Christina Donnelly
Christina Donnelly
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Masking as an Autistic person. The journey of what I have gained and what I have lost this far
#filmora #filmoramobile
It has been almost 2 years out from my diagnosis and things have changed a lot in my unmasking journey. I have lost friends and social connections but have gained a lot of energy and personal insight. I would like to say that I am aware that I am privileged to be able to work through this unmasking with less survival impacts than many and I am aware that my experience is not advisable or safe for everyone. Thanks for watching.
Переглядів: 119

Відео

Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria (RSD) from the ADHD lens vs Autistic lens
Переглядів 7559 місяців тому
I've been thinking a lot about rejection, sensitive dysphoria and the differences between my experiences and autistic person and my other neurodivergent peers and ADHDers. I feel like there are differences in the things that trigger RSD and the way they may or may not persist. I think Autistic planning for things ahead of time could be mistaken for OCD and the emotional response of ADHDers coul...
CPTSD and my experience with IFS ( internal family systems). Parts Work
Переглядів 57811 місяців тому
I wanted to talk to you about my experience reconnecting with my inner child and how our internal protectors show up in our lives and the damage they can do if not addressed. Resource: Parts Work An illustrated guide to your inner life. by Tom Holmes Phd
Reviewing the DSM criteria for Autism as an Autistic INFJ
Переглядів 407Рік тому
The DSM is a load of crapola for an Autistic diagnosis. The research is old and not representative of a diverse population. We need to stop these harmful narratives and assumptions about Autistic people. This is my break down of the DSM flavored with my experience as an Autistic INFJ.
Autistic relationship challenges
Переглядів 185Рік тому
I wanted to talk about the particular challenges that Autistic people can face when trying to connect with others. My post feels particularly relevant to AFAB people just because it seems the nuances of relating in this dynamic seem more complicated to me than is natural. My hope is that this resonates with some of you and you feel seen and not alone in this.
Interview with My PDA Autistic partner: part 2
Переглядів 172Рік тому
Edited by YouCut:youcutapp.page.link/BestEditor In this part of the conversation we talk about what it's like to be a PDA person with a PDA child and the benefits of this understanding but also the challenges. I am not happy with the video quality but I can't seem to fix it. Also you can tell that sitting in chairs is not a good fit for me because I am swaying about because chairs mess with my ...
Interview with my PDA Autistic partner: part 1
Переглядів 237Рік тому
Edited by YouCut:youcutapp.page.link/BestEditor I have wanted to sit down with my partner to discuss his experience as A PDA ( persistent drive for autonomy) Autistic person. It seemed like the right time so we did some recording. In part 1 he explains his perspective of what challenges he faces as a PDA person and how he sees power dynamics everywhere.
Parenting a PDA Autistic child
Переглядів 160Рік тому
Edited by YouCut:youcutapp.page.link/BestEditor I think all the time about how to parent both my kids better but my PDA daughter has taught me the most! She naturally shows me how to be a better parent through connection. One thing I didn't mention in this video is the power of staying in play. If I can make something a game it's much less likely to trigger a stress response from her. We can be...
Autistic masking and how we co-create safe places in our world.
Переглядів 111Рік тому
Hi all! Thanks for watching. In this I discuss my experience with masking and unmasking and our responsibility as humans to co create safe places for all brain types. The creators I reference in this video speak about masking in this podcast linked below. open.spotify.com/episode/6REizBAW3b6RqCQSGicu63?si=h896EsOBSiez0wEY_MJ_yg
AudHD burnout and the impacts of Affective Cognition
Переглядів 189Рік тому
It's been a year since self diagnosis and I have learned so much about preventing burnout. Its been a crazy and sometimes tough year but I am glad I am still here and learning from you all.
The Double Empathy Problem- Autistic Empathy from the perspective of an AuDHDer.
Переглядів 268Рік тому
Cognitive Empathy Steps This process may be automatic in Allistic people and even in Autistic people if they have been in the same situation before but in unfamiliar or confusing social situations, these are the steps I need to navigate in order to show up with authentic empathy. 1. Notice that there is a disconnect in empathy. Perceive there is an issue. 2. Be willing to accept that my experie...
PDA Autistic profile (pathological demand avoidance or persistent drive for autonomy)
Переглядів 300Рік тому
This is an interview with my daughter to talk about her perspective on persistent drive for autonomy or PDA. This is classified as a subtype of Autism but it does not present itself as a typical Autistic profile. PDA type people are generally very creative, interested in equality and justice driven. They often are very independent at a young age and prefer and autodidact learning style. Edited ...
Autism and cPTSD. The internal experience.
Переглядів 2,5 тис.Рік тому
A lot of mental health professionals tend to confuse the basic neurocognitive structure of an Autistic person with symptoms of cPTSD and vis versa. They are very different with different therapeutic strategies needed to help the patient. We should be clear that Autism is a neurotype and we are bottom up thinkers and we view the world differently. We can also be traumatized by living in a world ...
Interoception, Alexithymia, Empathy oh my! My Autistic experience with these things.
Переглядів 324Рік тому
There are a lot of terms that are used to describe and define the Autistic experience. I have come across these terms recently and although they resonate somewhat they are very limited in the way that they are defined. This is my experience with these terms and how I feel like they should be changed.
Autism and INFJ and masking.
Переглядів 3,5 тис.Рік тому
I have been thinking lately about the similarities between the MBTI type and Autism. I am an INFJ and I hear from so many INFJs that they relate to the Autistic content. I feel that my personality type has made me a higher masking Autistic person and I am trying to release my tendencies to mask at work and in social situations. It takes too much out of me. I would love to see a shift in our soc...
ADHD testing rant
Переглядів 264Рік тому
ADHD testing rant
Autistic journey Holiday edition
Переглядів 159Рік тому
Autistic journey Holiday edition
Approaching meltdowns: My Autistic experience.
Переглядів 209Рік тому
Approaching meltdowns: My Autistic experience.
Autistic masking and gender identity. We are social justice warriors.
Переглядів 281Рік тому
Autistic masking and gender identity. We are social justice warriors.
Autistic meltdowns and what is working for me.
Переглядів 4502 роки тому
Autistic meltdowns and what is working for me.
AuDHD and what real repetitive behaviors can look like and why we may do them.
Переглядів 4,3 тис.2 роки тому
AuDHD and what real repetitive behaviors can look like and why we may do them.
ADHD and Autism and energy management.
Переглядів 2272 роки тому
ADHD and Autism and energy management.
AuDHD unmasked
Переглядів 4,7 тис.2 роки тому
AuDHD unmasked
Ummm..how did I not realize this before? Late diagnosis Autism.
Переглядів 3 тис.2 роки тому
Ummm..how did I not realize this before? Late diagnosis Autism.
Obligations and Expectations. Core wounds for fearful avoidant.
Переглядів 1582 роки тому
Obligations and Expectations. Core wounds for fearful avoidant.
"There is more right with you than wrong with you"-Jon Kabbat Zinn
Переглядів 843 роки тому
"There is more right with you than wrong with you"-Jon Kabbat Zinn
Rethinking empathy and how vulnerability facilitates it.
Переглядів 643 роки тому
Rethinking empathy and how vulnerability facilitates it.
Coping strategies for the fearful avoidant INFJ
Переглядів 9493 роки тому
Coping strategies for the fearful avoidant INFJ
INFJ and extroverted feeler attachment style fearful avoidant (INFJ,ISFJ,ESFJ,ENFJ).
Переглядів 1,4 тис.3 роки тому
INFJ and extroverted feeler attachment style fearful avoidant (INFJ,ISFJ,ESFJ,ENFJ).
Part II echoism and narcissism and attachment issues.
Переглядів 1293 роки тому
Part II echoism and narcissism and attachment issues.

