Mental Illness and Road Enthusiusts

[roadman65]

As we all know that many of us here at this forum do have either Aspergers, Autism, some of the many forms of depression, and maybe even Challenged to a degree.  Hence why many of us flame out at one another for simple little things and at times take things a little to literal especially on dream and wish lists in fictional highways.

It is nothing to be ashamed about and by all means not saying that every member here does have any form of an illness either.  However, just to say that a great sum of us here have one form of a mental illness or another which leads to a bigger question.  Is there a connection between mental illnesses and being a road geek?

We all do complain about non road enthusiasts looking "down" upon us and at times get called names or even been told that we go to far as to analyze roads.  Then the fact that many of us here do have illnesses that many of us are aware of here with even some of the users here given a "free pass" to over rant and break some of the rules and guidelines even to the point of being a total jerk because the moderators feel that the user in question cannot help be who he (or she) is.

It kind of makes me wonder if some of the outsiders here have something and that most of us here are into roads because of our respected illnesses.  Not that I have any regrets of who I am and my hobby of being a road geek that I am not ashamed to admit to anyone at anyplace, just curious to know would we even have a community at all.  Also I have nothing against any ill people whether physical or mental nor am I neither admitting or denying that I myself have one of these said mental illnesses.

Bottom line is is our fascinating hobby related to the fact that certain illnesses exist?

[Zeffy]

There could be some co-relation, but I don't really think there is. The only "mental" illness I really have is my ADHD, but other than that I have a fairly decent IQ and besides my depression from unemployment and whatnot, I'm not really mentally (or physically) disabled. At a young age one of my only memories is my moving trip from Orlando to Hillsborough, and along the way I recount how I stared upon the giant freeway signs at awe. I could somewhat read them, but that's when I knew I was roadgeek. When I vacationed in Orlando when I was about 10 years old, we flew down there instead, which I objected to heavily (not because of being scared of planes, which I love) because I never went back down the same route we came up even to this day.

[hotdogPi]

I have autism.

[spooky]

Isn't exploration of hobbies and unique interests one of the traits of high-functioning autism and/or aspergers? I wouldn't argue that the hobby exists because of these conditions, but neither am I surprised that the hobby attracts people with these conditions.

[dgolub]

Isn't exploration of hobbies and unique interests one of the traits of high-functioning autism and/or aspergers? I wouldn't argue that the hobby exists because of these conditions, but neither am I surprised that the hobby attracts people with these conditions.

Yes, exactly.  Also, autism is not a mental illness.  It's a developmental disability, and even that classification is a bit of a simplification because there are pluses as well as minuses to it, especially in cases of the high-functioning forms like Asperger's syndrome and PDD-NOS.

[3467]

I have some OCD nothing Major. I was a geography major and always had in interest in planning and the environment

[adventurernumber1]

I am a high-functioning aspie, and I find it very interesting just how many Roadgeeks have Aspergers and Autism as well, and I think it's kind of cool too. I can't say mental illnesses have a correlation with being a Roadgeek, but once again it's very interesting how common it is.

[Alps]

High degree of autism spectrum correlation because of the tendency to want to put things in order, to have lists, and to devote oneself to one or a few highly specialized fields.

[wxfree]

I had a very severe form of depression that tended toward psychosis.  I was completely non-functional for several years.  I couldn't go to school and stayed home, except for the time I was hospitalized.  I still have minor lingering effects, but not the emotions of depression.  I've thought a lot about the mind and its orders and disorders.

I say I had the condition, but it's more accurate to say that I was the way I was, and the experts decided that a certain label was applicable.  I know that sounds like mere semantics, but a result of my experience is that I see shades and waves rather than colors and solid shapes.  To me, the two things I mentioned are very different.  I'm not this way because of a disorder, a force that pushes me a certain way; I'm this way because it's the way I am and the label applied is a result of a certain way, a clinical way, of looking at it.

Since childhood, before depression became apparent, I've been fascinated with meteorology and with roads.  I've taken interest in many fields of study, basically anything that works my mind.

The road is particularly special to me.  It was my source of escape when I was depressed.  I would go out and drive around to try to break up the monotony.  At times I would drive hundreds of miles to hike or look at scenery.  I obsessively studied maps and sometimes drove for hours just to see certain roads.  My mental condition accentuated my interest in roads.

Geekery and nerdery seem to me like obsessive type behaviors, taking a fascination with topics most people ignore.  "Normal" people seem less inclined to such behavior.  It seems to me that normal people focus on practical things and glide over as much turbulence as they can.  We disordered seek to balance the turbulence in our minds by focusing on the minutiae of silly things.  The order and logic in any field of interest can bring a sense of balance.

