ASDs link to reduced oxytocin levels ...

the internet seems to have plenty of items relating to a link between reduced oxytocin levels in people with ASDs. as such, i wonder if people with AS will be more willing to view it as a medical condition if reduced oxytocin levels are prooved to be linked to AS, much as reduced serotonin levels are linked to depression?

it strikes me that if reduced oxytocin levels are responsible for AS then this could relate to why females are less likely to have AS. females are more empathetic than males. therefore they are more likely to have higher oxytocin levels. thus the likelihood of a female having a reduced oxytocin level sufficient to be diagnosed as AS is lower than that for a male. perhaps this might explain the gender bias between males and females?

Hmm,not sure how even to have that tested. I had a blood test done recently for a bunch of stuff, but not this (just checked records).

The interesting thing about Oxytocin is that apparently it's also related to anxiety too. I'm also diagnosed with social anxiety as well and lately it's been worse than normal. It's bad about I kinda want to see someone about that, and my general mood issues...which have been abnormally low for me for awhile now.

from what i read, anxiety (mistrust and fear) is related to reduced oxytocin levels too. apparently it there seems to be a blood test for this (blood plasma oxytocin).

Wow makes sense. Talk about mistrust and fear. That mostly sums up my social experience. Bad lately, and depressive too. Does Costco sell a pallet of oxytocin supplements? bwahahhaha!

as i've found that dates contain oxytocin, i've decided to include them in my diet. i plan to eat them on a daily basis for a few months and see if i think they improve my empathy. obviously, this will be a very subjective test but i think it could be interesting.

I'm trying this as well.

One thing I've been kinda struggling with is really being able to track how I feel over the long term. Any ideas on how to do that? I was thinking of perhaps creating a small journal where I write weekly reflections of the last week and how often I did something. I've been trying magnesium supplements, sam-e, now this and also trying to introduce bananas into my diet a bit more. Tracking what work and what doesn't is hard, though.

i was fruitarian for a year, about a year and a half ago. the thing i found most noticable was that i started involuntarily smiling at things. i also found my sleep improved enormously. i fell asleep quickly and slept for on average 2 hours less.

i'm not sure how to measure any dietary improvement other than how you actually feel in yourself. and this is often affected by external events too.

i was poking about on the internet tonight and found through google a link to a website called www.livestrong.com. it seemed quite interesting. you might like to have a look yourself.

dates, that's interesting. (they're so yummy anyway. maybe i'll give them a try too.)

do you have a difficult time tracking emotions, TDT? if so, there may be an easier thing to track. apparently oxytocin reduces obsessive and repetitive behaviors too. if you have any and you notice a change, maybe you could track those. (i just saw some research on scholar.google about raising oxytocin in subjects on the autism spectrum, and there were definite results.)

http://webpub.allegheny.edu/employee/j/ ... l_2003.pdf

but then i guess you would just have to assume that it was working for social anxiety and ability to read social cues too. but maybe it's not such a bad bet.

just from a personal standpoint, it might be nice to stop wondering in general about the bi-peds and wishing i were a cat .

ireneadler999 wrote:do you have a difficult time tracking emotions, TDT? if so, there may be an easier thing to track. apparently oxytocin reduces obsessive and repetitive behaviors too. if you have any and you notice a change, maybe you could track those. (i just saw some research on scholar.google about raising oxytocin in subjects on the autism spectrum, and there were definite results.)

Yeah, I do actually.

Part of it is related to just remembering, part of it is ho to interpret my feelings. I have a really strong memory for those things I find "interesting", but emotions never perked my interest that much so I don't remember how I felt last week, for example. The general feeling I've been having lately has been "blah" and kinda down to a degree. Actually went to see someone yesterday about this and some other stuff, and he recommended talk therapy. That, plus the reading of "Finding your own north star" will hopefully kinda get me in touch with actually being able to tell my feelings, which hopefully will help lead me to track it better. I should try maybe a 2-week journal, every day just noting my general mood for the day and what I tried.

The reducing obsessive thoughts is definitely something I can track, and hope this helps with.