КОМЕНТАРІ

  • @humboldtbilly
    @humboldtbilly Місяць тому

    Thank you your video found me today I'm 60 and I was diagnosed with AD HD this yearApril and autism diagnosis in June. Ptsd as well..Thank you for explaining that out especially The bucket reference , And the relational meltdown yes I would say that's 90 %for me.I love How do you explain it exactly down to having the water I went as far as having to make my own water Filtration system for my Water well and storage tank where I live I bottled my own water and take it on trips when I Drive no airport nearby for hours so I don't care to fly as well ,I will But I run into anxieties just like you do. Thank you for sharing I found it very comforting in a difficult time.

    • @humboldtbilly
      @humboldtbilly Місяць тому

      I wanted to add that I figured this out myself the last couple years Even though I have an official diagnosis I can say that you have self diagnosed well it's exactly how it is and to get a female perspective on it For me is really helpful for me because then it helps me explain to my female friends .

  • @PizzaGamer11919
    @PizzaGamer11919 Місяць тому

    Okay I know I’m a bit late but this is going to be long, Ever since I was little I felt out of place with myself the world and everyone around me, I grew up in a old household from my grandparents, I had an uncle with schizophrenia and didn’t have my mother I witness verbal abuse neglect and much more bullying and social interaction was more traumatic for me my mother had me for six mothes with lack of stim my dad wasn’t really aways their and he does repeated actions hypervigilent just like me, I was tested for ASD and was skipped I didn’t get support groups or anything I felt out of place with everyone around me, I grew more hate against the world and worry about the worst outcomes school would bring emotional flashbacks where you feel the feeling you felt previously but without isn’t visual or audio, I would have outburst episodes I listen to the same music I aways seek resurgence I feel like the people that are close to me don’t know me or understand or care I feel shame and guilt I hate, I feel like I’m running out of time I don’t have a girlfriend, I don’t go to school dances I avoid the skate park because was beating up and recorded for no reason I was aways cleaning onto my grandma when I was little, I don’t like being tooken advantage gaslight etc, it’s exhausting, people with ASD and obsess over topics same with those with OCD etc, life feels edgy I do get abandonment nightmare, everyone shows trauma differently rather that be seeking help because they feel their running out of time or their fully just done I believe everyone different and we will overlap and also coaxis, I say with my experience sadly it’s a yes I do suffer horrible. Edit mom tried taking me away 10 years later, she’s currently resting from breast cancer.

  • @theoversouls
    @theoversouls Місяць тому

    Interested, but background noise was overwhelming the message.

  • @michaelworshamGodisLove
    @michaelworshamGodisLove 2 місяці тому

    Thank you so much for your openness and honesty!.. I can really relate and it really brought some comfort and relief to some triggered pain from a current toxic relationship and my loneliness❤

  • @jscire__872
    @jscire__872 2 місяці тому

    Thank you, that was beautifully expressed and described. I’m working on my own journey with IFS and it’s slow and there’re many thought-patterns and defenses and emotions to yet to untangle but even now having access to a more a calm and (self-)compassionate adult-self liberates a lot of internal resources. It’s been such a relief even though I originally didn’t believe I had any of that in me. It was great to hear this part of your story and I really liked the way you phrased it. Best wishes for future healing ❤

  • @marieketrompert4387
    @marieketrompert4387 2 місяці тому

    Thank you Christina. Your story gives me hope ❤❤

  • @independantfree1891
    @independantfree1891 2 місяці тому

    Wow, I relate to your story and your interpretation makes it even clearer, Thank you.

