Issues with mood?

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Do any of you who have been professionally diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder have issues with your mood? Either with bouts of anger or depression or hyperness, etc.?

I was diagnosed with Bipolar I Disorder 2 1/2 years ago, but the diagnosis never truly fit. I do have issues with getting angry for seemingly small reasons, & getting depressed almost out of the blue, which could both be attributed to the "Depressive" side of Bipolar disorder. & also sometimes of being hyper/overly energetic for seemingly no reason which could be an attribute of the "Mania" side of Bipolar disorder. But I have never had any sense of euphoria that is supposed to be associated with the mania.

The reason I'm asking this question is because I truly believe that my mood issues can be attributed to an ASD, rather than Bipolar disorder. My anger usually stems from something that upsets my sensory issues & sets me into a panic, like sudden loud noises, or being interrupted when I am doing something that is important to me, or something unexpected & out of the ordinary happening. I really can't say why I occasionally get bursts of energy, but I believe a lot of people with ASD's suffer with depression-- just like many people in the world seem to. I was put on mood stabilizers & it definitely did help my anger & depression, but I have read that people on the autism spectrum are also occasionally given mood stabilizers because of their moods.

I had developmental delays as a child & am still delayed in a lot of areas, though those are more social delays than developmental. I have always had a very hard time interacting with people & definitely have severe social problems because of it. I want to bring up the fact that I may be on the autism spectrum to my psychiatrist, but I am afraid to & have been for quite some time, even though I have suspected this about myself since at least two years ago, when a therapist first asked me if I had ever been diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome. I believe I have either Asperger's Syndrome, HFA, or PDD-NOS. But I have no way of knowing for sure & am afraid to bring it up to him since I have already been diagnosed with Bipolar disorder. He knows about all of my social difficulties, but I still don't think that will be enough for him to reconsider my diagnosis.

So, I was just wondering how common it is for people on the autism spectrum to have issues with their moods fluctuating. I have had numerous problems, ever since I was a toddler & the only problem Bipolar disorder even somewhat addresses is the moods, but nothing else. An ASD addresses pretty much everything.

It's common but not universal. At Duke they are researching some of this stuff. There is a high incidence of AS in families that have high achievement and mood disorders. My ex-husband provided the mood disorder genes, and my side of the family has the high achievment thing nailed. There is a fair amount of high intelligence in his family but they are so disabled by the mood stuff they don't do much with it.

You could also have a raging case of ADHD. That can produce similar symptoms. I really think this is something you should consult your psychiatrist or psychologist about. Some of this stuff can present very similarly and people get all kinds of wonky diagnoses before they figure it all out. Can you get a second opinion from another doctor?

Yeah, I mainly have issues with depression and occasionally pretty extreme bouts of anger. But I generally have a very calm outer demeanor.

I can be quite moody, at times.

It's definitely not ADHD, that's for sure. I rarely get hyper or energetic & when I do it's definitely not to a high degree. Plus, ADHD wouldn't explain all of the developmental delays I had as a kid, or my social difficulties, just like Bipolar disorder doesn't.

I don't have any health insurance & my mental health care is paid for by the government since I have no income, so I could never get a second opinion. The building I go to is the only one in my area to offer mental health services to those who are uninsured. Plus, he's the best psychiatrist in my building & is a really good one, too. But I would like to get a diagnosis by a doctor who specializes with ASD's, though I can't do that until I get health insurance, & I don't know when that will be.

I was told that in bipolar disorder mania/hypomania, anger/irritability, and depression mainly occur independently and at different times, usually in cycles that last from weeks to months. My depression often comes on suddenly with extremely intense "dysphoria" over periods of hours to days. Also, all my negative feelings, depression, anger, boredom/emptiness, anxiety happen together. It's not easy to differentiate one from the other and there aren't really cycles. It's more like certain things "trigger" a negative emotional state and then I can't get out of it until something else comes along and triggers a positive state. I don't have bipolar disorder but something that's a combination of AS, clinical depression, and some borderline personality traits.

Anxiety Disorders, Chronic Depression, and ADHD are common comorbids with AS. Given the difficulties adjusting and fitting in socially, the awkwardness, the constant apprehension lest we commit some faux pas without realizing it, it should come as no surprise that many of us should have unusually high levels of anxiety and become morbidly depressed at encountering the same obstacles and dead ends in life over and over. I can't imagine how anyone living through what I have, could NOT be constantly nervous and frequently depressed.

And don't discount the idea that you might have ADHD - the 'hyperactive' in ADHD does not specifically refer to hyperactive behaviors, though they are often present - it refers to hyperactivity of the brain that makes it difficult to maintain focus on one area of thought for a productive length of time. There is in fact, a classification of ADHD called 'Inattentive', which exhibits no physical hyperactivity at all. People with 'Inattentive' ADHD may sit perfectly still and quiet, yet can't focus on the task at hand because they daydream, look out the window, around the room, get lost in their own thoughts, etc and just can't focus on what needs to be done.

Just been diagnosed with bipolar.

Executive dysfunction and inertia are the other main obstacles for me. Even if I had better social skills I'd probably still have depression. It's like I always need something, one thing, to focus all my energy on in life. When I'm forced to juggle tasks constantly I lose interest and everything starts feeling "pointless". To NT's, this makes me "lazy" since they have no understanding for the way my inner drive works.

I was once told I had a "mood disorder" after I was released from the phyc ward but it just said "mood disorder" and wasn't spefic. But yeah, I was always told I had mood problems. I think it was because I wasn't easy to please and was always complaning about things.

I don't think I have any mood disorders, but I tend to get really apathetic about my problems when they frustrate me too much. It is hard to stress me out, because if I don't know what to do I just give up, even if it should be important to me, like with grades sometimes....