HIGHLY SENSITIVE PEOPLE & AUTISM: THE HSP PROFILE OF AUTISM (CPTSD & ASD SERIES)

foreign [Music] of autistic females are undiagnosed eighty percent that's the number I've come across in several locations and this whole inquiry I'm doing on trying to understand the overlap and relationship between complex PTSD and autism is becoming more and more difficult as it really does appear in the next video I'm going to make on this topic is going to be a comparison of ASD and cptsd and even when I look at the different graphs and the other work of people the more and more I read the more this overlap continues to sort of show itself around complex trauma and autism and nowhere is that really more clear in this debate and it is still a debate about whether or not the highly sensitive person is actually just a profile of a type of autism versus it being a separate thing and I don't fully know where all this lands although I can tell you that what I'm going to share with you today is going to come from the autism side the autism argument around highly sensitive people actually being just a type of profile more often than not of autism that being said sensitivity or hsps often called sensory processing sensitivities that's the sort of clinical term SPS are people who have a higher responsiveness to their environment to the sensory World a sensitivity if you will to sort of everything inside and outside their world and that this exists it's a trait and it exists along the Spectrum and it exists in animals and different species like it's everywhere up to up to 30 percent apparently of of those they've studied can have this trait it's a sensitivity trait so that being said I think that that is one thing as we're talking about autism because for me one of the biggest issues is how do I understand and make sense of my sensory issues as they have existed my entire life as it relates to complex PTSD specifically around issues like hyper vigilance and what we can see are true sensory sensitivities that we may have developed over time because we're living in fight or flight because it made sense to make meaning of these things maybe we're just you know we were more sensitive at Birth and we're also experiencing complex trauma it gets complicated but what I will say is that from from the autistic voices I've been listening to both on videos and tick tocks and in research and articles and websites is that their position is that the research done by Elaine Aaron on highly sensitive people has some issues with it with disregard number one apparently that she based a large part of her sort of understanding and and creating this profile of a person based on two of her grand nephews who were later diagnosed as autistic so apparently you know observing them really informed at least this passion and interest now I've read that several places I can't seem to find an exact quote from her but I have seen that many places the next thing is that when they did do apparently a comparison studies between Autism and hsps they did not use highly masked what we would call level one low support needs autistics basically people who would have been hard to detect without expertise that they may have been on a spectrum especially because of the very limited way in which the DSM-5 and research has hyper focused on very specific populations of white males and really disregarded people of color and women so that's one thing if the criteria are about this thing but it leaves out all of us who don't fit in this box that seems to be an issue and lastly that Elaine Aaron herself had said that the two biggest reasons why they weren't the same thing initially were that one people with Autism don't tend to have empathy which is absolutely not true I'm going to make a video about what's on What's called the double empathy problem which really gets into understanding what empathy looks like and those with autism and in fact it's highly offensive to assume that they don't many of them have hyperempathy there's a wide degree there of those and how they might not only experience empathy but how it might be understood as a person is experiencing it so it's not true that those who have autism don't have empathy and secondly that those with autism have special interests which apparently is not always true either and that those with HSP traits wouldn't have special interest and so once again we're learning as I'm going through this so many voices are informing My Views and I want to say this that I am trying to use of course those who have written books and done research studies but I also am trying to listen to those who are frankly very impressive and have done a lot of their own research who are not necessarily in Academia but who are people who have very powerful and worthwhile autistic voices to listen to so I'm going to be pulling from lots of things as I try to understand everything and because even if I try to only stick to the most research Dynamics if the DSM-5 that creates that understanding of a diagnosis is missing a lot of data is inaccurate has presumed some things that aren't true has left out populations we have a serious problem and that's what I'm learning more and more and that's why this blend is becoming stronger as it appears that it's relatively you know an inherent part of autism can be to also experience complex trauma in many forms so let's talk about what the HSP profile of autism looks like in the autistic community I'm going to be referencing actually a tick tock I'm going to link it down below by an individual named Dr Joey who has two doctorates one in Clinical Psychology and one I believe in clinical neuropsychology don't quote me on that but I'm pretty sure it's what they both are and in that tick tock they go through what the profile would look like now I would encourage you to go back to my last video if you