  • @Elyshieva
    @Elyshieva 3 місяці тому

    Thank you, you explained this very well, there are details I haven't yet heard like.... Trouble expressing needs and feelings that *I* perceive as not being in allognment with the person I am talking to.

  • @michaelvandenheuvel317
    @michaelvandenheuvel317 3 місяці тому

    I wish I could . But it should not be forced by a group of any kind.

  • @ericawardsims4238
    @ericawardsims4238 3 місяці тому

    I was diagnosed AuDHD in Feb of 2024 at 39. I always knew I was adhd but was blindsided by the ASD diagnosis… and I have a son who is ASD Level 1. You making the comment about rubbing your face was just a HUGE lightbulb moment for me as I have done this ALL MY LIFE! New stim revealed ❤

  • @nicoetic
    @nicoetic 3 місяці тому

    Just came across this video, thank you for attempting to verbalize all this. I’m INFJ and late diagnosed AuDHD and relate to just about everything you say, as well as being alexithymic. One thing that has helped me tremendously with communication is weed (I’m in California so it’s legal). Weed for me “un-kinks the hose” so to speak, and my thoughts come out so easily and I can actually hold conversations, and it’s probably the only reason I was able to have a social life throughout my 20s. I still ended up burning myself out socially by the time I was 27-28 or so, and had to pull away from just about everyone just to rebalance. So weed didn’t cure my autism or anything, but it helped me blend in with others a little better, and I had a lot of amazing experiences because of it. I’m now 37 and have spent most of my 30s alone, and have been focused on learning about myself so I can take better care of myself, because I don’t want to experience that burnout again. I didn’t find out I was AuDHD until I was 35 (after my son was diagnosed ADHD) and I agree that being INFJ explains my AuDHD traits. I came across a website called “Peripheral Minds of Autism” and I agree with their theory that autistics are essentially the “outlier personalities” of society, which makes sense why autistics seem to be mostly intuitive types.

  • @XaltaTarot-qs2hc
    @XaltaTarot-qs2hc 4 місяці тому

    INFP here. Figured it out around a year ago, at 53 and I have had a lot of similar realizations. Good channel!

  • @WoohooliganComedy
    @WoohooliganComedy 4 місяці тому

    💖 I experience a lot of RSD, and in the moment, despite being autistic... im also adhd, but i think you're right that RSD is something that most ND people experience regardless of their specific ND makeup.

  • @WoohooliganComedy
    @WoohooliganComedy 4 місяці тому

    💖

  • @WoohooliganComedy
    @WoohooliganComedy 4 місяці тому

    I also got my autism dx late... about 17 years ago in my early 30s... didn't realize I was adhd until a few years ago... that wasn't allowed when I got my autism dx.

  • @WoohooliganComedy
    @WoohooliganComedy 4 місяці тому

    💖

  • @WoohooliganComedy
    @WoohooliganComedy 4 місяці тому

    Thank you, Christina. 💖 I'm also late dx audhd. Let me know if I can help with anything.

    • @christinadonnelly781
      @christinadonnelly781 4 місяці тому

      @@WoohooliganComedy thanks! I have gone further on my journey and although I am more of a hermit than I was even last year at this time I am much better physically and energetically. I am still learning about my brain all the time. Glad you are here!

  • @ninaharper2294
    @ninaharper2294 4 місяці тому

    I have been diagnosed ADHD since childhood and as an adult was diagnosed with bipolar two, which then changed to bipolar 1 and then generalized anxiety was tacked on top of that….. only recently have I been really starting to question if I’m actually dealing with the same combo as you, autism and cptsd. It’s frustrating to know you need a professionals help to find out what’s wrong but then also feeling like none of the professionals actually can find out what’s wrong bc they don’t know enough about these things. Thanks for speaking about this. It’s vulnerable to share, and I know you probably did so hoping it would help others, and it genuinely is helpful. Keep being you!!! Wish you the best

    • @christinadonnelly781
      @christinadonnelly781 4 місяці тому

      @@ninaharper2294 Wow.. sounds like you have had a difficult time. Bipolar 1 and 2 are so completely different even from each other! That must be so traumatic to have diagnosis being switched up on you and still not be clear. I think the other thing you mentioned is so true that a lot of psychologist, especially in the US do not even have any or much knowledge about Autism and none about pathological demand avoidance. These things when someone is traumatized can look like other things and treating the wrong thing can be so damaging. It does seem to take us bringing our diagnosis to the professionals but even then sometimes we aren't believed. I am glad you are looking at all your options. Thanks for commenting!

  • @CarlGBrooksVO
    @CarlGBrooksVO 4 місяці тому

    Bless. As I’m rediscovering myself cptsd has been at the forefront of toxic coping. I pray you’re treating yourself with kindness and navigating life safely.

