When Trust Hurts By Michelle Labine, PhD November 2025 I still feel embarrassed when I talk about this. Even after my autism diagnosis, even after years of reflection and learning, there’s a flush of shame that rises when I admit how often I’ve been tricked, misled, or taken advantage of. I know I’m not alone […]
Category Archives: Relationships & Connection
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Nov
Nov
Part Two: When Images Guide Connection Autistic Knowing in Relationships By Michelle Labine, PhD November 2025 What surprised me most, after finally understanding my autism, was recognizing how deeply my imagistic way of knowing shapes my relationships. I’ve always picked up on emotional shifts quickly often long before someone puts words to what they’re feeling […]
Relationships & Connection
When Connection Feels Like Danger: An Autistic Woman’s Experience of Overload and Self-Protection
27
Oct
Oct
When Connection Feels Like Danger: Experience of Overload and Self-Protection By Michelle Labine, PhD October 2025 There’s a pattern many late-diagnosed Autistic women recognize only after years of confusion: the sudden urge to run, retreat, or cut off connection when relationships or social experiences start to feel too intense. On the surface, it might look […]
Relationships & Connection
Beyond Defensiveness: How Shame Shapes Autistic Men and the Ones Who Love Them
18
Oct
Oct
Beyond Defensiveness: How Shame Shapes Autistic Men and the Ones Who Love Them By Michelle Labine, PhD October 2025 In my work with autistic adults—especially those assigned male at birth and raised as boys—I see the same emotional pattern emerge again and again. It’s rarely named, but it is deeply felt. It doesn’t show up […]
17
Oct
Oct
The Inner Dynamics Behind Defensiveness in Autistic Men By Michelle Labine, PhD October 2025 Why Defensiveness in Autistic Men Is So Often Misread It’s a pattern I’ve witnessed countless times in therapy rooms, in couples’ dialogues, in the private confessions of autistic men who are desperately trying to love well, but feel chronically misunderstood. A […]
Relationships & Connection
When Sharing Becomes Imposing: On Autonomy, Marriage, and the Need to Be Self-Guided
13
Oct
Oct
When Sharing Becomes Imposing: On Autonomy, Marriage, and the Need to Be Self-Guided By Michelle Labine, PhD October 2025 I am married to a deeply intelligent man, someone with an incredible mind, an insatiable curiosity, and a true love for learning. One of the ways he moves through the world is by sharing what he […]
08
Sep
Sep
Why Apologizing Can Be Hard for Neurodivergent Partners By Michelle Labine, PhD September 2025 Apologizing has never come easy in my relationship. It’s not that we don’t care about each other, or that we don’t recognize when the other has been hurt. It’s that so much happens inside of us, so quickly, that the path […]
