Scared to talk to my psychiatrist.

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I see my psychiatrist on Wednesday and was planning to talk to her about my idea I may have aspergers, but I am scared she may think I am nuts! I don't want to sound like a hypochondriac. How did you gelt diagnosed? Did you bring it up or had it brought up to you?

The first time the idea of Asperger's being associated to me came up it was mentioned to me (I hadn't heard of Asperger's before that point, had only heard of autism as non-verbal). When I got my diagnosis it was because we (my parents actually did so) brought it up to the person who diagnosed me.

(I voted they brought it up for the poll)

I was the one who brought it up- I just said as soon as I walked in "I think I have Asperger's Syndrome". That was the hardest part. Of course then I was asked to explain why and a discussion followed.

I think that it's worth you bringing it up if that's what you really think, as then it will give you a bit of piece of mind- that was what was suggested to me, and I'm glad I did it.
It took my over 2 years to get the courage to do it- if you have then opportunity to talk about it with a psychiatrist on Wednesday, then go for it! Think carefully about how you fit the criteria, and how you can explain it, as well as thinking of some examples perhaps?

Good luck!

You can start with talking about your symptoms but not mention the label and see if the psychiatrist brings it up herself. When I got diagnosed, I had been seeing my shrink for nearly a year and after she had everything ruled out and then suspected I may have Asperger's, mom took me to a professional to get it checked out. So I think the label had been mentioned from the start and mom had to talk about my symptoms and my past and medical history. But it took a couple months for him to finally diagnose me.

I was 12 when diagnosed so I have vague memories about being there. I sure didn't talk much and I hated being there and having to hear stuff about me. I didn't even want to talk about myself either.

I don't think you should worry about being a "hypochondriac". People often do know enough about themselves to know when they should be evaluated for some diagnosis or another. Did you know one of the best screening tests for depression is simply asking the question, "Are you depressed?" AS is more subtle than that, but honestly, if a doctor thinks you're a hypochondriac for bringing it up, then he doesn't trust his patients nearly enough; and a psychologist who doesn't know that his patients are the best experts on themselves isn't really a very good psychologist to begin with. Now, sure, you may be wrong, and he may have to tell you that your symptoms are sub-clinical or that you've mistaken something else for AS; but if he just plain dismisses your opinion because you're not a psychologist, then he needs to go back to school and hit the psych textbooks some more.

According to my Mum, the psychiatrist I was seeing as a kid was thinking Aspergers, but when the support manager at college told me that she thought I had AS, suddenly the psychiatrist decided that I didn't have it. We think she didn't like the fact that someone beat her to it so pulled the diagnosis. So in the end, I went to a new psychiatrist and told him that I thought I had AS. He laughed, said he knew nothing about AS then started saying all the reasons I didn't have it. So one minute he knew nothing, now he was an expert? Needless to say he wasn't.

Sorry that probably scared you. Hopefully yours will go much better.

Thanks guys

My mom was talking to my friends mom. My friend has a brother with aspergers and when my mom was hearing about it she was like that sounds just like my daughter!! ! Well when she brought it up to my psychatrist he kinda just brushed it off and said he could mail a survey in the mail for her to fill out about me but he never did. A few years later we had to have family therapy and in order to have that done I needed a definitive diagnosis they sent me to a psycologist for a diagnosis. After talking to me and my mom they came up with a diagnosis of Aspergers, ADHD, depression and anxity (from being picked on). I dont like talking to my psychatrist about my meds because his answer is always lets try this new med or that one and it always screws me up somehow...

I have had so many people who are SURE I don't have it...that is partially why I am scared....

If you think that you are autistic, but most other people don't see it, then you may have to educate your therapist about autism, before they can take the idea seriously.

I got severely depressed over a romantic rejection that everyone saw coming but me. I did some searching and research wondering what the heck was wrong with me. I found all these stories about late-diagnosed Aspergers and thought "Wow, that sounds just like me!"

I contacted a psychological services office and started seeing a therapist because I had suicidal thoughts. I'd also lost all interest at work and was very close to getting fired. This didn't last long and I didn't require any drugs but it helped talking to the therapist even though he didn't think I had AS, he worked with AS kids and he didn't think I was like them. I asked him how many AS adults he knew and he didn't know any, so he admitted he wasn't sure and he referred me to a neuropsychologist for testing. The neuropsychologist came back with a recommended diagnosis of anxiety and AS, he said I'd had 39 years of coming up with tools and mechanisms to deal with my AS and that it was much harder to diagnose adults for that reason, but that he was nearly certain I had it and recommended I contact AANE to help with executive functioning issues I told him about. I disclosed to work and they made some accommodations for me. I continued to see the therapist for a while, it was once a week at first and then once a month until he finally said that he couldn't justify me being in therapy. One good thing that did come out of therapy was me dating on a regular basis, he'd encourage me to do social activities and join meetup groups but dating was the only really social thing I was interested in. I'm getting much better at it.

My advice to you is to ask to be referred for testing, preferably with someone who's worked with AS adults. It really helped me get a better understanding of myself.

Well, if you think you can use logic and reason to convince people, especially those who think they are educated, you're profoundly mistaken.

You don't use just logic and reason to do this though. You use your personal experience of living as an autistic person your whole life, and this can work if you are autistic. It also only works if you are autistic. You don't mention the DSM criteria and match yourself to some list that a bunch of non-autistic people came up with, don't really understand, and change every once in awhile. That doesn't work for headshrinkers who believe that they are educated and you are not. You tell them what their education has not told them. You mention how you personally experience everything, what is going on in your mind as you are doing whatever you are doing your way, and that gives the headshrinkers a chance to realize how different your thoughts and behaviors are from theirs and those of most of their patients, and that gives them a chance to (1) consider autism as your diagnosis and (2) observe and probe your thoughts and behaviors to rule out other diagnoses.

If you say, "I do not like to be interrupted", then they will say, "Well, a lot of people don't like to be interrupted, that's totally normal".

If you say, "I do not like to be interrupted, because when I am interrupted, it feels like I am being dragged off to be hanged, drawn, and quartered right after I was shaken awake from the most awesome brilliant dream ever in which I was just about to find out the answer to life, the universe, and everything, and this interruption discombobulates my brain and shuts down any intelligent functioning for the rest of the day", then they will stare at you like they have never heard such a thing before, which they probably haven't.

If you describe all your experiences in this explicit language that cannot be dismissed as just another normal thing, then they will have no choice but to evaluate you for autism. Because you are autistic, everything you describe this way will make sense and be consistent with each other, and none of it will be an exaggeration, because this is just what it is like, in this case, to be interrupted from hyperfocus.

I brought it up with my shrink, she agreed with me. And since then, two other shrinks have said the same. Makes me wonder how odd I seem to every one

Problem is...I am not that good at explaining how I feel. What do I do in that case?

As a psychiatrist, no doubt she's seen people who are far crazier than you'll ever be.



What kind of difficulties do you have with that?

One suggestion may be to find several online tests for AS or related issues and record your scores on them. Particularly objective tests such as the 'reading the mind in the eyes' test, the Famous Faces test and the executive function and verbal memory test, since those don't require the ability to assess yourself as much.