  • @dus10dnd
    @dus10dnd 4 місяці тому

    It sounds like you've been talking with psychologists and the community a lot. There is a lot of value in learning about our challenges and how we can change our expectations for ourselves and give ourselves that mental space we need so we don't reach a state of overwhelm. However, I think that there is some toxicity within the autistic community around the beating into our brains this notion of "ableism". I get it and I wish we could do with less of it, but I am not going to create false limitations for myself for the sake of the autistic community. The value in it is being able to recognize when things are beginning to overflow and determine what it is you really want to do and what you'll need to make it happen. Productivity is something that exists in life... and I am not talking about human life... I mean ALL life. If we're not productive, nature isn't kind to us. Can we leverage cooperation to make things easier, we most certainly can... but we also shouldn't have to make ourselves into beggars for the sympathy of society and granting of accommodations (though we should fight for what we need). In order to be productive, we need to be able to focus on our strengths and accommodations afford us that ability; so we can apply reason and share that with those that want to see some productivity from us and hopefully we're able to find something in our lives that we enjoy and is based in our talents so that we can have success. Does that mean being a billionaire? Nope. It means achieving what we want in life. You've made it this far in life. I know it has been tough and you probably feel as drained as I do. Find your strength, give yourself the care you need. But don't let people tell you the way that you need to be. If things are really rough for you, certainly... take the help that you can get and ask for more. But don't let a community or society establish limitations on you. You deserve what you want out of this life.

    • @christinadonnelly781
      @christinadonnelly781 4 місяці тому

      I read through your response and gave it some time to percolate. I think you are on the top of a very important discussion and this is a topic that is hotly debated in the Autistic community and other marginalized communities. First I must acknowledge that I am white and I have speaking abilities. Further I come from a place of economic privilege and therefore my opportunities have been different than say a poor bipoc non speaking Autistic person. I think it is important to acknowledge my advantages prior to responding because I really feel like I want to honor those that have different experiences than mine and I don't want to diminish those challenges. I can't really speak for that group other than honor and validate that there is a long way to go to achieve equality or inclusion or belonging in almost every arena for multiply marginalized groups. I feel two ways about my particular experience and one of those is your perspective of not letting my challenges with my verbal or social skills inhibit me from doing what I desire to achieve. I know that if I plan and exert focused efforts in an area I can accomplish things. I also understand that we live in a capitalist society that demands that we produce to live. That being said I will not ignore that individuals that have less knowledge and skill than I do in a particular field but have better social skills and verbal smoothness do financially better. They get promoted for not actually the skills the job asked for and that is reality. So these " deficits" are not actually false if they have real impacts to our economic well being. Also there is so much research that shows that having close relationships like friends extend one's life and reduce health issues. Can Autistic people have friends? Yes.. of course. Is it something that Autistic people generally struggle with? Also yes. So there are real health impacts as well for all Autistic people. I do agree with your points but I also feel like I explained in my video post I can hold all these truths in my head at the same time and none are not more true than the others. Thank you for your comments and thank you for your obvious concern for my well being. It is appreciated. My special interest is psychology and people so I talk a lot about that ( and research a lot about that) and it is important to talk about these things so we do not get into echo chambers.

    • @dus10dnd
      @dus10dnd 4 місяці тому

      ​@@christinadonnelly781 Yes, there are people that have more negative impact in their lives based on how autism and comorbidities inhibit their abilities; we should advocate for them, but still encourage them to think about what is important to them and how they might be able to achieve something that they desire (irrespective of what society might expect from a productivity perspective). They deserve to work towards things that give them satisfaction. It may not be quite the way they would wish it to be based on limitations or deficits. For anyone that is struggling in that regards, by all means, we should have such accommodations... and that can even include people that didn't previously have the issues. I view this more as a way for an individual measure their own life. What does the individual want in life? What does it require for the individual to reach those desires? Are some accommodations needed? Is the narrative from the community creating additional barriers? Having a hard stance that masking is bad... that can be one of those barriers. That isn't to suggest that masking is good and we shouldn't strive for reducing it (or eliminating it, if it doesn't become destructive to our desires). Masking is certainly useful, otherwise we wouldn't have struggled so much through life doing so... but if people can generally be kind and understanding to each other, we should be able to not rely on masking for our daily survival which is a very important goal of the community. The issue that it presents is that as autistic people, we do have specific tendencies. We often do become black and white in our thinking (I am very much included in this). Having that tendency, I can see how the community arrives to a conclusion that is black and white and says these things are bad or wrong. But many also have significant strengths in logical reasoning and we can apply those strengths in seeing where some nuance is valuable and move away from the black and white thinking. So, some individuals may have some desire in life where masking would be crucial. I can't speak for everyone and every circumstance, but I could imagine an actor... well, being a great masker would be valuable for an actor, intrinsically. Other situations can certainly so arise, perhaps someone who desires beyond all other things to be a firefighter... masking in the line of duty could be necessary in the role of being a firefighter (again, that is going to depend on the individual, may the individual has no impediments in stimming, reservations, sensitivities, etc. where that would be needed... on the other hand, it could be likely that there are at least some that are present). So, it is just a matter of understanding what we as individuals want and evaluating what we can do to have that personal success. All of this could just be for hobbies, or it could be based on our livelihoods. I know that for me, the greatest joy I could have is that my strengths in special interests be leveraged as my vocation and to have enough valuable accommodations for all of it to be realized. That way everything is aligned for me. I am fortunate that I am pretty close to having that and I wish that for everyone. I still have to do some very annoying things that seem to manifest as physical pain for me... in the short-term, I accept some of that as a cost for being able to have significant alignment, otherwise. In time, it would be great to eliminate more of that... and as I get older, it is getting to be more difficult. So, I don't mean to diminish the direction that the community is working towards. Just that everyone has a different life experience and despite our tendency for black and white thinking, we need to have some grace within the community to realize that others' experience is not our own and cannot place expectations on each other. I am fairly confident that my neighbor is on the spectrum and he tries to apply his personal expectations on me. He doesn't get to do that. I understand why some of things could bother him, but I get to enjoy my life and my property as much as he does. I am not doing anything that directly impacts his ability to enjoy his property, the things I am doing are only an issue for him because he is too focused on what I am doing. What I see in the community that I am labeling as toxicity is quite similar to this. The community, in some cases (having the notion of a single community is really too broad, but many of the different communities are doing this similarly) is being too rigid about what it means to be autistic and that members are not welcome or are bad people for not conforming to the community's orthodoxy. For instance, several communities have taken a fairly hard stance against self-diagnosis. I don't have nearly the concerns that they do. I do think it is ideal to get a formal diagnosis, but why would anyone seek a formal diagnosis without having some suspicion that comes from self-diagnosing? Or, accepting some feedback from others that suggest they may be autistic? Further, the process for receiving a formal diagnosis can be next to impossible for some people. There are financial limitations, availability limitations, and many more that others may experience that I couldn't even imagine. This position is effectively the community gatekeeping in a very destructive way. Things like this are areas where the community should be introspective and inquisitive rather than dismissive. I get the impression that you're very thoughtful about this and you more or less have some level of agreement with it. Hopefully, anyone else that is following the conversation can appreciate the thoughtfulness that you have given and see that I am not spouting off but really giving significant consideration to these things. Whenever I bring things like this up... that is also where I meet resistance, so let me thank you for not doing that and taking the time to engage in the conversation, I truly appreciate it.

