Challenging behaviour (sorry to be annoying).

[Steel Maiden]

Ok I asked this question on an autism forum and basically got asked if I'm brain damaged, so I thought I'd rather ask here as you are all really kind and helpful here!

My challenging behaviour is getting out of hand again and my mental health team are just saying "we don't know what to do" and my psychiatrist has become really dismissive.

I nearly got sectioned again recently. And in another incident, I was at home and smashed up some tiles in the kitchen, when I was deflecting my blows with a hammer that nearly hit the boiler (and I am well aware that smashing up the boiler would have led to a gas explosion, but when I am melting down I find it very hard, or often impossible, to actually control my body).

My psychiatrist wants me off daily haloperidol by the time I get to uni, and to only use it PRN then. But if I don't take haloperidol in the morning, I am pretty much guaranteed a severe meltdown.

I get support worker sessions three times a week, which helps a lot as I am getting out of the house and I've been weightlifting in the gym a lot (weightlifting helps my mental health).

But I am just getting more and more out of control. Today I was punching myself in the middle of a sports shop because I was overloaded, and my support worker had to physically stop me and then I started screaming because she physically contacted me, and I basically got told to leave the shop.

I don't know what to do about this? I was almost put on sodium valproate in hospital but that fell through. I might be seeing a behavioural specialist though.

But I feel like I am a risk and I am scared that I'll end up back in the secure unit again.

I don't know if anyone has any advice. What would you do if you were me?

I've been avoiding going to the doctor's for physical health problems because I am scared I'll end up melting down and getting in trouble. Same fears about uni.

[shadow-light]

i know I am not as far along the spectrum as you are, but does remoiving yourself from the overloading situratiuon help at all? OI know it can be difficult at times, but I have leanrt the starting sympotoms to an overload and now just leave the room/pl;ace if I feel them coing on. Would something like that help ytou? Though I assume you porbably do this to some degree already as its fairly obvious, just felt I should reply with something.

also you say weight lifting helped, exercise helps me too. HAve you tried cardio at all? That seems to help me more than weights, I do a bit fo both now. HAve you triedd cardio?

[Steel Maiden]

Thank you.

I will ask my support workers to be vigilant about early warning signs when I'm out with one. At home I will try to be more vigilant too.

I do some cardio at the gym, but due to my vertigo I can't do a lot of cardio. I've started doing powerlifting at the gym which has been amazing. As well as general weightlifting. I did an 80 minute cardio / weightlifting / powerlifting workout yesterday morning and I haven't had a meltdown since! Which is something as I'm on the way to an exam at uni right now.

I will look into an autism specialist. I will email the lead coordinator at my local NAS to ask about private autism specialists. As the NHS has been less than useful in that respect.

[Bugsy]

i dont have autism but i do take sodium valproate and it chills me out, levels out the ole' mood swings, worth asking if they can chase that up

it is incredibly unusual to be so high functioning yet low fucntioning in other ways(such as the extreme meltdowns), but it was very rude for that person to say you're brain damaged, i hope you didnt take those comments to heart.

[Steel Maiden]

Bugsy,

Sodium valproate was suggested by my neurologist but it was never arranged for a reason I am not sure of. I will ask my psychiatrist when I next see her. Failing that I can ask my neurologist again.

Autism is a spectrum of spectrums. But yes you are correct in saying it is unusual to be so contrasting.

I was not affected much by the brain damage comment.