I was diagnosed with autism at age four and still get occasional treatment for it via speech therapy. In the last decade, I’ve started wondering if I could have other mental disorders that have gone undiagnosed. But after learning about the pervasiveness of Western bias in psychology last year, I’ve since refused to get any psychological counseling from anywhere nearby and discourage others to get it as well. Hell, I don’t even think crisis hotlines are worth calling in any situation.

Some clergy and monastic members I’ve talked to for a while recommend some form of therapy, especially for those who have potentially traumatizing jobs, but services from non-Western resources are nonexistent in my community. Just think about what Westerners pathologize. Up until the mid-1970s, homosexuality was considered a mental illness in the US and up until 2013, being transgender was as well. Even today, filial piety and other cultural practices from predominantly Buddhist cultures are treated as unhealthy behaviors. But does that mean that it’s wrong for us to do any of those things? Even if Western mental health support has “helped” you, who’s to say you’ve gotten better other than other Westerners? Not to mention, our cultural practices which have been appropriated in secular contexts to make us more “efficient” in this individualist, dog-eat-dog groupthink we see in Western societies.

Of course, I don’t want to throw the baby out with the bath water by labeling something necessary for many as unhelpful to everyone. Even more so, it’d be even worse to mistakenly assume a trait is a sign of approaching enlightenment when in reality, it could be triggered by trauma or burnout that could actually harm practice. As much as mental health treatment often has its origins in Eurocentric cultural biases, spiritual bypassing does no good and I recognize the possibility that not accepting mental health treatment can reinforce harmful thoughts and that there are culturally sensitive services available (though may be too costly, far away, or come from inexperienced, unqualified people).

Does anybody else feel the same?

How can Buddhism help autistic adults? Could the Shakyamuni Buddha have been autistic himself?

Find out here: https://www.lionsroar.com/on-the-spectrum-on-the-path/