Hi!

[David Larson]

A bit late, but hello everyone, I'm David.

I'm here for a few distinct reasons. First, after getting my adult diagnosis a few years ago after a lifetime of not feeling like I'm a part of "everyone else", I feel like I've found "my people".

Second, I know a lot about psychology and I've been through some stuff myself, so I'm looking for opportunities to share my knowledge with others. Psychology is kind of my fascination and junk.

Third, I care about "my people". I work for a non-profit that helps Aspie adults, and I plan to spend my life advancing the well-being of all of us. I've been given talents, and I intend to use them.

That's it, me in a nutshell.

 

[Rocco]

Welcome aboard

 

[ancusmitis]

Well, hello then. Welcome to the restaurant at the end of the internet

 

[karen70]

I thought I would say a formal hello
So, hello (and thank you for the contribution to my other post )

David, can I ask what your ideas are on how the aspie brain works in connection to 'studying psychology'?

My reason for asking is that I am currently waiting on an interview for the foundation degree for counselling skills (person centred), the reason for me applying for this particular course was the fact that I passed level 2 and 3 with so much self discovery that although it broke me down mentally, it finally made sense to a life time of chaos. Because I felt I had learnt more during my two years of study than I have ever previously learnt (i'm 45) it felt natural to want to further my education in this area.

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

Many thanks in advance.

Karen

 

[David Larson]

David, can I ask what your ideas are on how the aspie brain works in connection to 'studying psychology'?

Good question. I've been chewing on this one, and what I can conclude is that I can't use a royal "we" to speak for all of us regarding this topic. All I can really do is share what's worked for me to help advance my understanding and knowledge.

One good thread to pull on is the topic of Alexithymia. Alexithymia is a stable personality trait shared by 85% of Aspies that impairs our imaginative abilities as well as our ability to empathize. It's also characterized by deficits in the ability to understand, describe, and identify emotions and emotional states within one's self and others. This makes studying psychology a little bit different for us, or at least 85% of us.

As a result, I think we're more apt to systemize people than NTs, who are more able to gain an understanding of people through empathy. So, in a way, I understand people like another Aspie might understand machines, the caveat being that each machine is slightly different than the last. That being said, Transactional Analysis makes a great deal of sense to the Aspie brain and fills in a lot of the "why?" questions when it comes to socialization. It's a very systematic approach to understanding human interaction.

Your story of self-discovery is very similar to how I acquired my knowledge. The more I read, the more I understood about myself and thus people in general (because we're all more similar to one another than we are different), and the more I understood the more I wanted to learn, despite how emotionally wrenching the process was. So I kept pulling loose threads, one topic or subject leading to another, and within a few years + no life outside work + black rectangle that contains all of humanity's collective knowledge, I had a working understanding of the human psyche. All I was going for was some peace of mind, but I wound up learning a lot, and now here I am.

I hope that helps. Like I say, it's hard to speak for all of us. I wish you the best in all your endeavors.

 

[Myway]

Hello and welcome. Hope you enjoy it here and have some chances to share that knowledge of yours. What is the name of the non profit organization.