The Main Reasons People with ASD Are So Anxious

"Mark, you say in many of your YouTube videos that people on the spectrum are almost always suffering from anxiety. Why is this?"

 

Individuals with Asperger’s and High-Functioning Autism are especially vulnerable to anxiety for several important reasons. The affected individual experiences this intrinsic feature of the disorder due to any – or all – of the following:

• a breakdown in circuitry related to extinguishing fear responses
• specific neurotransmitter system defects
• an inability to make accurate “social judgments” 
• sensory sensitivities
  
• past trauma that results from being victimized, rejected and teased by their peers – without possessing the ability to mount effective socially adaptive responses
• an insufficient grasp of situations to recognize that others “get it” when he/she does not 
• social challenges that make it difficult for the person with AS to develop coping strategies for self-soothing and/or controlling difficult emotions
• limited skills for autonomous social problem-solving  
• limitations in the ability to grasp social cues
• a highly rigid personality style that craves routine and structure (i.e., strong dislike for change)
• repeated “social errors” 
• limitations in generalizing from one situation to another

Other issues that can significantly raise anxiety levels involve:

• a weak predictive ability
• mind-blindness
• alexithymia
• problems with executive function

Resources for Neurodiverse Couples:

==> Online Group Therapy for Men with ASD

==> Online Group Therapy for NT Wives

==> Living With Aspergers: Help for Couples 

==> One-on-One Counseling for Struggling Individuals & Couples Affected by Asperger's and High-Functioning Autism  

==> Online Group Therapy for Couples and Individuals Affected by Autism Spectrum Disorder

 ==> Cassandra Syndrome Recovery for NT Wives