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My Friend Autism

Fawning & Autism

May 24, 2024
Orion Kelly, Autistic advocate, discusses fawning in Autism, exploring its impact on individuals, toxic relationships, and trauma response. The episode delves into how fawning affects mental health and relationships, offering strategies for navigating this behavior.
53:40

Episode guests

Podcast summary created with Snipd AI

Quick takeaways

  • Fawning is a survival response used by autistic individuals to avoid conflict and please others.
  • Repeated trauma and societal stigmatization are root causes of fawning in autistic individuals, leading to internal exhaustion and loss of self-identity.

Deep dives

Understanding Fawning and its Impact on Autistic Individuals

Fawning, a survival response triggered by the amygdala in the brain to avoid danger, is a key topic discussed. Orion Kelly sheds light on how fawning, the fourth survival response alongside fight, flight, freeze, is utilized by autistic individuals as a coping mechanism. Fawning involves pleasing others to avoid conflict, leading to decreased self-worth and mental health conditions. The podcast delves into how fawning can be misinterpreted positively by others, leading to toxic relationships and increased risk of mistreatment.

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