sorry for expanding on this or offering my input this way, but I found this question on the internet and I just wanted to expand on it. Someone had suggested that this person maybe suffered from HFA/AS, and I don’t think that’s what she has at all. Symptoms of emotional despondence, aloofness, and apathy are associated with major depressive disorder, and not high-functioning autism or asperger’s. Although some people with HFA/AS can seem to be aloof, a lot of them are very expressive. At least the ones with mild AS are expressive. The ones that have more severe autism tend to be kind of out of it, though. But it’s probably because their minds are on a completely different level that I can’t tap into, so they appear aloof because they are observing and processing the world on a level that I wouldn’t understand because I’m not autistic. I’ve always wondered how they think.
Anywho, here’s what the question was, and here’s the response:
Emotionally Distant and Apathetic?
"I feel like I feel nothing at all. I have brief moments of happiness but ultimatly I feel nothing else, including grief, remorse, love, sadness, etc. Complete emptyness and complete apathy, like if I was in a life or death situation I would do nothing to stop myself from dying. I don’t feel an emotional bond with anyone I should, like my parents. I used to feel but my emotions have just been weaning away for about three years. I thought I might get better but I talked to my father about it and he said he felt the same way throughout his teens and it didn’t go away for him. Does anybody know what this is or what its called, I have searched the internet but have found nothing which fits with how I feel."
I just wanted to expand on this a bit, because people have some misconceptions here which need to be ramified. Emotional distance/Apathy is often a symptom of depression. It is not often something associated with bipolar depression or HFA/AS. Most people with HFA/AS are extremely motivated, can concentrate for hours on end, are driven, and are academically-gifted. However, they can have some symptoms of ADHD, so they can be distractible. As for bipolar, it is only during the depressive phases that one can feel emotional/cognitive dissonance or apathy. And this is mostly associated with major depression. it is not a consistent finding in people with HFA/AS unless they, for some reason, have a depressive disorder.
As for depression, believe me I know how that goes. I have bipolar, and when I’m at my lowest, I just feel nothing. I have like…no emotions. But I have tried some natural remedies that work with depression, as my bipolar meds didn’t work at all. I’ve tried St. John’s Wort, and that works a lot better for me than zyprexa and depakote ever did. They did absolutely nothing except make my hair fall out, for some reason. The depakote did that. So I switched to more organic remedies like St. John’s Wort and multivitamins to give me energy. Green Tea is amazing stuff for giving you an energy boost. So you should try those if meds don’t work. Also, exercise and meditation help too. I’ve gone into studying Buddhism, and I’m studying mindfulness to help me channel my emotions into positive energy. It’s worked really well for me - you should try that out. Either way, don’t give up. You can get through this. Also, see if you can find a support structure at home or with your friends, so that you can talk to them when you have trouble. But whatever you do, just don’t give up. Find something that interests you, and channel your energy into it so that you can feel a cathartic release from it. Don’t let your thoughts distract you; just go out there and find something you can put your energy into.
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