realising the power and freedom it gave him for creating his own values and meaning through Positive Nihilism.

Emily and Thomas both arrived at similar conclusions about life and people, just from different angles. For Thomas it was purely theoretical and secular, for Emily it was spirituality and Buddhism.

Unconditional love for your 'enemies', healing familial relationships, Carl Jung archetypes, and the identity within passions were all explored in-depth.

Emily explains the ideas and utility behind Astrology and Tarot Cards for her own life, whilst the unconvinced host postures with position through the lens of science.

Ending on an interesting note, they look into the reasons why Autistic people may gravitate towards spirituality, Religion, and Philosophy... looking at pattern recognition or lateral thinking, influential philosophers, the need for certainty, rituals, and developing your own brand of approaching life.

Song Of The Day (Listen Here) -

What does intentional and unintentional gaslighting look like for Autistic people? Why is Mate Crime such a big problem for us? What are some neurodiverse relationship green flags and red flags?

Joely Williams (@joelywilliams_myautisticwings) is a physically disabled Autistic speaker and author based in the UK. Diagnosed Autistic at 2 years old, but only aware of her neurodivergence at age 13, she speaks on lesser-known aspects of Autism and mental health from her own lived experience and knowledge as an Autistic woman.

My Links - ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://linktr.ee/thomashenleyUK⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠// Joely’s Website - www.myautisticwings.co.uk

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Breaking the ice, Thomas and Joely talk about their experiences with music therapy, nightlife, and music festivals as Autistic people. Joely describes herself as a strange mix of sensory seeking and sensory avoidant behaviours, feeling comfortable moshing it up with the best of them, but often feeling sensitive in other situations.

Joely explains the concepts of intentional and unintentional gaslighting, at worst being a manipulative tactic or at the least an unhelpful reality-denying series of comments. Joely highlights that unintentional gaslighting often has good intentions, but can often be ableist in nature when thinking about Autistic people in teaching or parenting contexts; denying the utility of stimming or highlighting sensory issues as 'not too bad' being too prime examples of unintentional gaslighting.

Infantilisation and stereotyping seem to be two common ways people gaslight autistic people. Those infantilising autistic people might paint them as children to deny their comments or opinions, or even enforce unwanted care on them. When stereotyping they may highlight things around empathy or social incompetence as a means for manipulation.

Speaking on the reasons why Autistic people may be more prone to gaslighting, direct communication preferences, Alexithymia, mental illness, and prior negative conditioning are all highlighted. Joely describes the Autistic mind as processing facts first, meaning that it may take some time to process the context or social indirect communication around a statement. Alexithymia may make it more difficult to set immediate boundaries and mental illnesses like anxiety, prior invalidation of our experiences in youth, and bullying would definitely contribute to our lack of belief in our own experiences,

Mate Crime is where someone takes advantage of a vulnerable person in order to extract monetary or intimate benefits from the individual or to humiliate and gain control over a person. Whilst being against the law, it's incredibly difficult to prove and takes advantage of a person's loneliness and isolation.

Going through t

Why is there so much stigma for mental health in Autistic men? Is body dysmorphia an issue for men? What support can Autistic people get at University?

TW: Mental health, ED, SH, and light mentions of SUI

Kieron Lee (@mr.kieronlee) is an Autistic music artist, Autism advocate under Anna Kennedy OBE, JAAQ content creator, and collaborator with Born Anxious. His first single NYN, touched on his experiences of relationships as an Autistic man, and is hopeful for the success of his upcoming album ACRONYMS. Kieron has had a lot of experience with mental health as an Autistic man and seeks to share the more stigmatised sides of men's mental health on the podcast.

My Links - ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://linktr.ee/thomashenleyUK⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ // Kierons Website - https://www.mrkieronlee.org.uk/

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Priory Group did a recent study on mental health in men, which highlighted some concerning statistics:

40% of the polled men have never spoken with anyone about their mental health

40% of the polled men said it would take thoughts of SUI or SH to get them to seek support

With the diagnosis rate of mental health conditions being 19.5%, it could be thought that men are more resilient to mental illness, but with 75% of registered SUI's in the UK in 2020 being from men... we may need to make a greater effort to support men and destigmatise mental illness.

Thomas Henley kicks off the episode by talking to Kieron Lee about his lifelong affinity to music and all the complex elements of sound that bring him joy. Diagnosed at a VERY young age, Kieron talks about the autism stigma carried by the older generations and how his framing of Autism turned from negative to positive in his adult life.

You would think that Universities would be proactively supporting disabled and Autistic students in our modern day, but both Thomas' and Kieron's experiences seek to challenge this assumption. Accommodations are to be identified and fought for by Autistic students, and in Kieron's case getting said support, it's not always followed up on or enforced by the University staff.

Kieron Lee touches on his experiences as an empath and how Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria has impacted his pursuits in the workplace and in love. They speak on the differences in processing trauma as autistic people, and how this process can often be prolonged and intense for us. Addiction and SH played a large role in Kieron's way of coping with mental illness as a young adult but has since made strides in finding positive outlets in the form of creativity.

Opening up about ED, Thomas shares his experience with body dysmorphia and low self-esteem, and how he sought to offset his social difficulties with superficial improvements. Both agree on the heavy stigmatisation, lack of support, or campaigns around both ED and mental illness in men, with Kieron