The range of emotions that define depression boil down to how you experience joy or don’t. Chasing joy through productivity-based values can trip depression and leave you feeling more failure than fulfilled. Let’s explore ways we lose our joy, from epigenetics to expectations to sleep debt.
WELCOME BACK TO ANOTHER EPISODE OF YOU DON’T SOUND AUTISTIC WITH BLAKE AND RACHELLE. BLAKE IS AUTISTIC. RACHELLE IS NOT.
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You Don’t Sound Autistic is a mental and emotional health awareness podcast. Each week we do our best to represent both neuro-perspectives and talk about the continual discovery process of life on the spectrum. Our goal is to illuminate, uncover and transparently discuss life with multi-diagnosis and through a multi-generational neurodivergent lens.
After reading this summary, listen to the podcast to hear additional insights and stories told only on the podcast.
Neurodivergent heritability (passed to kids) (7:12)
Research continues to strengthen and support our belief that neurodivergent neuro/biological factors like genes expression and DNA, are passed from generation to generation. While research is ongoing, we do know the following life experiences are inherited between 30-80% of the time.
- Generalized Anxiety Disorder (30%)
- Depression (50%)
- Bipolar Disorder (75%) (9)
- ADHD (77-88%)
- Autism Spectrum Disorder (80%)
- Schizophrenia (80%)
Epigenetics (7:58)
Epigenetics studies changes in organisms (including humans) caused by modifications of gene expression rather than the alteration of the genetic code itself. Epigenetics studies cellular and physiological traits that define how our cells actually read our genes and become our operating system (brain and body). Factors that can influences gene expression to change include:
- Behaviors & Trauma
- Environment
- Illnesses, infections (viral, bacterial and fungal), diseases, and even cancer
- Nutrition during pregnancy
- Chemical Exposures (including GMO, food preservatives and dyes)
- And more…
Stem Cell Biologist, Goi Peace Award recipient, medical school lecturer and best-selling author, Dr. Bruce Lipton is a breakthrough scientist in the field of epigenetics whose research revealed insight into the powerful “organic computer chip” functionality of the outer layers of our cells. From 1987 to 1992, his research illuminated how the environment impacted the cell membrane that controls behavior and physiology of the cell by turning genes on and off. Learning Exploration: Honeymoon Effect and Biology of Belief and Spontaneous Evolution.
Long-Haul COVID-19 symptoms due to gene expression changes (9:45)
Epigenetic fundamentals have been pushed into main stream media channels through the acknowledgement of COVID-19 long haul symptoms like changes to taste and smell.
- Airway Cells
- Inflammatory Response (2)
- Oxidative Stress
- Immune Response (3)
Upcoming Guest Interview with Author Dawn M. Barclay (10:40)
Dawn M. Barclay’s new book, Traveling Different – Vacation Strategies for Parents of the Anxious, the Inflexible and the Neurodiverse hits the market on August 15, 2022 and we’re excited to announce Dawn will be joining us on the show to discuss her book. She speaks about the benefits of and strategies for:
- Preparing for travel
- Breaking down various modes of traveling
- What to do once you’ve arrived
- Destinations and Special Interests
- Resources and Assistances
If you have questions for Dawn that you’d like asked during our interview, submit them and we’ll do our best. For more information on the book check out www.travelingdifferent.com
Expectation-Based (Frame of Reference) Reality (14:22)
Experiencing anything NEW can feel like a threat and trigger the alarm system of the brain, behavior, mood and information processing centers for Neurodivergent individuals of all ages. One common coping mechanism is to use a semi-locked expectation structure to plan for the future.
- Visual images can bridge one’s ability to prepare for a new task, place or activity
- Videos of similar experiences (like sitting on Santa’s lap) can allow the person to observe the “new” without being “in the new” which leads to a stronger feeling of safety and acclimation
- Expectation-based realities rely on advanced introductions to establish baseline thresholds for what they can expect to see, hear, feel and process during the “new” event/place/person/activity.
Sensory details like the volume, frequency and tone of everyday appliance or technology based equipment are often loud and feels obnoxious to get your attention. These same tones can be triggers for an expectation-based individuals loud, unexpected sounds, movements and transitions feels threatening. Sensory Avoidant ADHD & Autistic kids and adults will experience this with the greatest stress, discomfort and even derailment of travel or transition plans.
- Kitchen Equipment: Microwaves, Air-Fryers, Coffee Machines
- Retail: Credit card chip readers, overhead music or intercom announcements
- Transportation Stations (Intercom and Alert systems): Airports, Train & Bus Stations, Cruise Docks
- Travel Elements: elevators, terminal trams, shuttle busses, taxi/ride-share
- Just think of the all the ways sounds are used to “alarm” or get your attention during travel
Check out Episode 02: Are You Sensory Seeking or Avoidant for more detailed support and self-discovery.
