2025

Illustration of a depressed woman, seated, hands between her legs against a dull background

Depression: symptoms, lived experience, and interactions with autism

Updated on 07/26/2026 No Comments

After the (hypo)manic episode or the mixed episode, depression arrives. Almost systematically. And the higher one flies, the more violent the final crash. The depressive episode is the bipolar episode that speaks most clearly even to those unfamiliar with the disorder. Literature and science have addressed it in thousands of articles. It is better known simply as depression. It is an integral part of bipolar disorder and haunts the lives of those who suffer from it.

Illustration of a character torn between mania and depression (tense and euphoric face)

Bipolar disorder

Mixed episode: symptoms, lived experience, and interactions with autism

Updated on 07/26/2026 No Comments

The mixed episode is probably the most terrifying episode of bipolar disorder. Some will tell you that if they put themselves in the gravest danger, the mixed episode was likely the precursor. Less than half of people with bipolar disorder will experience such an episode at least once in their lifetime. The accounts and testimonies of those affected are chilling. Long considered an episode specific to bipolar disorder type I, it is now known that type II is concerned too.

Illustration of a water bottle projecting a film, surrounded by symbols representing sensory chaos in a movie theater, on a multicolored background

Pause — Autisticisms Journal

Pause — Autisticisms #2: cinema & absurd rigor

Updated on 07/20/2026 No Comments

A short Autisticism pause to evoke this time a rocambolesque situation linked to my rigidity regarding rules—especially those in movie theaters—which are nevertheless displayed in huge letters with icons on a blue background in the UGC cinemas I go to, just before the film starts. Namely: avoid talking during the film, put your phone in airplane mode. For some people, these rules are apparently mere suggestions. Some of them did not see the scene I’m about to recount coming.

Representation of a euphoric manic state

Bipolar disorder

Mania: symptoms, lived experience, and interactions with autism

Updated on 07/26/2026 No Comments

The manic episode, for all people with bipolar type I, often is the logical continuation of the hypomanic episode. Sleep is drastically reduced and energy multiplies. The person seems to behave more and more abnormally. While hypomania can go more unnoticed, the manic episode completely alters the functioning of the bipolar person. The individual appears extremely euphoric, laughs very easily, makes puns, jumps from one idea to another, multiplies projects, has grandiose ideas, and in the most severe cases, may decompensate (psychosis).

Representation of an ultra-productive hypomanic episode in the middle of the night

Bipolar disorder

Hypomania: symptoms, lived experience, and interactions with autism

Updated on 07/26/2026 No Comments

To begin my series of articles on bipolar disorder episodes, I thought about presenting them to you in chronological order, reflecting their cycle. Hypomania is the first euphoric (or irritable) phase of this condition. It sometimes progresses either into a manic episode (in bipolar disorder type I) or into depression. Hypomania — which can manifest in two drastically different ways — is what we’ll focus on in this article. I’ve experienced a large number of hypomanic episodes that turned me into a production machine, a walking factory.

Neurodiversity

Neurodiversity: definition, origins, and issues

Updated on 07/26/2026 No Comments

Judy Singer, an autistic sociologist, gave birth to the concept of neurodiversity in the 1990s. The idea: acknowledging that cognitive diversity is part of human diversity, just like social, cultural, or even biological diversity. Initially focused on autism, it later expanded to include other conditions and, eventually, other mental disorders. Today, this movement has had a strong impact on the autistic community and on public perception of autism, but it is also subject to controversy.

Aboard a canoe in the floating village of Kampong Phluk

Interludes Journal

Interludes: Cambodia #5 — traveling the way I think

Updated on 08/08/2026 No Comments

It’s now been two weeks since I came back from my trip to Cambodia with my group of friends. In the previous installment, I slightly veered off course, diving into social reflections sparked by a healthy dose of well-timed (or poorly timed) humor. All of it stemmed from one simple context: a trip that left almost no room for privacy. We did everything together. Today, it’s time to take a step back and look at this strange, chaotic, unforgettable vacation.

Multicolored (spectrum-style) illustration of an absurd alarm clock displaying 6:60, surrounded by symbols and numbers

Pause — Autisticisms Journal

Pause — Autisticisms #1: punctuality & idioms

Updated on 07/20/2026 No Comments

Over the years, I’ve collected a whole range of quirks — the kind that never show up in diagnostic manuals, yet quietly shape my everyday life. They’ve become part of how I make sense of my autism, and in a way, they’ve even helped confirm that the diagnosis fits. So here starts this series: small autistic misadventures, sometimes ridiculous, sometimes funny, always distinctly mine. I call them my autisticisms — a word I came up with to name these wonderfully awkward, unmistakably autistic oddities… the ones that make me smile (and occasionally other people too).

Bipolar disorder

Bipolar disorder: understanding it and living with it

Updated on 07/26/2026 No Comments

After having explored autism in detail in my previous articles, it is now time to talk about my bipolar episodes, following the chronological order in which my cycles evolve. When people think of bipolar disorder, they often imagine someone who is sometimes sad, sometimes happy — someone who simply has mood swings (the definition of a “moody” person, essentially). The reality is far more complex. With bipolar disorder, a person oscillates between euphoric episodes and depressive ones. It is a very serious disorder that requires regular medical care to allow the affected person to function.

Illustration of a steady blue path (autism) and a chaotic red path (bipolar disorder) that burst into fireworks on the horizon

Autism Bipolar disorder Journal

Autism and bipolar disorder: a dual experience that is common yet largely understudied

Updated on 07/17/2026 No Comments

5 to 8% of autistic people are believed to be affected by bipolar disorder, and yet, this association between the two conditions is rarely mentioned in the literature. When you type “autism and bipolar disorder” into Google, finding a personal account can feel like a challenge. A few years ago, I took part in a podcast on this topic, sharing an experience that was almost unique—especially in France. The idea of a blog exploring both subjects in detail slowly began to form a few weeks ago. A few days later, the project was underway.

2025

Depression: symptoms, lived experience, and interactions with autism

Mixed episode: symptoms, lived experience, and interactions with autism

Pause — Autisticisms #2: cinema & absurd rigor

Mania: symptoms, lived experience, and interactions with autism

Hypomania: symptoms, lived experience, and interactions with autism

Neurodiversity: definition, origins, and issues

Interludes: Cambodia #5 — traveling the way I think

Pause — Autisticisms #1: punctuality & idioms

Bipolar disorder: understanding it and living with it

Autism and bipolar disorder: a dual experience that is common yet largely understudied

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When professionals get autism wrong: a critical look at common misconceptions

Autistic masking: definition, signs, and consequences

Oh, hi there ?

Just a letter — from me to you.

Oh, bonjour ?

Juste une lettre, de moi à toi.