I've long believed that people like me aren't unbalance, but are balanced differently.  Imagine balance on a lever with the fulcrum in the center.  Most people balance by putting the most weight in the center.  Some people have more weight on one edge, and have to balance by adding weight on the far edge.  They are not inherently unbalanced, but they have to make effort to balance and are balanced by extremes rather than by centrality.  To balance this way is more challenging and likely would involve more instances of failure to balance.

[jakeroot]

I don't think we're any different from people who plop down on the couch for a marathon of COD -- people have an interest, and it keeps them busy. Sure, some of us might have a "challenge" (I don't, so far as I know) but somebody without an interest or a drive sounds like a pretty boring somebody.

As for a scientific answer, it seems to me that being a roadgeek does involve a strong dislike for something that is out-of-the-ordinary. A lot of us get worked up when something is wrong, or different, in a way that detracts from the overall continuity of a heavily standardized system. I would bet a fair number of us have some form of OCD (I have never been tested). This might explain why some of the most popular threads involve redesigning a sign or posting photos of signs that are designed wrong, or contain information that is incorrect, despite the fact that the general public probably hasn't noticed the error.

[dgolub]

As for a scientific answer, it seems to me that being a roadgeek does involve a strong dislike for something that is out-of-the-ordinary. A lot of us get worked up when something is wrong, or different, in a way that detracts from the overall continuity of a heavily standardized system. I would bet a fair number of us have some form of OCD (I have never been tested). This might explain why some of the most popular threads involve redesigning a sign or posting photos of signs that are designed wrong, or contain information that is incorrect, despite the fact that the general public probably hasn't noticed the error.

I'd bet there are more roadgeeks undiagnosed with AS than OCD.  The OCD label tends to get thrown around in the popular culture in ways that aren't necessarily consistent with what this condition actually looks like.

[vtk]

Isn't exploration of hobbies and unique interests one of the traits of high-functioning autism and/or aspergers? I wouldn't argue that the hobby exists because of these conditions, but neither am I surprised that the hobby attracts people with these conditions.

Yes, exactly.  Also, autism is not a mental illness. 

This.  It's not an illness.  It's definitely not caused by vaccines.  It's the way some people just are.  Seeking to "cure" an autistic person is seeking to change who that person is.  How to balance that view with the burden of people who apparently cannot achieve independence, I don't know.

As for the central point of the OP, autism spectrum minds tend toward hobbies such as this, and may be more susceptible to depression, though that might only be a cultural effect.  Of course, counterexamples exist.

[KG909]

I don't have any mental issues but my sister autism.

[NE2]

I don't have any mental issues but my sister autism.

Since I'm pop culture OCD, I'll choose to interpret this as you having autism and metaphorically referring to it as your sister.

[roadman65]

You know, I am glad to hear that autism is not a disease, as it is to do with the way the mind functions.  However, autism does have some mental illnesses as symptoms such as depression.  Depression, if the doctor knows what he is doing can be treatable, with proper medication.  Also you pretty much answered my question. 

I am glad that everyone is glad who they are despite the that society puts on us (not meaning us directly, but on people in general).  It is a developmental disorder as one pointed out, and even my former supervisor, who has a child with autism, even said that he believes that it is a form of evolution where humans are developing into something more complex of human development.  Many autism people will see the world differently than the average human being, which allows them to see the problems of the world which the average person overlooks.   Most are smart and I myself have never thought that any who have it are at all stupid.

As far as myself, I cannot say for sure as being diagnosed with autism requires a neurologist to do a thorough test costing thousands of dollars, however my family doctor does say I have a form of depression in which I take meds every morning to help me.  I do know (and so does everyone else here) that my writing skills suck!  I have all that I want to say in my head, but putting it into words is difficult.  Even in verbal speech I have the most difficult time in making my point.  Heck I always end up spelling the word "the" as "teh" even though I know how to spell the word correctly.  It is just that when typing the word on the keyboard my fingers actually type the e before the h.

As far as it being the cause of our hobby, I think that it is maybe, but share most people's enthusiasm that "it is what it is" and that it brought us here which is the fine place that it is.

[hbelkins]

There was a thread on MTR several years ago about this very same topic. Unfortunately, this Google Groups search doesn't bring up the thread I remember.

https://groups.google.com/forum/#!searchin/misc.transport.road/aspergers

IIRC, that thread dissolved into a flame war.

[bandit957]

I have PTSD due to being assaulted repeatedly at school.

[hotdogPi]

I have PTSD due to being assaulted repeatedly at school.

Verbally, physically, or both?

[bandit957]

I have PTSD due to being assaulted repeatedly at school.

Verbally, physically, or both?

Both.

When I was about 14 or 15, some kids followed me home from school and chased me into traffic. The school wouldn't do anything about it because they were "model students."

