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Suicide rates for #autistic people are much higher than the neurotypical population, at around 7.5 times more frequent. As someone who has had experience in this area, I feel this needs to be held up to the light and closely considered.
CW - suicide and depression
A thread /1
CW - suicide and depression
A thread /1
There are probably many, many reasons why suicide rates are so high for #autistic people and I can't hope to cover them all here, so I'll base this on my own experience and understanding. Feel free to add to it. /2
One clear and obvious reason is the likelihood of #depression caused by the experience of being #autistic in this wacky world of ours. Depression is very common among #autistic people, and this you'd expect suicide rates to inflate too. /3
Depression is comorbid so frequently due to so many things. Social issues, loneliness, feelings of failure, career and job problems - being #autistic is to skirt depression an awful lot. I've been seriously depressed myself at least three times. /4
Add in the complicating factor of #burnout and you see another cause - that particularly #autistic 'type' of depression that I'm increasingly sure burnout may represent, based on pretending to be neurotypical for just too long. /5
Brrrr... this is a sad thread to write but write it I must.
So being #autistic in a neurotypical world has a tendency to cause depression, but is there a reason why this translates so often to suicide - is there something about #autism that links specifically? /6
So being #autistic in a neurotypical world has a tendency to cause depression, but is there a reason why this translates so often to suicide - is there something about #autism that links specifically? /6
I've read a few times that the unshakeable logic of an #autistic mind is a contributing factor. The clear, unsentimental realisation that the world would, at least, be unchanged if not better off for one's removal. I think there's something to this. /7
#autistic people have empathy in spades but I think sentimentality is in short supply. Is this fair? Hence a lack of interest in keepsakes, 'special moments' etc? If is this just me? It certainly appears to be a common trait. /8
I think empathy can override sentimentality in terms of suicidal thought. A belief that others would be better off without you, despite an obvious relatively short term grief, can be quite powerfully persuasive, unfortunately. #autism I think fuels this kind of thinking. /9
This is a really dark thread so I'll completely understand if you don't want to carry on, but I'll soldier on anyway as someone has to talk about it. Just be aware that there will be triggers all over the place. /10
So you can ignore the sentimentality of death - maybe even not notice it. This leaves you with the empathy, that obviously you don't want to make your loved ones suffer. But you know you are making them suffer as you are. This becomes a frighteningly easy equation to balance/11
And mental health professionals need to know they may well be dealing with such pitiless logic in an #autistic person who is convinced that they have assessed the situation accurately. /12
It is likely that an #autistic person will have *really* thought it through, too. This can make intervention harder, as I fear it is such a confident conclusion that dissuasion is difficult. This may even involve detailed research, which would fit an #autistic mindset /13
The nature of #autism as a permanent feature of one's life is another factor we need to consider. Most #autistic people are highly aware that they will always be autistic, and if thaf is causing significant problems here and now, then hope of improvement is hard to find /14
This could make us very strongly averse to such lines as 'take every day as it comes' or 'there's light at the end of the tunnel'. Not only are they bland phrases, they're also not helpful when you know you're never going to fit in as an #autistic person. /15
I think if you're #autistic and you find yourself in a particularly difficult situation, say a bad relationship or a horrible job, then the chances of feeling powerless are high. You'll be having regular meltdowns, which hardly make you feel in control and capable /16
And you'll be finding it impossible to communicate with the people causing such pain. #autistic people can find social communication hard at the best of times, but if situations are dire it can be a fatal problem. /17
So link this with the relentlessly logical approach to suicide and there's a bit of a recipe for disaster. #autistic people will probably struggle with alternatives too. Many suicidal people make huge changes to their life. We struggle with that so much. /18
A suicidal neurotypical person might decide its best to quit their job, leave their spouse, even run away and start a new life. #autistic people have so many inbuilt barriers to such big moves, including terror of change. /19
Being precariously employed or living day to day financially might make moves like this impossible, trapping #autistic people in a circle.
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