As the owner of The Ari | af | ya Universe, and one that deals with bipolar personally and uses social media to help others with my research science background, I literally crashed into this revelation:Those that deal with Autism Spectrum issues OR Bipolar, specifically in the non-psychotic manic phase, MULTITASK on the computer using Social Media!
Here is my evidence:
Autism is in wikipedia and no way has the breadth and depth as other sites, but can offer some basic insights for those who deal with it.Key points it is about communication: For whatever reason the way those who do not have Autism brain's communicate are different than those who do have Autism. As shown by this MRI suggestion.
It is thought that the left and right hemispheres of the brain ineffectively connect in the brains of Autistics and that the areas most affected are communication, some motor skills, sociality, and the ability to gain inference in learning to similarly aged counterparts.
I was awestruck on this subject because people dealing with Autism have a high level of extreme loneliness due to difficulties in communication in person. And I have "electronically met" many autistics online who are rather communicative, in fact they enjoy this kind of interaction...
Next piece of evidence:
Bipolar is has a true biochemical imbalance associated with it that causes mood swings and can lead to suicidal ideation if left untreated.
General signs of bipolar is mixed episode and rapid cycling. Mixed episode swings the moods from depression to mania over a duration. Depression can be extremely low to suicide ideation, excessive sleeping, excessive crying, and isolation. And mania is extraordinary energy, insomnia, irritability, combative, and grandiosity. Rapid cycling is when all these mood swings happen in less than two weeks time, repeatedly.
Without any medication, it is thought that "bipolar disease" will cause memory loss, much like traumatic brain injury does. With the advent of newer Fluorescent Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) it has been shown that persons who deal with bipolar often has an inability in their "emotional brain centers" to control their impulses. That these brain centers are anatomically the amygdala and the hippocampus. Several studies suggest that while bipolar children learn similarly to non bipolar children, and their ability to socialize is not impaired, the actual socialization of controlling impulses are inappropriately irrational for the given situation, i.e. bringing a gun to an event after a spat online.
I have "electronically met" many bipolar people online and I myself have found ways to self-manage my condition, I have seen classic differentials from bipolar people.
Lastly my evidence for Multitasking:
Multitasking is doing several tasks at the same time. In this day and age of building the web 2.0 with social media explodes, people are engaged in the World's events or the "next big thing". Last year, the New York Times wrote a piece on "Your Brain on Computers: Attached to Technology and Paying a Price", which discusses how "wired" we are as a society and what it does to our "physical culture".A blog showed what multitasking does to drivers in our country. Research suggests that:
“Attention refocusing” is an additional task in the brain going from one task to another and returns which then involves a refocusing to once again engage in the original task.
The problem with multitasking is memory loss as indicated in this WebMD article. People cannot maintain their focus on the task at hand and are unable to compensate, eventually causing them to forget all the tasks that they are to do. Disjointed (non conflicting) tasks done do not share the same parts of the brain, such as folding laundry and listening to music. Conjugated (conflicting) tasks done share same parts of the brain, such as texting while driving...
So what an interesting layer it is when we talk of people who deal with Austism or Bipolar?
For Autistics that are high functioning and/or have mild forms of the spectrum, it would seem to me that they can multitask very well, especially on the computer, but the outcomes of those tasks if not logically outlined for them would never start. In fact, looking at the evolution of computer technology, it does seem like there were some high functioning Autistic programs to make all the "machines" speak to one another. Once you show an autistic individual how, s/he understands and can repeat the action, with high fidelity. Only thing is would one want to do that knowing that is their natural, inherent ability?
For Bipolars it depends on their treatment regimen and how severe it is on either side of the episode. Personally, when I am in an conflated upbeat mood, I set up too many activities online to have them all crashing down within 3-4 months within a level of predictability. Fortunately, I am far enough along to have a wellness recovery action plan that when I do drop, I do not hit the ground hard. I also have some resources at my disposal. I become more combative and argumentative with people, then show remorse. I actually do have problems with forgetfulness, regardless of the social media component. So when I multitask, I become disoriented and fearful. I know I do better with routine and then I can become creative. But managing tasks that I view as others doing themselves seems to me overbearing. So I have to pull back. I have seen others show similar symptoms as mine and while I do not disclose my self-management, at the time of interaction, I do share a few resources, then step back and allow the other person to make a decision.
Social media is an awesome technology and structure is being decided as it is evolving. And with crossing platforms from Facebook to Twitter and the programs that use these platforms, combined with a blog, it causes a lot of multitasking. For individuals dealing with Autism OR bipolar or other major mental illnesses, self-awareness, knowledge and management is key to being in one's best health and wellness.
