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Autism and Willpower

Varzar

Varzar

Well-Known Member
V.I.P Member
Time for my next question! :D

So, I've asked about empathy, and determined that lots of AS people are very empathetic and others (like myself) are not so much..
The next thing I'm wondering about is how "connected" AS peoples' emotions are to their logic and reasoning. I believe this is the basis of what people call willpower. The ability for logic and reason to override emotion.

In general, in any situation my rational brain dominates, and everything is evaluated logically, not emotionally. Emotions are not in any way tied into most decisions.
So, what is your willpower like, if you need to kick a habit, go on a diet or things like that?Things that most people struggle with.

For myself, If I decide logically something needs to be done, it gets done, and emotions do not get in the way. But I am on the less empathetic and perhaps less emotional end of the scale.. As an example, this year I decided my weight had crept up too high, so I went on a diet and lost 30 pounds in about 3-4 months.
 
Congrats, excellent willpower. I can swing either way, fiercely logical, emotions nonexistent, or totally emotional. I seem to be missing the switch for that. But l am aware of this. Sometimes l like hanging out in emotionland like a Disney ride. To be totally without emotion, l feel isn't fun. l don't feel threaten by emotions probably because l am a female. As l have aged, l find l am enjoying the simple pleasures of people watching, great cup of coffee, all chores finished.
 
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Varzar said:
Time for my next question! :D

So, I've asked about empathy, and determined that lots of AS people are very empathetic and others (like myself) are not so much..
The next thing I'm wondering about is how "connected" AS peoples' emotions are to their logic and reasoning. I believe this is the basis of what people call willpower. The ability for logic and reason to override emotion.

In general, in any situation my rational brain dominates, and everything is evaluated logically, not emotionally. Emotions are not in any way tied into most decisions.
So, what is your willpower like, if you need to kick a habit, go on a diet or things like that?Things that most people struggle with.

For myself, If I decide logically something needs to be done, it gets done, and emotions do not get in the way. But I am on the less empathetic and perhaps less emotional end of the scale.. As an example, this year I decided my weight had crept up too high, so I went on a diet and lost 30 pounds in about 3-4 months.
Click to expand...

I have very strong willpower once I commit to a goal. After being diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes, I lost 80 pounds, reversed the diabetes and polyneuropathy, and took myself off medication within 18 months.

Also logic and reason dominate with me.
 
I use both logic and reasoning and emotion about equally, when I take MBTI tests I usually come out near the middle of T/F and can land on either side depending on my mood at the time. As for willpower, well, I've survived fourteen years of depression of varying levels, sometimes with very strong suicidal thoughts, and didn't ever end up giving in and killing myself. Surely that says something. Also managed to get rid of a very bad self-harm habit where I was literally addicted to the sight of my own blood (fingers crossed, it's been several months since I last did it). With all the mental health stuff I've had to deal with, the mere fact that I'm alive and out of the hospital is proof of my willpower.
 
Varzar said:
The next thing I'm wondering about is how "connected" AS peoples' emotions are to their logic and reasoning. I believe this is the basis of what people call willpower. The ability for logic and reason to override emotion.
Click to expand...
I think I have alexythemia, so I'm not strongly connected to my emotions. I often work them out through analysis, rather than directly feeling them. If I go shopping, I often find it hard to make decisions between similar products, because they evoke no emotion - I am completely indifferent to them, and use other criteria such as price/value for money to make the decision. I have no or little brand loyalty, and most advertising or marketing ploys don't work on me as they are meant to.
Varzar said:
So, what is your willpower like, if you need to kick a habit, go on a diet or things like that?Things that most people struggle with.
Click to expand...
I have a strict regime, I stick to a plan or rules. I rarely eat between meals, have my meals at set times, meals have to include certain items in certain proportions - one third carbs, protein up to 30% and the rest vegetables. I don't eat after 8pm, even if I am hungry, I will wait until the planned meal time to eat. i have never had a problem with being overweight, if anything, being underweight to the point that my parents suspected me of having an eating disorder when I was younger.
 
Progster said:
I think I have alexythemia, so I'm not strongly connected to my emotions. I often work them out through analysis, rather than directly feeling them. If I go shopping, I often find it hard to make decisions between similar products, because they evoke no emotion - I am completely indifferent to them, and use other criteria such as price/value for money to make the decision. I have no or little brand loyalty, and most advertising or marketing ploys don't work on me as they are meant to.
Click to expand...