  • @YUUCUR
    @YUUCUR 5 місяців тому

    I watched a couple of your videos and I see myself in you...even things like itching your nose, allergic looks playing with your face and the way you speak, etc.I experience an additional area of difficulty though: I live in Canada and speak English as a second language and have always been super critical of why my speech has not imporoved much although I have been living here 23 years. Recently, I realized the way I talked in my native language was a bit atypical too but if I were to say something in an eccentric way in English, people would think I am not fluent and that is why I think I am also masking by trying to talk in a normal way.

    • @christinadonnelly781
      @christinadonnelly781 4 місяці тому

      Oh yeah. I do a lot of facial touching stims and it's sometimes worse when I am trying to pay attention to someone talking because I suck on my lips and rub my chin, my forehead. It's a lot. I have not really been able to change much of my speech and I used to get very frustrated with getting interrupted while speaking because people wanted to finish my words before me because they were struggling to listen to my cadence. It has been helpful to find people who are more patient with it. It does make me not want to speak up too much in general audience conversations tho. I hope you have patient people in your life too 🥰

  • @dus10dnd
    @dus10dnd 5 місяців тому

    Make sure you put on your ticket during booking (you can even do it later) that you require disability support. When you get to the gate, tell them what you need with your support. I always ask for more time, but you could also make sure that you get some water and snacks right away. This will save you from having to spend money and save you the trouble of having to navigate through a store in a timely manner, as well. I felt extremely uncomfortable with this before I did this on my last trip and it wasn't that bad and I really benefited from just the additional time to get situated on the plane before there is a crowd.

  • @koala01111986
    @koala01111986 5 місяців тому

    I go into nature with my dogs too, more into places with no humans when I'm overwhelmed. I struggle too to stay in the moment, my mind is always racing here and there.

  • @Dancestar1981
    @Dancestar1981 5 місяців тому

    I’m 43 diagnosed last year with the same along with complex maths disabilities and anxiety

  • @RobSkeltz
    @RobSkeltz 5 місяців тому

    Hey dude, thanks very much. It's still quite hard for me to communicate clearly.. I watched this over an hour ago, and have been trying not to be too overwhelmed. I'm 54, recent convert to AuDHD, but I have been basically stumbling from one confused situation to another for a while now. Adoption and bullying were childhood traumas that added to the RSD. The feelings/emotions that can repeatedly change in intensity, duration or even context.....do truly build over time: which eventually led to rehab. where I started looking properly at my mental health and welfare. So it took me 3.5hrs in all - after writing, changing, accidentally deleting and tearing-up. and stare-thinking.

    • @christinadonnelly781
      @christinadonnelly781 5 місяців тому

      Glad you are here! I appreciate the effort that went into your comment. I have thoughts about making a new video about masking. Hopefully I will get it done soon!

  • @pedroamares8464
    @pedroamares8464 6 місяців тому

    Thank you for sharing

  • @bartardo1
    @bartardo1 6 місяців тому

    I'm in the same position as you but I have social and generalised Anxiety to go with the PTSD and depression 😢. The only meds I take are Venlafaxine, I'm 53 and won't give in ❤❤

  • @livenotbylies
    @livenotbylies 6 місяців тому

    "You have to ask the why." But thats what NTs don't do 😕

  • @SapphosGalPal
    @SapphosGalPal 7 місяців тому

    I can relate a lot to what you said about not having the words to describe what is going on inside oneself. I've always felt like there are no real words to really describe emotions, like they are a language of their own and that each individual person speaks their own version of that. As if each person were part of a geographical structure that pertains exclusively to themselves. And I've often felt like the more similar that language is in a group of people the more confusing those social dynamics become for me. Because I simply don't have a frame of reference of how to translate my own. It's very isolating. I think this is why I like writing so much. I don't have to use words to describe emotions, I can simply show a situation and let the reader see what I'm seeing.

  • @Simon-L-B
    @Simon-L-B 7 місяців тому

    A lot of doctors in the psychology space don’t like the DSM either, mainly due to a lot of things missing. Your thoughts about the criteria being based on observable things is spot on, if I remember correctly this is part of the “rules” for the DSM - it has to be observable by a practitioner. Which sadly rules out a massive amount of what having adhd and autism is.