Transition Tolerance (17:33)
Transition tolerance is the ability to allow the process of ending one task and starting the next task. Also known as “pivotability” or the ability to pivot from task to task or idea to idea.
Our ability to transition or pivot is based largely on how our brain processes high-stress vs. low-stress environments. Some brains have been fired and wired (synced and linked) to perform better under stress than others. While other brains require a calm environment in order to perform and respond coherently.
- Fight of Flight (SANS) Dominate Brains
- Often develops as a result of prolonged exposure to threatening environments during fetal to adulthood development
- Can develop during exposure to threatening environments during adulthood like:
- Wars – especially active participation in daily fighting or war zones
- Divorce or Relationship Breakups or various severity
- Job Loss or Role Changes / Financial Insecurities
- Un/underdiagnosed mental or emotional health episodes
- Toxic home or work place cultures/environments
- Rest or Digest (PANS) Dominate Brains
- More often experienced by those who experienced non-threatening and nurturing environments during fetal to adult development.
- Brains can be supported through nutritional, environmental, trauma and trigger processing changes that can help restore a SANS brain to function more coherently like PANS brains. Brains, from a response-mechanism aspect, can heal. We can change the way we sync and link our neuropathways to better support everyday life regardless of neurotype.
Tired or “Sleep Debt” Brain (20:09)
Also known as “mom brain” caused by the days/weeks/months/years of chronic sleep debt that comes with raising babies. Sleep Debt is a common theme with neurodivergent families for both parent and child(ren) because sleep challenges are one of the earliest and most consistent daily battles we fight.
- One hour of sleep debt can take 4 days to recover from
- Sleep loss or sleep debt causes sleepiness and may impair functions like memory, learning, metabolism and immunity.
- Epidemiological studies have expressed the relationship between sleep time and various health risks (e.g., cardiovascular disease, obesity and metabolism, depression, and mortality rate.
- One study investigating the relationship between sleep time and psychomotor vigilance performance reported a sleep need of 8.16h for preventing cumulative neurobehavioral deficits. (4)
The Journey of Medication Management (22:07)
Changing ADHD medications can be a lengthy process. Some ADHD medications are Schedule II Category medications because they are stimulants (Adderall, Vyvanse and Ritalin). These are legal medications but considered potentially dangerous because of their high risk of abuse and dependence.
Not all ADHD medications are stimulants. Many people with ADHD also benefit from anti-depressant or anti-anxiety medications. Here are some helpful tips for your current or potential journey with ADHD medication
- ADHD Medication Information Sheet by William W. Dodson, M.D
- If you suspect you are autistic, your ADHD physician needs to know as it may have a considerable impact on how you could respond to ADHD medications.
- Including details about why you feel you may be ASD can help your physician identify other medications that may be helpful for your full neuro-psychiatric health (Sleep, anxiety, panic, depression and more)
- ADHD Medication Chart for stimulant and non-stimulant options
- With or without insurance prescription coverage, check out www.goodrx.com for potential savings.
Are you able to experience joy in the things you normally find joy in? (26:22)
At its core, depression feels like a life without joy. Joy lives on the opposite side of the emotional spectrum and the presence of absence of joy is a common question physicians ask about to determine new or worsening signs of depression.
- During the past month, have you often been bothered by feeling down, depressed or hopeless?
- During the past month, have you often been bothered by little interest or pleasure in doing things?
- How are you feeling?
- How are you sleeping?
- When are you able to experience joy?
- Which tasks or activities bring you joy?
Screening for depression can be challenging since screening includes possible overlap medical or mental health challenges. The primary features of depression, according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV), are a two-week history of depressed mood and loss of interest in most activities. (5)
Routines Reduce Opportunity for “New Joy” (27:14)
One down-side of the highly structured daily life cycles of Autistic kids and adults is the reduced opportunity for spontaneity and unstructured “new” activities that often increase joy and dopamine. When “new” feels like a threat, the brain and our emotions will gravitate towards rituals for comfort.
- While comfort is a far cry from joy, it’s at least working in the opposite direction from depression.
- Gratitude Practices (feelings) intentionally trigger appreciation for things you have already which can bring a valid and nurturing sense of joy.
- ADHD individuals often experiencing spending challenges because powerful feelings of transactional purchases can bring a momentary influx of joy.