want and just look at the app the typical criteria on what makes a person an HSP you can quickly Google it on your phone and just look at the characteristics it really is about heightened emotional sensitivities heightened empathy heightened sensory responses to like I said earlier everything basically inside and outside of your world and how that impacts you so if you were to have if that were to instead be a profile of a type of autism what I'm reading is that that would reflect a person who who would let's say identify as an HSP who was unconsciously masking who might also be highly masking in a way that they don't even know they have autism but they have learned to make all these adaptations because they want they have enough ability to understand certain types of social dynamics so that they know that having a meltdown wouldn't be appropriate for example to show that they were so so dysregulated let's say Inside by something in a sensory way that they might go home and then shut down for the rest of the night but they're not going to necessarily show that to you and what we have thought of as more of an autistic type of of behavior so basically the profile reflects an emotional over sensitivity and is about unconscious masking and that as a result of all of this as I go through it it talks about this profile especially being especially at risk for Burnout and burnout is basically from my understanding I'm gonna also do a whole video on this where for many people have been masking their whole lives and just like literally treading water to adjust and survive without drowning that at some point it is so much that it becomes it basically forces a person at times to really lose capacity to shut down to become a significantly overwhelmed in a way that affects functioning and so you can imagine if let's say you are identifying with being a highly sensitive person which I always have right that explained that would explain the things that complex trauma wouldn't necessarily explain and maybe it is maybe these are separate things and HSP explains that with CPT SD that I came out of the womb or you did sensitive and then we landed in a very invalidating environment again and again and again at the same time when you start to kind of compare and overlap the profile of autism especially at the core which is so much about our sensory sensitivities in fact even more so than social communication Dynamics because what we're learning is that it's not a deficit to be autistic a social deficit that you might have your communication style it is a difference so you need to like hold space for the idea that an autistic brain does not fit into the box of all the social worlds and all the social rules that have been constructed that said this is right and this is wrong and this is how we make a diagnosis it doesn't make space for the fact that on this world and this planet maybe we speak this language but on this planet we speak that language and neither one is wrong or right and that also applies as I mentioned to the idea of empathy that the way people might engage with each other who let let's say two autistic people versus two non-autistic people there might be and I think the research shows that there's something that's happening with let's say two of the same same that tend to have a better way of understanding each other potentially than you know let's say a different an autistic person and an autistic person so these are the characteristics number one an intensity and depth of processing that reflects a rich and complex inner life and may manifest as complex imagery or deep theorizing about the world and people and don't forget that for many people who are highly masking or autistic in general one of their special interests is often people that is the idea of it being psychology like I mentioned in the Arts like if your special interest is understanding how humans are supposed to be in situations you might become much better at that than someone whose interest was not that but the way it might manifest which is this comp this common thing in HSP is having a deep and you know interior world that that would be true and it would look like this complex imagery and deep thinking about the world in yourself and others number two a high sensitivity to sensory input so basically what we're saying is the HSP profile of autism would be very positive to things like pain hunger touch Fabrics clutter temperature having a strong startle response Sensations light smells and theirs and other people's intense emotions so everything around the senses the volume would be very high up which is also true for hsps number three a high perceptivity in picking up things that other people don't so that's like being able to kind of like focus on things that others might not notice number four needing accommodations for your sensitivities but then again if you were basically unconsciously masking so you're an HSP autistic but you don't know that you're unconsciously masking and making all these adjustments in the world to show up in a certain way to get through it but maybe you do things without realizing it like you only buy you know clothing without tags you only can use certain you know a certain kind of perfumes or smells so you basically set up your world through what you're thinking are preferences but really they're ways of kind of accommodating for basically what are difficult triggers for you potentially number five needing advanced notice to prepare for sensory sensitivities and we've talked a lot about the HSP World being highly reactive to stress that let's say unpredictable situations things we can't control that all of that would make it more difficult so the idea is that oftentimes those who have autism will say if I know what to expect going into it I tend to do well and I think that's true for most