    • @christinadonnelly781
      @christinadonnelly781 7 місяців тому

      I guess there are other manuals for guidance in psychology such as the PDM ( psychodynamic diagnostic manual) but I haven't heard many professionals referring to it as a tool. Perhaps the profession as a whole is just really slow to evolve.

  • @lambzartbeatz
    @lambzartbeatz 7 місяців тому

    Infj here, subscribed

  • @michaelsoldierworks1
    @michaelsoldierworks1 7 місяців тому

    Super relatable on nearly everything you're talking about here. After basically self-diagnosing about 5 months ago I got an official diagnosis about 2 months ago. There's so much relief and grief at the same time.

    • @christinadonnelly781
      @christinadonnelly781 7 місяців тому

      So much to process. A year and a half after this realization I still stumble over new things that relate to me being Autistic.

  • @MaryElizabethMatthews
    @MaryElizabethMatthews 8 місяців тому

    Thank you so much for this video! I have also been through therapists telling me I'm just fine when I know I'm not. I'm figuring out that I have autism, and learning about that and which experiences line up with which cognitive issues is, I think, essential to move forward with healing. Thank you for sharing your experiences!!

    • @christinadonnelly781
      @christinadonnelly781 7 місяців тому

      Finding a therapist that is also Autistic has been incredibly helpful for processing this stuff. I do not have to explain so much of what I used to have to explain now. I wish you grace on your healing journey.

  • @majonkie
    @majonkie 8 місяців тому

    I’m going through this process right now. 58 y/o, diagnosed with ADHD last year and now being assessed for autism. I have been researching autism in women since the possibility of me being autistic was mentioned 3 months ago. By now I have absolutely no doubts that I am autistic. Reframing my life has been an interesting and also deeply painful process. So much trauma from being misunderstood and rejected! And I am glad to finally understand why I’ve had so many difficulties just navigating life. I’m learning to be more compassionate with myself now. Thank you for making this video and sharing it here. It was helpful for me. I also touch and rub my face to soothe and calm down. I’ve done it all my life and often been told off for it. No more! I embrace this and other stims. Be well! ❤

    • @christinadonnelly781
      @christinadonnelly781 8 місяців тому

      There is a lot to go through for sure. It's a continuous process of realizing all the things that were messed up about how one was treated and how things could have been and should have been different. I am so glad you are here and thank you for sharing your story.

  • @Zarathustran
    @Zarathustran 8 місяців тому

    Yup yup yup and the fact that psychiatry insists there's no such thing as an adult onset personality disorder yet refuses to diagnose PDs until adulthood is just the flipside of not treating the disordered parent who has induced their child to ADHD or ASD. The reason ADHD and ASD treatments don't work is because the parenting doesn't change. So newsflash, B-Cluster parenting induces one or the other according to whether the primary attachment figure experiences postpartum psychosis (wish for the child to become "unborn") and doesn't make a SIDS death of her brand new scapegoat or regards the child as a pleasing Mini Me to either herself or the child's father (whose identity she is essentially channelling in that particular situation if she's that disordered). Being the favorite of that kind of parent absolutely grooms a kid to never forget a slight and maintain grudges forever, but ADHD doesn't have the discipline to resist interrupting others because chaotic parenting teaches nothing constructively but does raise timid autistic and schizophrenic scapegoats people will find polite by raging at them to regulate its own mask of sanity.. Most of what psychiatry is called to treat in both pediatric and adult populations is trauma from child abuse. But you can see their ineptitude to do so in thinking ASD level 1 gets diagnosed later than ASD level 2 and level 3 because it's not characterized by speech delay. Maybe it is and maybe it isn't but probably they think that for not figuring out MOTHERS WHO DON'T NOTICE THE SPEECH DELAY ALSO DON'T NOTICE THE HYPERLEXIC ASPERGER-ESQUE STRONG VERBAL INTELLIGENCE THAT KICKS IN WHEN WE HAVE TO TEACH OURSELVES LANGUAGE. (As if echolalia isn't very obviously the perseveration of failure to flatter an uninterested mother into dialogue 🙄) So I think psychiatry is inevitably medicine's biggest failure (and medicine & law society's biggest, and civilization mankind's biggest) because psychiatry doesn't have the privilege of adult patients who'll tolerate the use of reality in treating their incapacities to deal with reality. As my mother demonstrated very well by concealing an asperger diagnosis from me (because the comorbid intellectual giftedness wasn't what her Munchausen had in mind for a proxy) that took me nearly 40 more years to figure out situations in which they insist upon treating the adult as well as the victim usually fall apart because those adults can't tolerate being seen as child abusers. They are the kind of adults who need any kid but a mini-me to be seen as an idiot and who in fact would rather kill any kid incapable of becoming mini-them anyway. Psychiatry doesn't go there because society doesn't go there, but civilization obviating the need for hunting in our omnivorous species is almost certainly the origin of intraspecies predation (regulating masks of sanity by directing irrational barbarism toward culturally approved ideological outgroups usually by way of fixed religious or political delusion). Seems to me if psychiatry and surgery even sleep at night after accepting the invitation to sterilize pediatric patients (undiagnosed autistic females, who internalize displaced rage toward their mothers as self-hatred unlike autistic boys) by legitimizing transgender delusion (usually an attachment strategy in toddlers rejected for their physical sex or adolescents rejected for their sexual orientations) it's only because they don't have the balls to give pediatric ASD patients they do diagnose with autism the actual reality that they shouldn't have kids and will have developmental incapacities to enter contracts including marriage. It's very clear that ASD is an evolutionarily adaptive postponement of ego development that allows us to survive parents who couldn't tolerate the emergence of our own autonomy long enough to escape them and try to raise ourselves in a better environment. It probably goes badly more often than it goes well because our undefended egos make us magnets for exploitation but we do have the ability to individuate from our mothers if by some miracle we managed to avoid catching a PD in early adulthood (usually by way of serious betrayal or our unanticipated emotional unpreparedness for parenthood). IDK if telling young autistic kids their mothers are incapable of love and that's why they have this attachment-based problem would improve patient outcomes but MDs' actions make it obvious favoring adult patients who want anything but the truth is about predatorily advancing their profession's own outcome. Treating their pediatric patients by telling them anything but the truth cinches it. So they don't diagnose PDs until adulthood despite insisting they develop in childhood to conceal the uselessness of their pediatric treatment protocols knowing full well that adult-onset ASPD and BPD are sequelae of ASD developmental delay. While postpartum psychosis giving way to BPD in underlying ASD is the obvious mechanism of behavioral heritability from an autistic mother the reason ADHD seems less handicapping IMO it's because it's just the pediatric name for NPD... meaning there was at least the early benefit of enough contact socialization to foster cognitive empathy. Cognitive empathy can't read autistic alexithymia because suppression of emotional signaling is adaptive to surviving emotional vampires we at some point realize gaslight us about every imaginable thing.. because only scapegoats who don't clue in are even subject to schizophreniform decompensation. MD's think schizophrenia is psychosis because the mothers of the young adults who present with it offer no help in contextualizing the ego discontinuity they've gaslit into them. ASD SIDS and schizophrenia are 75% male while Alzheimer's dementia is 80% female simply because natural selection prioritizes the relative mental health of the primary attachment figure in her childbearing years by way of the inability to regard little boys as extensions of themselves as easily. We think child sacrifice is not endemic to civilization but it's just currently iterated as SIDS and autistic suicidality. The abrahamic filicidal impulse on Sinai during the era of animal sacrifice well-illustrated untreated postpartum psychosis (hell yes dads get it too) giving way to proxied Munchausen when Psycho Abe didn't mind using Isaac to overcorrect amage to his reputation for having schwarzeneggered his maid. Because we must be stupid if we think he was ever going to harm Isaac. It was wanting to kill Ishmael that was psychogenic to his delusion of favor from and obedience to the made up god of his culture. A culture who figured out that any hoe among them could have induced her child to a messianic delusion by blaming her infidelity on an angel so decided to put themselves forth as the so-called chosen people to any descendants of those who initially couldn't tell the difference between a grave robbery and a resurrection. People stupid enough to kick Asperger out of the autism club for being a Nazi overlook Hitler's autism as the other part of himself he was externalizing the desire to eradicate (after being 1/4 Jewish which would have predictably caused him to be cruelly excluded as a quarterbreed by the original master race--whose act the Holocaust was his effort to steal). All of which just is what it is but we're too intellectually and morally enfeebled to admit.

