Asperger's and other MH issues

[Pointless]

I'm not sure what to say to start this thread. Is this the right forum for it? If not then it can be moved I guess.

Today I was finally diagnosed with Asperger's. I feel like this should be a big deal to me but all it does is give a name to some of my traits/behaviours. The only time I feel anything at all is when I think back to a session I had with my psychologist where she went through some of the traits of girls/women with Asperger's and I just kept thinking 'that's me'. Maybe I'm finding it hard to believe? I don't know. I ordered a book that my psychologist had recommended if I did get a diagnosis, which I hope will help.

It's not going to change my treatment much and I still have other MH issues that I'm dealing with but I don't want to list everything. There's a lot going on for me just now but because of my medication I'm on a more even keel than I was a year ago.

Are there others out there who have Asperger's and are struggling with other MH issues as well?

That's all I have to say really although I wanted to know how other people have got on with the meds I take at the moment but maybe that should have a separate thread? I feel like this thread is maybe a bit pointless (like my name).

[makedamnsure]

Hey, I don't have aspergers myself but my brother does and was only diagnosed when he was 19, and I recognise some traits in myself but not enough to have the diagnosis, if that makes sense.

There are a few members with aspergers eg (steel maiden) so they might have more advice

[Pointless]

Thank you for your reply. I'm 25 and have only just been diagnosed but there are people out there who aren't being diagnosed until they are much older.

[__T]

I was "lucky" enough to be diagnosed with it when I was 7, and thus getting help for it early on. However, also got hearing impairment, depression & social anxiety disorder. I like to think the Asperger's Syndrome helps with coping with it, as I tend to think of everything logically.

PM me if you want.

[LizzieRose]

My best friend has Aseperger's. He's not on here, but yea. Umm... I think there's a chance I could also have it, but I dunno. *shrugs* I'm waiting to talk to a professional before assuming.

[Pointless]

Thanks everyone. I appreciate you taking the time to reply. I'll hopefully get the book tomorrow, and learn more. I think it will help me accept the diagnosis and having an explanation for my behaviour might help me make sense of why I am the way I am and allow me to find ways of dealing with it all. What I did get to read from the book described me very well, although I know that one book isn't the be all and end all but it's a start.

Thank you again for replying.

[MagpieBlues]

Hiya,

someone I was in hospital with had aspergers, and he was doing really well when I left. He'd been in hospital for 7 months but was just about to leave. Sorry I know that's not really helpful at all, but I guess your post just reminded me of him and he's definately the person that sticks out the most from everyone else there.

Take care.

[Steel Maiden]

I have Asperger's, OCD and schizophrenia. My Asperger's is (according to my care coordinator) on the more severe end and I need a full-time support worker at University. You can PM me if you have questions about AS and mental health, but I may take a long time to reply. My OCD is significantly bad at the moment but I had my Sertraline increased recently and I'm being assessed by a psychologist today. My schizophrenia is relatively stable but I take antipsychotics to keep me well. I still hear voices and see things, but my thinking is clearer on the meds and to be honest the thing that is disturbing me from my studies the most right now is the OCD.

I also have dyspraxia, a neurological visual processing disorder, a history of seizures, and I've had/have various physical ailments. I was born 60% deaf and I was premature and severely underweight when I was born.

[Acephalous]

Fear not!
Im 22, female, and only got diagnosed when I was 20.
I had kind of half diagnosed myself previously on the basis of people mentioning ASD traits, and like you, sitting there thinking 'yep, that sounds about right'.
I'e spent the last couple of years or so trying to 'undo' some of those stereotypical responses and have found that although at the time it's blooming hard to push yourself in things you know are so uncomfortable you want to scream right down to your core. It actually proved to me that a lot are behavioural, or linked with other anxieties which could equally tick the box for Aspergers as it could for something else.
The diagnosis wasn't a big thing for me either. I guess it just let me accept certain things in myself, and gave me the stubbornness not to let the rest of my life be governed by those other things.
I've gone from the most socially awkward teenager possible to someone who can easily hold conversations, be huggy (although that one still kills me sometimes), develop meaningful and relevant friendships because i wasnt then focusing on the fact that i knew i couldnt 'do friends', and so on. Heck, i even now have a job in sales! That's in itself is miraculous enough, more so that i'm good at it!
Years worth of observing others has made me very good at mirroring others, so a play a character similar to the person right back to them.
After a while mirroring happy go lucky people starts to rub off, it comes more naturally, and you feel more like what you're being too!

In terms of the MH side of things:
Not feeling things in the same way as others doesnt make you immune to very feeling based MH conditions. From what i know anxiety issues, depression and bipolar are all very common because from a diagnostic point of view; someone with ASD is living in a world that's not really designed for them, and a world that brutally goes against the ways ASD people do things. So yeah at times that's going to be depressing and suck, and it's also going to cause a heck of a lot of anxiety (and other such anxiety related issues like EDs for example of trying to regain some control and stability)
Situational diagnosises like PTSD for example are also pretty common because people on the autistic scale don't always process things as easily and it shows up in other ways. Doesnt mean you're a defective person - it just means your handle things differently and think differently, as do many people, i guess there's just a specific name for this kind :P
I wouldnt worry about it.

[Pointless]

Thanks again everyone for your replies.

I never really went into my specific MH issues. I have severe depression/bipolar II, anxiety/SA and anorexia. I see and hear things if I'm really stressed and my obsessive tendencies and paranoia are exacerbated by the ED. I take a combination of medication, which has stayed the same for the past few months now since they are definitely helping and since the dosage can't be increased any further due to my weight:

Aripiprazole
Lamotrigine
Venlafaxine
Procyclidine
Diazepam

Apparently gastrointestinal problems are common too and I have ulcers and IBS, which I've had all my life.

I live in my bedroom when I'm not at work. Having to socialise at work is difficult but being forced to face a situation that I'd usually flee from has meant that over the years I've become more adept at surviving being around people. I can still completely fold up if it becomes too much or something happens that I'm not expecting. My speech goes and I start to fidget a lot.

I could write lots more but it's long enough and a bit all over the place so I'll leave it as is.

[Ellyx]

Hi, i was diagnosed with aspergers when i was 11. It changed alot of things. A year ago i was also diagnosed with BPD, but that soon changed when another psychatrist said that the BPD thing was just misinterpreted symptoms of aspergers.

I have also been diagnosed with schizo affective disorder.