Linking Digestion to Mental Health (29:48)
Just like diminished feelings of joy is an emotional indicator of depression, increasing or chronic dysfunctions with digestion can be an indicator of changes in mental health. Why? Because of the bidirectional communication pathways between the central nervous system and the gut microbiota referred to as the gut-brain-axis. (6)
It starts with the Fight or Flight Response of the Sympathetic Nervous System (SANS) and the biological changes that happen in the body with the brain flips from rest and digest into fight/flight/freeze/fib/attach or submit.
- Inflammation of the gut has been linked to anxiety and depression, autism and ADHD.
- The gut-brain-axis (GBA) is also influential in the functionality of the endocrine (hormones), neural and immune pathways.
- Early nutrition also appears to play a role in developing healthy gut microbiota and can be linked back to formula vs. breastfed infants
- During an active fight or flight response, DIGESTION STOPS.
- Just one “alarmed” thought can trigger
- Pancreas and Adrenal Glands to secrete new hormones
- Brain releases a lightening storm of neurochemicals
- Spleen and Thymus glands signal changes to the immune system (largely in the gut)
- Several different gastric juices started flowing
- Liver began processing enzymes not present before
- Heart rate fluctuates
- Lungs changed their volume and blood flow to the capillaries in the hands and feet (7)
- Radial muscles in the eye contract allowing more light to enter; Ciliary muscles allow for improved distance vision
- Stomach, Gallbladder and Intestines decrease movement (motility), the sphincter contracts stopping intestinal elimination. (8)
Right Now I Feel “Fixed” (32:12)
Notice we said “fixed” and not “healed”. That’s because the medication journey can leave you feeling robotic, non-emotional and lack luster and complicate the process of finding joy and gratitude in every day life.
- We can experience depression in our physical / emotional body
- We can experience depression when we no longer desire the daily life, inner life or outer life we are living in (like a marriage, city/state where you live, or your job, culture or religion)
- Even experiencing your hobbies and interests can feel neutral or even numbing.
Changing Value Systems from “Doing” to “Being” (35:12)
For for too long, value has been a measurement of production instead of a reflection of your personal qualities (like integrity, honesty, and humanity). This ego-based value assessment is a BIG reason why feelings of joy continue to plummet.
- DOING: Recognition that who you are as a person is a reflection of producing the most, the best, biggest, the fastest, or being the first
- We’re fired and wired / synced and linked to associate “Feeling Joy” with production or fame
- “Who are you?” is a question so attached to career that the belief is now “We are our career/profession”
- Doing-based values require someone else to recognize you, buy your product, or reward you
- Doing-based value systems can intentionally trigger fight or flight responses to provoke actions like flash sales, one-time only offers, limited-release game upgrades, performance contests etc.
- BEING: Recognition that who you are as a person is a reflection of your inner feelings and qualities.
- Hobbies, special interests, learning, enjoying nature, or playing a video game that helps you feel happy and fulfilled (not distracted or avoidant) can bring sincere joy.
- Being-based value is a feeling that comes from knowing that being true to yourself is the highest reward one can experience. And we’re not dependent on anyone to give that to us.
- Being-based value systems
Childhood Emotional Neglect reduces self-joy reciprocity (41:28)
Skill and hobby development, pursued, explored and advanced through personal uninterrupted time should provide a natural source of unlimited joy potential. If you find yourself waiting for someone else to acknowledge your skills and accomplishments instead of feeling accomplished from within, it may be a direct result of experiencing childhood emotional neglect.
- Emotionally neglectful households fail to reward the small milestone achievements that produce the most neurobiological joy as a growing child.
- As aging progresses, children become teenagers and continue to lack to self-rewarding system needed to navigate truly joyful experiences from negative or “dopamine only” experiences that lack heart.
- If you’ve learned as an adult that your happiness comes from a source outside yourself, you’ve given your power of joy away.
- As a child, brain development is co-dependent on parents to sync and link our reward / value systems.
- Emotionally neglectful parents often lean on their children to meet their unmet childhood joys.
Check out: 45: Childhood Emotional Neglect for a deep dive into this topic.
Anxiety vs Prolonged Panic (44:09)
Anxiety can be experienced as an emotion, an experience or a chronic condition of everyday life. While the baseline feelings may be similar, the duration, intensity and aftermath effects are wildly different.
Experiencing the emotion of anxiety and “panic” for several days as a result of a trigger or event, that lasts until the situation or event is solved, can feel more like prolonged situational panic.
- Problem-Solving to determine the root cause for new waves for anxiety or depression can trigger a panic fight or flight response.
- Losing hope and optimism while waiting for acceptance results for big life transitions like new jobs or program admittance can also trigger feelings of anxiety that present like prolonged panic.
