Does Autism Cause Overthinking?
While there is no direct evidence to suggest that autism causes overthinking, individuals with autism often exhibit repetitive behaviors and thought patterns, which can be perceived as overthinking. It's important to note that this is a characteristic of the condition, not a cause. Each individual's experience with autism is unique, and overthinking may not be a symptom for everyone.
What Is Autism?
Autism, which is also known as Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a term used to describe a group of neurodevelopmental conditions. It is an early-onset condition, it involves heterogeneous clinical situations and can be manifested with disabling consequences for cognitive, social, and emotional development [1].
Such conditions are characterized by differences in communication and social interaction. Often, we also see either restricted or repetitive interests or battens of behavior [2, 3, 4].
Autism is a lifelong developmental disability, meaning that even though it is developed in the early years, it affects the individual throughout the whole of their life [5]. However, it varies from individual to individual, therefore it is a spectrum condition. While in some, the symptoms might be mild, in others we might observe severely impacted social interactions and impaired communication [5].
Interestingly, autism is diagnosed more often in boys than in girls and studies suggest a 4.3 to 1 boy-to-girl ratio [3, 4]. The condition is quite common and affects around one in 100 people globally [2, 5, 3, 4, 6].
This condition is found in people all around the world regardless of their race, ethnicity, culture, or economic background.
It is believed that the main cause of autism development is genetics, where around 90% of the cases are genetic. However, environmental factors also play a role [7].
What Is Overthinking?
Overthinking is a term used to describe a mental habit where you dwell on your problems. It can be also characterized by persistent thoughts, which have the ability to affect your mood, increase your stress level, or even affect your mental health and induce anxiety.
Typically, someone who is overthinking replays scenarios in their head and second-guesses their decisions. It also entails excessive thinking about one’s experiences, decisions, fears, and problems. Overthinking can also manifest as making a big deal out of minor issues and having repetitive thoughts that are hard to control.
However, it may lead to a cycle of continuous worrying which can be hard to stop. Hence, overthinking can be harmful to your well-being. Overthinking can also lead to negative thinking patterns that can affect your mood and overall mental health. Check our blog about overthinking and xanax.
Does Autism Cause Overthinking?
ASD is characterized by repetitive behavior, and overthinking refers to repetitive thinking over something. Therefore overthinking may be a manifestation of ASD, however, it is not correct to say that autism causes overthinking.
Therefore, overthinking can be a manifestation of ASD-associated cognitive and sensory differences. For instance, in a study considering 54 autistic and 66 non-autistic people, it was reported that autistic people had more repetitive thoughts than non-autistic people. However, the study reported that these thoughts were not necessarily negative or visual compared to non-autistic individuals [8].
Another study looking at sensory over-responsivity in individuals with ASD found that it often leads to feelings of loneliness and induces anxiety [9, 10]. This then in turn can contribute to overthinking.
To summarize, overthinking can be a characteristic symptom or behavior observed in ASD, however, it is rather a manifestation of the disease than a direct cause. It is also important to remember that although overthinking may be a symptom of ASD the condition can present in many ways and not everyone who overthinks has ASD!