    • @mauilogic1679
      @mauilogic1679 Місяць тому

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  • @99Michaelthom
    @99Michaelthom 8 місяців тому

    Wow... I tested for the last 10 or so years every time as INFJ (I retest every 6 months) and just recently after my granddaughter was diagnosed discovered I was also very autistic. That's so crazy that the puzzle pieces fall together this way. I wonder if we would get along? Never met another of both that I know of.

  • @99Michaelthom
    @99Michaelthom 8 місяців тому

    This is me 100%.

  • @trazeyjo974
    @trazeyjo974 8 місяців тому

    Im INFJ and Autistic. I'm a social worker.

  • @johnbillings5260
    @johnbillings5260 8 місяців тому

    I was diagnosed just recently. Once I started seeing more accurate portrayals in the media then I was pretty sure I knew my group of people. Before that I just knew I would feel some sort of bond with people that others found odd or I would understand without even having to think about it what is causing someone actions that can't be seen. I had my mom take the screener test and I nearly stopped a third of the way in because it was so obvious. The facial rubbing stim (like yours) should have given it away alone.

    • @christinadonnelly781
      @christinadonnelly781 8 місяців тому

      Welcome to the club! It's been some time since this video and so much processing has happened since that moment. Discovery is a strange process of relief and grief. I feel like everyone comes to this a little differently. I have new discoveries all the time Finding people that understand and can relate is so important and I am glad you are here. There are so many podcasts and content creators that I have found helpful along the way. Happy to share if that is your interest.

  • @dianelalomia7841
    @dianelalomia7841 8 місяців тому

    Interesting I just shared this topic in my latest video, "Masking, In Art and In Life". ua-cam.com/video/35msuMpVIB4/v-deo.html

  • @therestlessanxiouschild
    @therestlessanxiouschild 9 місяців тому

    I've been self-diagnosing myself lately and have been researching about autism. There's definitely a correlation between being an INFJ but there’s one thing that maybe I'm not and that's catching sarcasm. When I read about the criteria and signs that's one thing that I don’t relate to. But obviously, that's just one thing so do maybe I need a professional help

    • @christinadonnelly781
      @christinadonnelly781 9 місяців тому

      Honestly the criteria is written based on research done with economically privileged white boys so if you are not one of those things you might look different. I can catch sarcasm and I can generate sarcasm but it does seem to be I catch sarcasm when it obviously wouldn't be anything else.

