Asperger's related to extreme mood swings&overreacting?

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ForestRose
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31 May 2011, 1:18 pm

Somebody said to me that asperger's can cause mood swings, highs and lows, similar to bipolar disorder, and people with asperger's often overreact to smaller things. I can believe the part about overreacting as I'm diagnosed with asperger's and I do tend to overreact to things generally, but the whole thing about the mood swings confused me. Does anybody know how this works, or if she was right? Surely if somebody had the long-lasting extreme mood swings of bipolar disorder, that would mean that they had bipolar disorder instead of or as well as asperger's, or could it all be down to asperger's?

Sorry about the strange question but it really confused me and I'd like any opinions/explanations to what she said, I can't seem to stop dwelling on it! She is older than me and has more experience although she is definitely not a professional. She was also talking about something else which I've also heard and think is quite interesting, the fact that different mental illnesses or problems or autistic specrum disorders can often overlap and be caused by similar things, for instance somebodywith a history of one mental health problem might be more likely to develop another, and how eating disorders like anorexia nervosa can be caused by a similar impulse in the brain to asperger's. This is more of a question than a statement :wink: Any views would be appreciated.



TallyMan
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31 May 2011, 1:37 pm

The mood swings and overreacting could be due to cyclothymia. I am self diagnosed with both Aspergers and cyclothymia. The Aspergers manifested itself when I was very young when I first started attending school and the cyclothymia seems to have started in my mid teens; it may or may not be related to Aspergers. It is conceivable that Aspergers was the trigger for cyclothymia in my case. I suggest you do a Google search on cyclothymia. There isn't a vast amount of information but it should be helpful. Cyclothymia is often perceived simply as a personality trait rather than a neurological issue, though it can mess with one's life in substantial ways.


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Mummy_of_Peanut
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31 May 2011, 1:40 pm

I have an aunt diagnosed as bipolar. Her mood swings went between deep enduring depression (with suicidal thoughts) and mania (when she spent a fortune on junk from charity shops). The swings could last for months or years and appeared to have no reason behind them; she certainly couldn't explain why she felt the way she did. She's not had an episode in over 10 years (since she had a minor stroke).

I have mood swings, but nowhere near as extreme as these. My swings go from contentment to anger (for something fairly little), never mania or depression (although I do get a little melancholy like anyone else). I snap out of it fairly quickly, unless the reason has some lasting consequences. There's always a reason for my mood swings, even if it doesn't seem reasonable to others.



ForestRose
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31 May 2011, 1:53 pm

I'm diagnosed with asperger's but do have mood swings which last for weeks, or months, which is part of what lead to the first post. I go between low (suicidal thoughts, recently attempts, self-harm, feeling worthless and guilty) to what is kind-of-high but not extremely so and only lasts weeks (sleeping a lot less, at the worst at one time not sleeping at all, moving and generally working much faster, spending more money and not feeling suicidal at all, feeling as if I am amazing and somehow psychic). Since I am still a teenager it's possible that they could just be due to a mixture of teenage hormones as I am still a teenager and maybe asperger's, though there never seems to be any reason for them. I've searched up cyclothymia and I suppose that it could be possible.

I was just curious to see how everybody else felt about this, thanks for the answers and to anybody else, feel free to keep answering :).



tomboy4good
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31 May 2011, 1:59 pm

I have mood swings. But I'm also going through the change, so a lot of it is related to that. :oops: I would say that I tend to stay more on the depressed side than go towards euphoric. In fact, I can't remember the last time when something/anything gave me euphoria. I don't gamble, or go shopping to improve me moods, or do other stuff like that. Last shrink I saw pissed me off enough that I walked out by her suggesting I loved gambling. I was very insulted by her insinuations. I've been in casinos & I cannot get out fast enough, usually with the very same amount of money I went in with (unless I purchased food or a drink inside).


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Seph
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31 May 2011, 2:52 pm

There have been studies linking mood disorders (including bipolar) with autism. They tend to go over my head though.

here it is.


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TallyMan
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31 May 2011, 3:37 pm

Seph wrote:
There have been studies linking mood disorders (including bipolar) with autism. They tend to go over my head though.

here it is.


Thanks for the link; it was very detailed and interesting. As you say the essence of the article is that there are links with Autism and other mood disorders and they seem to be largely genetic in origin, or at least there is a strong bias towards having one or more parents with issues such as social phobia or mood problems.

One sentence made me smile:
Quote:
Social phobia is a major element in autism, as mentioned above. Similarly, sensitivity to sensory stimuli, such as sounds (e.g., vacuum cleaner, sirens), texture (e.g., velvet, glass), and touch (e.g., clothing tags, wrinkle in socks, texture of foods) may be phobic.


I've always had to leave the room or wear ear defenders when a vacuum cleaner was being used! :lol:


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