[Roadrunner75]

There was a thread on MTR several years ago about this very same topic. Unfortunately, this Google Groups search doesn't bring up the thread I remember.
https://groups.google.com/forum/#!searchin/misc.transport.road/aspergers
IIRC, that thread dissolved into a flame war.

There is an old thread here as well:
https://www.aaroads.com/forum/index.php?topic=7574.0
Got a laugh out of the subject line when scrolling through awhile back.  And if posting to this current thread means I have to declare my status - no Autism, Asperger's or any other major issues to report.  However, I can see how some of the subject matter and discussion might be due to a higher concentration of enthusiasts with these conditions.  I have a very general interest in roads and maps, not really focusing or obsessing about anything in particular, although I guess it's fine to bicker over font types on signs if that's one's thing (even if I might roll my eyes occasionally when reading it...)

[riiga]

As for a scientific answer, it seems to me that being a roadgeek does involve a strong dislike for something that is out-of-the-ordinary. A lot of us get worked up when something is wrong, or different, in a way that detracts from the overall continuity of a heavily standardized system. This might explain why some of the most popular threads involve redesigning a sign or posting photos of signs that are designed wrong, or contain information that is incorrect, despite the fact that the general public probably hasn't noticed the error.

This a thousand times.

[roadman65]

Oh yes, I have to attest to that one.  Many of us became road enthusiasts because of bad signing practices or bad road alignments.  We all dreamed about what we could do to change these and make the world of roads a better place.

I always liked to take over NJ signing practices growing up in NJ, as our state did not have what most of the other states had such as interstate mileage signs, ramp destination guides (as NJ always used shields only), and signing control points on the Parkway and Turnpike in many places.  That got me so much into roads and now finding out Florida has many flaws that need correcting makes me more into then when I was a kid.

[adventurernumber1]

I don't actually believe Autism/Aspergers is a mental illness. A condition, though, yes. [EDIT: A few years later with vastly more knowledge on Psychology, I have a much better way of putting this with better terminology. Autism is not a mental illness, but it is a neurodevelopmental disorder. Mental illnesses, also known as psychological disorders, are a separate class which include things like Depression, Bipolar Disorder, OCD, PTSD, other Anxiety disorders, Schizophrenia, etc. Neurocognitive disorders is another separate class which includes things like Alzheimer's Disease and Parkinson's Disease. Autism is usually seen from birth (such as in my case) or an extremely young age, mental illnesses (Depression, Anxiety Disorders, etc.) can appear at anytime, but usually in adolescence or anytime in adulthood, and neurocognitive disorders (such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's) typically don't appear until later in life, unless it is early-onset. Sorry for a whole paragraph, but I had to reform what I said in this post originally as a much younger person than I am now (15 years old versus almost 19 years old).] I have no desire for a "cure" to be found, because while the condition comes with struggles, we cannot forget it also comes with benefits. I believe it is a gift God gave me, even though it does come with the struggles it comes with. For example, this is how I usually am in a large group of people my age (especially if I hardly know many of them, and if many of them are considered popular): I'll stiffen up, my heart rate will increase, and I can tell you my eye contact will be all over the place. Im either moving my eyes around looking at random things, or I'm staring someone dead in the eye or face (in 6th grade I repeadetly stared at a very hot girl I was crushing on big time, and she got real creeped out). I also often times find myself with nothing to say no matter how hard I think. But, on the other hand, my condition has allowed me to have an amazing photographic memory, and I have a road map of the U.S. locked in my head. However, I am not immune to sometimes getting brain farts as anyone does. 

I could also say I am a little bit OCD, but only with certain things. Along with many here, it does bug me whenever there is a error with something road-related and the sort. However, as many, I can also laugh my guts out at many hilariously terrible errors (I still haven't forgotten that insanely odd FL State Highway shield with the big circle and all that stuff HAHAHA). For most things I am not even close to being OCD. I'll see my friend rearrange desktop icons on computers into rows and such in my Video Production class, but my laptop at home is a complete cluster on the desktop (yet I still manage to find everything when I need to).

[dgolub]

You know, I am glad to hear that autism is not a disease, as it is to do with the way the mind functions.  However, autism does have some mental illnesses as symptoms such as depression.  Depression, if the doctor knows what he is doing can be treatable, with proper medication.  Also you pretty much answered my question.

Anxiety and depressions are not symptoms of autism.  They are disorders that a high percentage of autistic people (I believe it's about 75%) tend to also develop at some point in their lives.  Also, it's not necessarily that autism itself places a person at risk.  Some of it may be that autistic people tend to get treated like crap in society, especially as children, which would place anyone at increased risk of mood disorders.  I'm not aware of any research that rules out one hypothesis or the other.

[KEK Inc.]

Is NPD a mental disease?  I definitely have that.