Hmm, that sounds very similar to me too.. I hadn't associated that with alexithymia though.. Perhaps you're right that the disjoint between logic and emotion comes more from that than from AS itself.

Progster said:
I have a strict regime, I stick to a plan or rules. I rarely eat between meals, have my meals at set times, meals have to include certain items in certain proportions - one third carbs, protein up to 30% and the rest vegetables. I don't eat after 8pm, even if I am hungry, I will wait until the planned meal time to eat. i have never had a problem with being overweight, if anything, being underweight to the point that my parents suspected me of having an eating disorder when I was younger.
Click to expand...
That is very regimented! I do that now that I've been dieting. But I was also very underweight when I was younger (5'10", 120lbs), so I never bothered with the whole dieting thing until I decided my weight was getting too high.
 
"Countless books and blogs offer ways to “boost self-control,” or even to “meditate your way to more willpower,” but what’s not widely recognized is that new research has shown some of the ideas underlying these messages to be inaccurate."

Linked article discusses some of those ideas, and other, more effective conceptualizations.

TLDR
Thinking of "will power" like a muscle is not necessarily a very useful concept.

"...some behavioral economists argue that self-control should not be seen as simply suppressing short-term urges but instead understood through the lens of 'intrapersonal bargaining': the self as several different decision making systems often in conflict with one another."

Against Willpower
 
About 80% of people with autism have problems with executive functioning, which involves deficits in working memory (making it very difficult to complete even the simplest of tasks such as washing dishes, showering, etc.), planning, initiative, impulse control, and other areas. So, willpower as relates to logic and emotion is very different for many autistic people—executive dysfunction dominates and overrides both.
 
Kalinychta said:
About 80% of people with autism have problems with executive functioning, which involves deficits in working memory (making it very difficult to complete even the simplest of tasks such as washing dishes, showering, etc.), planning, initiative, impulse control, and other areas. So, willpower as relates to logic and emotion is very different for many autistic people—executive dysfunction dominates and overrides both.
Click to expand...

I have problems with the little things if l am dealing with bigger issues. Like l am dealing with the manager in the complex, and she has been telling me to do one illogical thing after another and l am not happy and vascilate on why she thinks she can talk to people like they are idiots instead of cleaning like l should be doing. So executive function is off the cliff, l hope to bring it back tomorrow on my desktop after l quit thinking of every four letter word that can be applied to her completely useless arse. Can anybody pm me with four letter words in another language. Lol. Sadly , the IQ is a bit lacking in this area. I have heard many employers mention this.
 
I have good will power like mowing the lawn and other things but if doing something and have a interruption takes me alone time to get back to it plus very upset over it.
 
I tend to make decisions logically. I have plenty of emotions, mind, but my decisions aren't made based on them.

Then again, I wind up in situations that lead to unhappiness because I act on logic and ignore my emotions...which isn't good either. I guess I don't trust my emotions and I figure if I act on, for instance, the alarm bells screaming in my head about a situation, I'll do something regrettable and...you can guess how well that works out. I'm working on that one.
 
I can be absolutely resolute once I've made a firm decision about something.

It may take me a while to process the 'data' before making my decision.
If I believe it's the correct decision for me I'm unlikely to be swayed until I achieve my desired outcome.

Moments of weakness, so to speak, wont enter my thoughts so I don't need willpower.
 
I have virtually no willpower. Especially when it comes to food. My meds make me very hungry and hunger is a sensation that I absolutely detest. I have always been a very picky eater. I cannot force myself to eat things I don't like, it literally makes me sick. I don't really like most meats and detest seafood and fish. I could never do a low carb diet because I don't like most meat. I also lack self-control when it comes to my temper and saying/doing things I probably shouldn't. I have gotten myself in trouble by reacting strongly to things in anger and regretting it later.
 
I personally only have the willpower to complete and do things that I wanted to do in the first place. I do not have will power to do something someone else wants me to do. And I can't be bribed with treats into doing something I don't want to do. I never had ABA as a kid (lived too far out in the boonies for anyone to come to the house) but if I did, I wonder how the therapist would motivate me to stop stimming or obsessing without driving me to bite them.
 
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