of us I think especially we all have wherever we are in terms of our brains have little things we like and don't like and being like surprised by something we don't enjoy or like most of us don't do well with that it's just a matter of degree and I would say for those who have heightened sensitivities that would be the case the next one is enjoyment of fine sense taste sounds smells art things like that and that's not another one of the signs of hsps is this appreciation for the beauty of life right for them for this like um parts of of beauty and enjoyment for the sake of what they are like an awareness of that a sensitivity to that an appreciation for that number seven hyper empathy with a tendency to be easily affected by others moods now we know that's also part of HSP so and also complex trauma we are highly we learn to pay a lot of attention to what other people are doing and thinking and feeling and we can take that and absorb that and in fact there are those on the Spectrum who have hyper empathy I think as I said earlier so when you're hyperempathic the volume is there's no barrier the volume is way up and where there should ideally be a barrier there isn't one and I've talked about this a lot I am so affected by my kids moods that even when I can in my head say I know this is not anything to do with me if they're in the back room and they're in a bad mood it still bothers me and I can feel the energy you know and this is a good thing as a therapist and psychologist to be able to read people and of course working online is is is required a few shifts in that but it's still if you're an energy reader you know what I mean and that is also a sign of HSP the next one is a strong desire to be ethical so apparently and when I'm learning about autism is that it's not necessarily A sense to be moral but it's about a strong sense of justice of what is right and wrong and that would align too with hsps and that they wouldn't be necessarily great or down with you know being unsupportive of a different you know Community or of not accepting others there's a lot about or fighting for what seems like that's fair and right although I think it would be even stronger I'm guessing for a person with autism difficulties working under pressure now that obviously would be expected anybody who has high sensitivities that stress is such a major impactor of our well-being and that's definitely true for hsps and would be true for the HSP profile of autism difficulties with conflict now it just seems to reason that if you're a highly sensitive person for whatever reason the world feels intense and things hurt more and feels the edges are sharper that you wouldn't necessarily like conflict you wouldn't like negative feelings you wouldn't like places where it doesn't feel safe those are true for both passionate about topics so interest in Psychology the self the environment one of the things I think is about animals in terms of the hsps but it would be like this interest in things that are meaningful and the way it would look in an autistic profile as I said earlier is a passion about people and how their brains work or their emotions work or or maybe love for those who are you know let's say an endangered animal species things like that so that would obviously go further but of course a person with age with a classic sensitivity profile in general would be more likely to care about others and experiences and interactions and things like that number 12 is susceptibility to headaches body aches gastrointestinal issues emerging from stress so as we know hsps and that profile in terms of the classic one that they are going to be more sensitive to things and those things are going to manifest in their bodies and come out in different symptoms and that the idea is that stress would be a major driver for both the HSP and the HSP profile of autism number 13 difficulties are as a result of masking unconsciously and often expressed through other means such as health or mental health issues so even though let's say a person with this profile who has autism is trying to do a good job of masking it's it's requiring them to really sacrifice and manage and deal with all of this like as I said kind of last time the nails in the chalkboard all of the time while maybe not showing it and so that might manifest in an anxiety disorder or depression um all types of issues where that might come up or your own health issues as we know that chronic stress is significantly related to the onset of adult issues around you know as I've talked about so many cases in the aces studies and the adverse childhood experiences studies where we said that those who had more childhood trauma tended to have more physical health issues as well as mental health issues and then the last one is that the neurobiology of HSP autistics reflects an intensity of sensory processing that is consistent with autism research so it's really more about according to Dr jelly and the research that they pulled together and other people that I actually also read that it's really about the sensory processing more than about deficits in Social functioning as I said earlier it's not that autistic people have a deficit it's a difference and so if the world you were taught to speak the language was this language but people over here could speak that language of course you would not be doing a good job in this one and so the problem is that the deficits in Social functioning and autism have now been disputed by the double empathy problem and I'm going to make a whole video about that the bottom line about that is that it's sort of like how you're assessing empathy depends on who's having the empathic Dynamic right so it's that maybe neurotypicals would expect it to look like this or experience it this way and those who are neurodiverse would experience it another