We have been on Quora again, debating the benefits of Mental Health interventions for autistic and neurodivergent people.
If you’re autistic, have you refused mental therapy?
Absolutely yes.
But that often means having to find ways of self-medicating and being cut off from other services.
I found that we are quite often not allowed to choose/request/accept the services we need and want; instead, we have to take what we are given and be grateful.
Unfortunately, that goes against everything I believe in, especially my self-determination and self-respect.
I find that I am too complicated (not my needs but my neurology) for the services that are usually provided. So-called “professionals” seem to think that they know my body and brain better than I do.
Probably, if I were neurotypical, I would accept what they offer and be even grateful.
But I am not.
My needs are different. My experience of life is different. My thinking and logic are different. My emotional depth and insight are different. My reaction to medication is different. My psychology is different. My sensory perception is different. etc.
I have never been offered anything that helped me. On the contrary, therapists have only triggered worse conditions by causing iatrogenic splits, creating introjects, and overall using my vulnerabilities to manipulate my thinking into denying my neurodivergence to accept and even welcome ableist normative behaviour.
So, I’ve refused therapy. To be fair to me, I always tried it, but then ended up rejecting it and having more trauma to deal with than I did at the start.
I would like to be able to get therapeutic therapy but that doesn’t seem to be possible. And that is why I have chosen to focus on peer support.
Many of us (NDs) are knowledgeable enough to be therapists; some with and some without the necessary qualifications, but all with the knowledge.
Additionally, we have lived experiences.
There are enough people to create hubs of knowledge and support spreading ND love and expertise. Pages on Quora and social networks are good examples of informal peer support networks. The step to formalise that service provision is only a small step; it only takes one or two volunteers to get it started, and it should snowball ….
Up for it? 🤓🩵
We will be writing extensively on this specific subject and many others related to Peer Support
