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Thank you for this. One of the links in the article was rather helpful in putting words to things in my past. :) http://www.aane.org/asperger_resources/articl

by projct 15y ago

Thank you for this. One of the links in the article was rather helpful in putting words to things in my past. :) http://www.aane.org/asperger_resources/articles/miscellaneous/aspergers_depression.html http://www.aane.org/asperger_resources/articles/miscellaneou...

audreyt 15y ago
I'd like to echo that sentiment. From personal experience, I agree with the aane.org post that hackers may perceive the Cognitive Behavior Therapy framework as an authoritarian intervention on their value system. As the author puts it: “ I value my own forceful beliefs and ubiquitous questions, my own Utilitarian sense of morality. Many of the theories espoused by cognitive therapists I simply do not agree with–and yet I am told what I must believe if I wish to get better. ” A couple years ago I've found ACT ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acceptance_and_commitment_therapy http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acceptance_and_commitment_thera... ) as a much more viable alternative, and thought I'd like to share it here. Here's a succinct summary of ACT's difference from CBT from Wikipedia: “ Rather than trying to teach people to better control their thoughts, feelings, sensations, memories and other private events, ACT teaches them to "just notice," accept, and embrace their private events, especially previously unwanted ones. ACT helps the individual get in contact with a transcendent sense of self known as "self-as-context"—the you that is always there observing and experiencing and yet distinct from one's thoughts, feelings, sensations, and memories. ” The "self-as-context" concept is particularly close to the flow experience we constantly experience during hacking. I've since devised a mnemonic, based on the familiar Git workflow, that captures the essence of ACT's process to improve one's psychological flexibility: * [Fetch] factual information * [Merge] with understanding * [Commit] to an action * [Push] it out of mind Hopefully it'd be helpful, or at least amusing, to HN folks here. :-)
- thebrokencube 15y ago
  This is really cool; I'm going to have to try this, thank you!
- zedshaw 15y ago
  That's Buddhism basically.
  - el_presidente 15y ago
    Only Buddhism doesn't use the scientific method. Unacceptable in a culture where we _try_ to use math to describe the economy, RDF to describe social interactions, and intelligent design to prove the existence of God. For example, therapists teaching Ujjayi Pranayama (ocean sound breath) always start by mentioning that studies show how it helps x% of people with mood disorders.
- GiraffeNecktie 15y ago
  There are a few similar approaches out there, which perhaps go even further towards allowing change to happen (or not happen) through self awareness. I especially like hakomi therapy which takes a fundamental stance that the therapist should first of all support the person in being exactly who he or she is in this moment. I also very much like "The Work" of Byron Katie, an extremely simple technique for becoming more aware of my expectations of how people should be which helps me become more accepting of how they actually are. I've no idea whether these approaches are useful or appropriate for Asperger's but I like how they treat the 'current state' with respect rather than as a pathology.
- loceng 15y ago
  Fetch Merge Commit Push -- I love this - thank you for sharing.

by projct 15y ago

audreyt 15y ago

I'd like to echo that sentiment. From personal experience, I agree with the aane.org post that hackers may perceive the Cognitive Behavior Therapy framework as an authoritarian intervention on their value system. As the author puts it: “ I value my own forceful beliefs and ubiquitous questions, my own Utilitarian sense of morality. Many of the theories espoused by cognitive therapists I simply do not agree with–and yet I am told what I must believe if I wish to get better. ” A couple years ago I've found ACT ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acceptance_and_commitment_therapy http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acceptance_and_commitment_thera... ) as a much more viable alternative, and thought I'd like to share it here. Here's a succinct summary of ACT's difference from CBT from Wikipedia: “ Rather than trying to teach people to better control their thoughts, feelings, sensations, memories and other private events, ACT teaches them to "just notice," accept, and embrace their private events, especially previously unwanted ones. ACT helps the individual get in contact with a transcendent sense of self known as "self-as-context"—the you that is always there observing and experiencing and yet distinct from one's thoughts, feelings, sensations, and memories. ” The "self-as-context" concept is particularly close to the flow experience we constantly experience during hacking. I've since devised a mnemonic, based on the familiar Git workflow, that captures the essence of ACT's process to improve one's psychological flexibility: * [Fetch] factual information * [Merge] with understanding * [Commit] to an action * [Push] it out of mind Hopefully it'd be helpful, or at least amusing, to HN folks here. :-)

thebrokencube 15y ago
This is really cool; I'm going to have to try this, thank you!
zedshaw 15y ago
That's Buddhism basically.
- el_presidente 15y ago
  Only Buddhism doesn't use the scientific method. Unacceptable in a culture where we _try_ to use math to describe the economy, RDF to describe social interactions, and intelligent design to prove the existence of God. For example, therapists teaching Ujjayi Pranayama (ocean sound breath) always start by mentioning that studies show how it helps x% of people with mood disorders.
GiraffeNecktie 15y ago
There are a few similar approaches out there, which perhaps go even further towards allowing change to happen (or not happen) through self awareness. I especially like hakomi therapy which takes a fundamental stance that the therapist should first of all support the person in being exactly who he or she is in this moment. I also very much like "The Work" of Byron Katie, an extremely simple technique for becoming more aware of my expectations of how people should be which helps me become more accepting of how they actually are. I've no idea whether these approaches are useful or appropriate for Asperger's but I like how they treat the 'current state' with respect rather than as a pathology.
loceng 15y ago
Fetch Merge Commit Push -- I love this - thank you for sharing.