way one is not right or wrong they're just different and so the stereotypes that are blocking hsps from being diagnosed might be that they are just really autistics who are masking alongside a stereotype that says that you know and not just a stereotype a reality that being diagnosed with autism might bring some negative things into your life it might bring some great things as well but at this current time there can be some things that could hold you back from for example and then even things like stimming which we think of as a traditionally autistic behavior that those who have HSP profiles might also be trying to find ways to deal with their overloaded sensitivities like picking their skin or twilling their hair or singing things like that or going through thoughts in their mind over and over again and reflecting that it's really about regulating the sensory triggers and not so much about just the idea of repetitive behaviors for the sake of repetitive behaviors and so we know that those for example with trauma might find ways to kind of nervous systems to manage those things as well through what might look like different types of stimming and I think historically we've thought of stimming as hand flapping rocking which of course it is but there are lots of ways that those with autism might you know enjoy stems and might use to regulate to deal with stress to deal with whatever's going on and input into their world so the bottom line is that all of this profile when you look at what what I've read and you think about 80 percent of females being undiagnosed who have autism that is a strikingly horrific number to think about and whether we're just you know want to label this okay you know because technically hsps are neurodivergent just like autism is creates a neurodivergent profile whatever it is complex trauma is a neurodivergent profile our brains have to make these changes to accommodate for whatever's going on whether we're born with it or it happens to us inherently and so what I think is powerful about this is understanding that if you relate to this profile of being highly sensitive even if you just want to say I'm not willing to go into the autistic Dynamic at this point although it's pretty interesting when you listen to autistic voices how much you hear that is to really acknowledge how profoundly impactful the world is to you and I've been noticing this more and more and I'm not sure if it's because I haven't had a vacation in two years which is hopefully gonna which hopefully is changing soon but I'm finding it harder and harder to tolerate certain things and my nervous system is getting more and more just depleted and then you add in things like menopause whereas I've said I'm you know up at 4am every day and that's all their conversation it starts to wear on you and the idea is that if you've been unconsciously masking your autism and really trying so hard to fit this round this round shape into the square hole that at some point it may no longer fit and there might actually be damage from doing so it's important to understand that however you want to identify if you just want to call it neurodivergence that to start to own that that you need to think about because of your sensory sensitivities for example how you set up your life I made a list on my phone I'm going to make a video about this I couldn't believe it I just was this was like actually before I even did this deep dive about how many things I set up in my life in my home to deal with my sensory triggers and the list was like this long from like how I deal with smells how I deal with Fabrics how I you know do routines candles lighting like it's so much and I don't I just it's just how I am and that goes back to what my daughter was said God everything bothers you it's like my attempt to reduce the harm of being bothered and that is what I think masking looks like when you're trying so hard to reduce the harm to yourself it is still harm and so if you leave these videos just thinking about how to you know change to honor the way your brain works and that's as far as you're willing to go that to me is profoundly impactful and it will require that you change some things for yourself or what I'm finding is that your brain will change it for you and it might manifest in Burnout in Raging anxiety which I think many people with Autism have in general but in ways that actually prohibit your functioning I've actually started to change my filming schedule and my patient schedule I'm working on as The Summer's going on because I keep trying to fit everything in and that's also why I don't have the specific days of when I'm posting videos I'm trying to post at least four if not five because it was stressing me out with that schedule so much that it was it was like not making me wanting to do it which is a whole other conversation but anyway the point is everything from how you do your sleep to how you nourish your body to exercise to how you engage in relationships or not you're isolating or not all of that might need to be more protected if you begin to identify and understand that you do have these sensitivities and you do need the support so hope that was helpful I'm curious to see what you think thank you so much for being here please stay safe and well and I'll see you soon bye [Music]

Channel: Dr. Kim Sage, Licensed Psychologist

Views: 43,260

Keywords: cptsd, complex ptsd, asd, autism, autism spectrum disorder, high masking, high masking women, misdiagnoses, women with aspergers, aspergers symptoms, women on the spectrum, cptsd and asd, ptsd and asd, ptsd, asd and adhd, asd and bpd, high masking autism, high masking adhd, dr kim sage, highly sensitive person, hsp, hsp and autism, autism and highly sensitive people, am i autistic

Id: Tx8LzXQEH6s

Length: 24min 18sec (1458 seconds)

Published: Thu Jun 15 2023