Autism — The Children We Misunderstood

Autism — The Children We Misunderstood

Long before autism became a diagnosis, there were children who experienced the world differently, children overwhelmed by noise, comforted by routine, or struggling to connect in ways others expected. But for much of history, those differences were misunderstood. In this episode of Before It Had a Name, we trace the evolving understanding of autism from early descriptions of “withdrawn” children to Leo Kanner’s first clinical observations, the damaging “refrigerator mother” theory, and the modern neurodiversity movement. Along the way, the story becomes about more than diagnosis; it becomes about belonging, identity, and what happens when society mistakes difference for disorder. What if the problem was never that some people experienced the world differently… but that the world expected everyone to experience it the same way? Topics: autism, neurodiversity, masking, psychology, mental health history, child development, parenting, behavioral science Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2508199/fan_mail/new] Before It Had a Name explores the history of mental health diagnoses and the stories behind the labels. Follow Jon Watkins on Instagram: @JonWatkinsHost

PTSD — The Wounds We Couldn’t See

Long before PTSD became a diagnosis, people were already living with the lingering effects of trauma, a body that stayed on alert, memories that refused to stay in the past, and reactions that didn’t make sense even to the people experiencing them. In this episode of Before It Had a Name, we explore the evolution of trauma from “shell shock” in World War I to combat fatigue and eventually post-traumatic stress disorder. Along the way, the story expands beyond war, revealing how overwhelming experiences can reshape the nervous system long after the danger is gone. When does survival stop being adaptive? And what happens when the body remembers something the mind is trying to forget?  Topics: PTSD, shell shock, trauma, mental health history, psychology, nervous system, war, behavioral science  Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2508199/fan_mail/new] Before It Had a Name explores the history of mental health diagnoses and the stories behind the labels. Follow Jon Watkins on Instagram: @JonWatkinsHost

Anxiety: The Age of Nerves

Long before anxiety became a diagnosis, people were already living with a persistent sense of unease, a mind that couldn’t fully relax, and a body that seemed to anticipate danger even when none was present. In this episode of Before It Had a Name, we explore the history of anxiety, from early philosophical ideas about fear and temperament to the nineteenth-century “age of nerves” and modern understandings of panic and uncertainty. Along the way, the story shifts from survival and instinct to something more complex: a mind trying to predict and control an uncertain future. When does fear become something more? And what does it mean when the body reacts before the mind can explain why? Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2508199/fan_mail/new] Before It Had a Name explores the history of mental health diagnoses and the stories behind the labels. Follow Jon Watkins on Instagram: @JonWatkinsHost

Depression: From Melancholia to Mood Disorder

Long before depression was defined as a medical diagnosis, people were already describing a persistent heaviness that went beyond ordinary sadness. In this episode of Before It Had a Name, we trace the history of depression from ancient ideas of melancholia and black bile to industrial-era “nervous exhaustion” and modern understandings of mood disorders. Across centuries, the experience remained strikingly consistent, even as explanations shifted between temperament, morality, environment, and biology. When did sadness become something to diagnose? And how did changing ideas about the mind shape the way we understand depression today? Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2508199/fan_mail/new] Before It Had a Name explores the history of mental health diagnoses and the stories behind the labels. Follow Jon Watkins on Instagram: @JonWatkinsHost

ADHD: Before It Had a Name

For as long as schools have existed, there have been children who struggled to sit still, focus, or follow expectations, long before ADHD became a diagnosis. In this first episode of Before It Had a Name, we trace the history of ADHD from early twentieth-century classrooms to factory floors and wartime psychology. Behaviors once interpreted as moral failure gradually came to be understood in terms of biology, environment, and culture. How did restlessness become a disorder? When did attention differences move from character judgment to clinical diagnosis? And what does that history reveal about how society defines normal behavior? Before It Had a Name explores the origins of modern mental health diagnoses, examining what existed before labels, and how changing language continues to shape how we understand ourselves today. Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2508199/fan_mail/new] Before It Had a Name explores the history of mental health diagnoses and the stories behind the labels. Follow Jon Watkins on Instagram: @JonWatkinsHost