Autistic Anxiety and Mindstorms

It's generally accepted that elevated levels of anxiety as well as anxiety disorders are common in autism. This makes sense. Living in a world that is mostly catered to neurotypical people coupled with difficulties tolerating uncertainty and sensory sensitivities common in autism creates a perfect storm for anxiety (South and Rodgers, 2017). As well, there appear to be some patterns in how anxiety is experienced and expressed by autistic people. These are five:

1. Obsession

Autism is associated with a monotropic focus (Murray, 2018). In other words, autistic people often find themselves intensely focused on one thing at a time. This can foster, deep passions and hyperfocus. It can also lead to obsession when it comes to anxiety-promoting things. Obsession can look like a sort of shape-shifting fear that binds to a single worry at a time making it extremely difficult to think about much else in the moment.

2. Mindstorms (Meltdowns) and Ice-Mindstorms (Shutdowns)

Meltdown is a term for what happens when we hit total overload. I use the terms mindstorm and meltdown interchangeably. It's more than a temper tantrum. When a person is experiencing a mindstorm, it's difficult to access reason. Everything feels overwhelming. They may yell, pace, or show panic-like symptoms. They might also shut down. I call these ice-mindstorms. A shutdown can show up as a freeze response making one less communicative or active until things stabilize.

3. Executive Function Breakdown

While autism is associated with executive functioning difficulties on its own, research shows that increased executive functioning issues correlate with anxiety in autism. Specifically, flexibility in thinking, the executive functioning skill necessary for switching between tasks and adapting to change, is associated with anxiety in autism (Wallace et al., 2016). In real life, this can look like feeling too anxious to put together the necessary organizational tasks to complete a task, or to follow through.

4. Physical Presentations

Anxiety often has physical manifestations both in autistic and non-autistic people. Research suggests that high levels of stress and anxiety often play a role in some physical symptoms of autism (Taylor et al., 2021). Alexithymia, a condition common in autism that is marked by the unique processing of emotions and difficulty identifying these, is associated with anxiety as well (Liss et al., 2008). A person can be anxious and not be aware that they are anxious.

5. Strong Need for Withdraw

Anxiety in autism often looks like an overwhelm. Feeling overwhelmed creates a situation wherein we need space and quiet for the leaves to settle. For some, this might look like putting the head down and headphones over the ears. For others, it might take the form of needing to be alone for a few minutes immediately after work or school. Unfortunately, this can sometimes be misinterpreted as rudeness or lack of affection when in fact a person is just trying to rebalance.

In Conclusion

While anxiety is common in general, it is especially common in autism. Understanding how anxiety manifests in autism can help us to recognize it and effectively intervene. Neurodiversity-affirming interventions for anxiety in autism are key.