  • @JoeJoeTater
    @JoeJoeTater 9 місяців тому

    Microaggression is absolutely the right word to use! I also made this connection recently, that the ND experience is fraught with microaggressions from NT people. Like, the idea that "different equals bad" is woven into NT speech with things like "weird", "crazy", "insane", "lazy", and "creep". Even when they aren't targeted against a particular individual, they reinforce the idea that diversity is unwelcome. It's really validating to hear someone talk about NT bigotry in terms of microaggressions.

    • @christinadonnelly781
      @christinadonnelly781 9 місяців тому

      It is woven into the generally NT hierarchical world view I suppose. If I am not above you then I am below you. If you are not following the societal norms then you are threatening my world view and it makes me uncomfortable. But innovation and change doesn't happen by following societal norms! We all would do better without the micro aggression tho for sure!

  • @tracik1277
    @tracik1277 9 місяців тому

    Thank you Christina, that was helpful. I am trying to tease out my understanding of these things. I know I have had situations in the past where I felt rejected and just stopped trying, like being rejected for art college by the least prestigious place and then being accepted by the most prestigious college but felt I was not good enough by then that I didn’t go at all and just gave up because my self esteem was hit so hard.

    • @christinadonnelly781
      @christinadonnelly781 9 місяців тому

      Yes. This stuff is challenging to untangle. I have also had imposter syndrome type feelings you describe. Once I got a new job and I felt like it was above my skill level and I didn't belong there because everyone else sounded like they knew what they were doing. Flash forward into the job... I get to speak to one of these people face to face and in depth and I find there are a lot of gaps in their knowledge. They didn't know more than me they just picked the right words to use to sound good. This is a skill that I do not have because I feel like I have to represent myself truthfully and that means not pretending. I am pretty sure that most of the world feels like it is normal to present themselves like they know all the things. Turns out most of the time where you are at is probably better than most people! I think this is very much one of my Autistic traits that I think I need to meet all criteria to even try something. Does that make sense? I think that is what perfectionism is to me. Like if a job description says have this skill I think everyone that applies has all the skills listed. Turns out they don't! 😂

    • @tracik1277
      @tracik1277 9 місяців тому

      @@christinadonnelly781 Yes this makes so much sense. I actually find it appalling that people basically lie to get a job or position or even a relationship and that this seems to be the way of the world. No wonder so many things are in such a mess!

    • @christinadonnelly781
      @christinadonnelly781 9 місяців тому

      @@tracik1277 trying to explain what lying is to someone who is not Autistic is the most frustrating experience it's almost comical. It goes something like this Me: " so what you said just then is that completely accurate?" Them: " well no but I general it is. Like not everything about what I just said". Me: " that is lying". Them : " no it's not its just not the literal interpretation". Me " that's also lying" 😂😂

    • @tracik1277
      @tracik1277 9 місяців тому

      @@christinadonnelly781 100% !!

    • @tracirex
      @tracirex 7 місяців тому

      neurotypicals are good at presenting alternative facts

  • @triplejmom7826
    @triplejmom7826 9 місяців тому

    Thanks for discussing this. I’ve been wondering how infj combined with fa attachment style would behave.

  • @3rdeyegoogly
    @3rdeyegoogly 9 місяців тому

    Everybody hated me and I couldn't leave. This is the sense-memory that haunts me, and from so many different times now that I'm in my 40s. The demand that I stop being myself and be Better.

  • @twinkletoes7095
    @twinkletoes7095 9 місяців тому

    this. this. thank you. if you ever feel shame for your perception of "rambling", please dont. your gentle nudging of a perspective of a concept from adjacent nuances is a magical unveiling of the inexplicable. you've just been able to verbalize and communicate things i've been unable to even identify/untangle let alone communicate to my psych team. i survived a stroke 2.5 years ago age 51, which blessed me with a level of support that would otherwise have likely been unobtainable to me. im dx ADHD CPTSD PTSD self id AUTIST. or as i self refer "Sparkley AF" i make sense out of my new special interest as a pile up of unaddressed burnout tsunami. thank you again. you are WINNING

  • @twinkletoes7095
    @twinkletoes7095 9 місяців тому

    I'm

  • @stgodd
    @stgodd 9 місяців тому

    There is a lot more information on the internet about symptoms for these things now but there is also a lot of misinformation and overlap between various symptoms and conditions. I've been trying to self diagnose and find a definitive label for my issues for years now but still cant be sure of anything. Its hard work. ADHD vs cPTSD in particular do have a lot of overlap with a fundamentally different cause. Nice video!

    • @christinadonnelly781
      @christinadonnelly781 9 місяців тому

      Lots of overlap. I want to do a video on Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria too because I think this is a factor. I hate the term dysphoria btw but the concept is relevant particularly with people that are ADHD.

  • @EliW95
    @EliW95 10 місяців тому

    I'm autistic and i've realized that i am very trauma sensitive to feelings of being wronged, having my freedoms/autonomy violated, or feeling threatened, and the experiences of me being in psychiatric facilities because of manic episodes, especially when, despite how bad my mania was, i was *never* a threat to anyone else, never really tried to hurt anyone, and wasn't even threatening or trying to hurt *my own self*. so i feel like this scummy society just imprisoned me just for a supposed 'crime' of having some mental health issues and needing help just so said scummy society didn't have to deal with me that more than anything has caused a lot of cPTSD in my psyche

    • @christinadonnelly781
      @christinadonnelly781 9 місяців тому

      Sorry you went through that. It sounds very unfair. We have a long way to go in the mental health field for sure.

  • @haizekhaze8868
    @haizekhaze8868 10 місяців тому

    Thank you 🕊 🙏