Episode 23: Challenging Stereotypes About Autism and Narcissism

Autism and narcissism can sometimes get lumped together in conversations, but despite there being some seemingly overlapping traits, it is important to not generalize all people with narcissistic traits as individuals with a narcissistic personality disorder. In this episode, Patrick Casale and Dr. Megan Anna Neff, two AuDHD mental health professionals, talk about the stereotypes, misconceptions, and misunderstandings surrounding autism and narcissism, as well as the traits that are often perceived to go with them. Top 3 reasons to listen to the entire episode: Understand how social media, a more polarized society with low tolerance for disagreements, and privilege have impacted and shaped the use of the terms Autistic and narcissistic. Identify some of the ways and reasons that Autistic individuals may face challenges in perceiving the world from someone else's perspective, leading to misunderstandings in relationships and conflict in the workplace. Learn how communication styles, the ways autistic individuals find connection, and alexithymia can lead to mislabeling autistic people as unempathetic or narcissistic. Both diagnoses are complex and multifaceted, so join us in unraveling some of the complexities of narcissism and autism. *DISCLAIMER: Due to the limited time available in a podcast episode, we were only able to scratch the surface of the many nuances and conversations surrounding these complex diagnoses. We also want to emphasize that there are a lot of people with narcissistic personality disorder who are doing the work to get insight into it, so we don’t have the intention of putting down anyone who has received this diagnosis. This is only a glimpse into the topic, so we encourage your questions and comments and will try to address them when we are able to do so or in a future podcast episode. You can reach out to divergentconversations@gmail.com. ———————————————————————————————— 🎙️Listen to more episodes of the Divergent Conversations Podcast 🎙️ Spotify 🎙️ Apple 🎙️ YouTube Music ▶️ YouTube 💬 Join Divergent Conversations Underground ———————————————————————————————— ✨ Neurodivergent Insights Autistic Burnout Resources If you’d like to supplement your learning on burnout, you can check out Neurodivergent Insights' resources on burnout. We have articles, an Autistic Burnout course, workbooks, and print books! Visit: neurodivergentinsights.com/burnout-resources ———————————————————————————————— 💬 Join Divergent Conversations Underground Divergent Conversations Underground is a space for messy conversations, real connection, and unfinished thoughts in a neurodivergent-affirming community. If you’d like to go deeper with us into more nuanced, searching conversations, join here: divergentconversations.substack.com ———————————————————————————————— Mentioned in this episode: Neurodivergent Insights' Autistic Burnout Resources If you’d like to supplement your learning on burnout, you can check out Neurodivergent Insights' resources on burnout. We have articles, an Autistic Burnout course, workbooks, and print books! Visit: https://neurodivergentinsights.com/burnout-resources