Genetics & Medication analysis testing (47:23)
Anxiety and Depression are the two most common neurodivergent conditions and have likely been rampantly experienced by many previous generations without successful mitigation or relief.
Our gene expression can change due to consistence biochemical changes induced by the hormones and neurochemicals of fight or flight threat responses that can become the diagnosable conditions anxiety and depression.
Just a few gene mutations than can be big discoveries and treatment details for neurodivergent individuals are:
- MTHFR which impacts absorption of folic acid and B12 (needed to make neurotransmitters and more)
- GeneSight Psychotropic Testing can provide information on how you might respond to certain medications by looking at gene expression for these Pharmacokinetic Genes: CYP2D6, CYP2B6, CYP2C19, CYP1A2, CYP2C9, UGT1A4, CYP3A4, UGT2B15, CES1A1
- GeneSight Psychotropic Testing can also provide information on likelihood of response and/or risk of side effects of certain medications: SLC6A4, HTR2A, HLA-A*3101, HLS-B*1502 and ADRA2A
- Talk to your doctor.
What is Methylation and Why does it matter? (49:00)
Methylation is a biochemical process in the body that helps to regulate the activity of our cardiovascular, neurological, reproductive and detox systems by transferring methyl groups (CH3) to and from various bioactive compounds in the body. The compounds include proteins, enzymes, hormones, neurotransmitters, red blood cells, DNA, RNA and antioxidants to name a few.
More specifically, a few key compounds that require methylation to be manufactured in the body include:
- Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) (antioxidant)
- Glutathione (antioxidant)
- Melatonin (hormone)
- Epinephrine/Adrenaline (hormone)
- Norepinephrine (neurotransmitter)
- Dopamine (neurotransmitter)
- Serotonin (neurotransmitter)
- Creatine (amino acid)
- Cysteine (amino acid)
- Taurine (amino sulfonic acid)
- Phosphatidylcholine (phospholipids)
The MTHFR genetic variant is currently estimated to impact 40% or more of the population and it’s likely that number is low due to the lack of standardized testing. (10) When neurotransmitters aren’t properly supported one might experience:
- low mood
- feelings of anxiousness
- lack of focus
- difficulty falling asleep
- difficulty staying asleep
- difficulty waking up
On the other side of the coin, increased inability to excrete toxins can drive up inflammatory processes and present like allergies, skin sensitivities, gut and digestive issues, energy issues, musculoskeletal and reproductive health issues.
After reading this summary, listen to the podcast to hear additional insights and stories told only on the podcast.
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References:
(1) Gottschalk MG, Domschke K. Genetics of generalized anxiety disorder and related traits. Dialogues Clin Neurosci. 2017 Jun;19(2):159-168. doi: 10.31887/DCNS.2017.19.2/kdomschke. PMID: 28867940; PMCID: PMC5573560.
(2) https://www.asbmb.org/asbmb-today/science/043021/gene-changes-and-long-haul-covid
(3) https://www.eventscribe.net/2021/EB2021/index.asp?presTarget=1640424
(4) Kitamura S, Katayose Y, Nakazaki K, Motomura Y, Oba K, Katsunuma R, Terasawa Y, Enomoto M, Moriguchi Y, Hida A, Mishima K. Estimating individual optimal sleep duration and potential sleep debt. Sci Rep. 2016 Oct 24;6:35812. doi: 10.1038/srep35812. PMID: 27775095; PMCID: PMC5075948.
(5) Huffman, M.D. Grace Brooke, 1998, Screening for Depression: Two Questions to Ask Patients
(6) Clapp M, Aurora N, Herrera L, Bhatia M, Wilen E, Wakefield S. Gut microbiota’s effect on mental health: The gut-brain axis. Clin Pract. 2017 Sep 15;7(4):987. doi: 10.4081/cp.2017.987. PMID: 29071061; PMCID: PMC5641835.
(7) Dispenza, D.C., Joe, 2007, Evolve Your Brain – The Science of Changing Your Mind
(8) Alshak MN, M Das J. Neuroanatomy, Sympathetic Nervous System. [Updated 2022 May 14]. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2022 Jan-. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK542195/
(9) Grimm O, Kranz TM, Reif A. Genetics of ADHD: What Should the Clinician Know? Curr Psychiatry Rep. 2020 Feb 27;22(4):18. doi: 10.1007/s11920-020-1141-x. PMID: 32108282; PMCID: PMC7046577.
(10)Varga, Elizabeth A., Moll, Stephan, Jul 2015, Homocysteine and MTHFR Mutations, Circulations, Vol 132, No. 1; 132:e6-e9