My Preferred Psychology Resources And Why

In today's day and age, there's a million different ways to find good resources. But when it comes to psychology, I've had a bit of trouble finding reputable resources. So, for those of you who would like to learn more about psychology outside of this blog, here's many places where I get my information. (Some of which may not be accessible to you, but I'm putting them out there regardless)

1) Through Your Own Personal Experience

Maybe this one is a given, but I am always biased towards my personal experience, so why not use what I've learned based on my own life? I can't remove the bias, so I tend to lean into it and reinforce it with any of the following resources to strengthen whatever topics I'm trying to figure out. In addition to this, it helps me to pay more attention to my own wellbeing rather than just burying myself in knowledge from other sources.

2) Asking people with firsthand experience (they've experienced it)

This one is only slightly less helpful than experiencing it yourself. On one hand, you don't have to experience it yourself. But on the other hand, you may have to ask some pretty personal questions sometimes to get the information you're looking for. Unless you have someone in your life who's very open about their experiences, this might not be a very easily accessible resource.

3) Asking people with secondhand experience (they've been in contact with someone with it)

Yet again, we're one step below the last one. Secondhand experience isn't as good as firsthand experience, but it's still experience. When looking for a knowledgeable outsider's opinion—especially on such as that you would get from a peer—it's usually best to go to a person who doesn't experience it personally but is in contact with someone who does. From them, you may be able to get two different views on the topic: 1) the view of a person who doesn't deal with it personally, and 2) the view of a person who can see it from the view of a person who does.

4) Reputable Websites/Books

Perhaps many of you went here first, but I don't always turn to this first. I start with people. I build those relationships and let their real experiences and responses fill my mind before I go to a website or book. While psychiatrists and therapists and anyone of a similar occupation should know what they're talking and writing about, they're going to approach it from a more impersonal angle and that's not what I'm looking for as a writer. When I'm looking for things just to study and work towards my future occupation goal, though, I study them like mad. It all depends on why I'm searching for the information.

However, there are a few things I'm biased towards when it comes to websites and books: I always look for something written by someone with a degree.

While other psychology websites may know what they're talking about, there's always the chance that they don't. I prefer avoiding potential bad information.

Another reason I avoid even "reputable" resources at times is because of Autism Speaks. They're an organization that supposedly supports autistics but instead actually raises money to try to prevent us from existing. Very little of the money they raise goes towards helping autistics but instead it goes towards research for ways to figure out if a child is autistic before they're born so it can be aborted. They have certainly impacted my life, but not in a positive way. Instead, now I am a bit more wary of even reputable resources.

Some Personal Notes About Autism Speaks and Autism Research:

All around, Autism Speaks is a terrible resource and I'd much rather be reached out to personally if you have any questions about autism. Slowly, I'm writing reviews on some more non-fiction mental health books but if you want more recommendations, feel free to reach out to me and I'll see if I can find anything that I've read that fits what you're looking for.

I have, however, found some really good books written by doctors of psychology, by therapists, and by other degree-holding individuals who know what they're saying and give explanations of their discoveries. I'll always be biased towards those instead of the filtered facts you get from places like Autism Speaks. Those are only meant to manipulate into joining their cause, not to truly educate and support the individuals with that mental illness.

Links (A.k.a. The Link of Shame):

https://www.autismspeaks.org