Panic Attacks not related to Aspergers???

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Okay, so I joined the mailing list of this Adults with HFA/Aspergers on a popular social meeting group, but have yet to attend. I am very wary now, as I have received a mass email from the "leader" of this group stating that Aspies and people with HFA "don't get panic attacks". I totally get panic attacks. They also said that those people are "agoraphobes" (which I am not-- social phobia, yes, agoraphobia, no). I am not diagnosed as of yet, so it's difficult for me to have a leg to stand on in this situation, but am I wrong to think that he is wrong? I just think it's not necessary to call out a group of people when you yourself aren't a diagnostic professional and can't tell what disorders/syndromes people have without being inside their brains.

I guess what I'm really asking is: Do Aspies/Persons with HFA get panic attacks?

I myself do not have Panic Disorder, just situational panic attacks when I feel extreme anxiety (like performance anxiety, etc).

Is this person wrong (obviously, in my opinion, they are wrong for calling out the situation to the entire 400 person community in my city, but are they wrong in thinking that Aspies/HFA's don't get panic attacks)?

Thanks in advance for your replies. Any information I can get from this community is helpful! Even if you tell me I'm wrong!


I have added the email below with the person's name redacted.


____________________________________________________________________________________

Hello everyone,

I thought to make a few clarifications.

We have had persons who suffer from panic attacks attend at least some of the meetings. Aspies and HFAs do not get panic attacks. However it is possible for a person to have a lot of comparable problems and need of some similar assistance to Aspies and HFAs, yet that person also needs assistance regarding panic attacks and such a person probably has to cope with a different condition called Agoraphobia. These persons are referred to as Agoraphobes.

If anyone in the group is an Agoraphobe, please understand that you are welcome to be here and you are welcome to attend our meetings. You are not being asked to leave and it is requested that you attend the meetings and that you are open and upfront about your problems with us. The meetings are confidential and private, so anything that you convey will be kept confidential and private.

I decided to allow Agoraphobes into the group after reading about agoraphobia and carefully considering it. Yes there are differences between agoraphobia and Asperger's Syndrome and HFA, but they have a lot of comparable social and emotional problems and struggles to Aspies' and HFAs' problems and struggles.

I was also reminded recently of something about social interaction, which is that it is necessary and important to respect other people's boundaries. For example last Halloween a woman at my job told me that she didn't want to hear any ghost stories, so I didn't tell her any ghost stories. (I really enjoy reading ghost stories and telling them especially in October, even though I don't really believe in ghosts.)

As the meetings are set up for people with social and emotional problems, it isn't necessary to be concerned about social skills, but we can't allow for every kind of behavior. Respecting other people's boundaries is important and necessary for Aspies, HFAs and the NTs and most everyone else and that includes at the meetings.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Sincerely,

[REDACTED]

Agoraphobia and Asperger's are different things entirely. Agoraphobia is what happens when someone has panic attacks and eventually restricts themselves to places that feel safe--usually their home. Asperger's is a developmental disorder on the autism spectrum that results in poor social skills, unusually narrow interests, sensory difficulties, communication problems, and an autistic cognitive style.

No, Asperger's does not cause panic attacks. That doesn't mean that people with Asperger's can't also have panic disorder. Some do. But the panic disorder is an acquired problem, and the Asperger's is something they were born with. (Well, some people are more vulnerable to getting panic disorder than other people are, but even they aren't born with it hard-wired in the way autism is.)

Having people with AS and people with agoraphobia in the same group may not be such a bad idea, though. Both groups have problems with socializing--the agoraphobia group, because they're scared of a panic attack, and the Aspies, because they just kind of suck at social stuff in general. They are unrelated disorders but that doesn't mean that the two groups can't learn from each other. And you may very well have one or two people who have both agoraphobia and autism.

Last edited by Callista on 05 Mar 2014, 1:54 am, edited 1 time in total.

Yes. I have diagnosed Asperger's/ASD and have had very severe panic attacks earlier in my life. I haven't had any for a long time and wasn't diagnosed with Aspergers at the time, but since ASD is a life long condition, that doesn't change the answer.

It only takes one aspie with panic attacks to render the guy's statement invalid, so me having had panic attacks means that either he is wrong, or I am misdiagnosed. I am pretty sure that I am not misdiagnosed.

Ps. I bet that amongst 400 people you are not the only one who is troubled by his statement. He sounds really lame to me... I wouldn't want to be a member of "his" mailing group, you'll just get more crap like that over time.

You're not misdiagnosed, but your panic attacks aren't specifically a symptom of your AS. You just have both things together.

It's not like you have more than one brain, but you do have more than one diagnosis--panic attacks plus Asperger's. Panic attacks can happen to anyone, whether they're NT or autistic.

People with AS do have a general vulnerability to other psych issues, though. Like me--Autism, ADHD, and depression. My autism didn't cause my depression or my ADHD, but it didn't stop me from having them, either. And since having autism generally ups your stress level due to sensory stuff, being in a minority group, and lacking social support, that makes it easier to get depression. The ADHD... ehh, well, I have a brain that's weird in one way; it'd surprise me if it weren't weird in at least one other way,

Okay, how to respond to this leader with matter-of-fact confidence and diplomacy, or the question whether to respond, let's put that aside for now, but . .

And of course people on the Spectrum can have panic attacks,

Depression and anxiety conditions are pretty common among people in general (a statistic I've heard is that one out of four people will struggle with one of these sometime during the course of their life) And actually I think somewhat more common for those of us on the Spectrum.

I am on the mailing list for this group. I attended some meetings. The people are nice and easy to talk to, and the leader makes cool paper animals (3-D). Don't let this one email or difference in understanding/opinion prevent you from attending the meetings, if you want to attend the meetings.

used to be supported by the national autistic society outreach team and a number of their clients with aspergers also had panic attacks, can remember one example of being told by a staff they had taken out one of them that day on the metrolink [a tram service in manchester] and because of there being more people than she coud handle,she sat down on the floor and had a panic attack.

a auntie of mine has severe aspergers and has had severe agoraphobia for much of her life never being able to leave the house, however shes never had panic attacks.

aspergers and all forms of autism have 'comorbid' issues and conditions that affect autists lives,but it doesnt make our ASD any less and woud suggest like btbnnyr to go along to this support group if want to,we all have different opinions on the spectrum [this forum has seen many a opinion clash but the majority of us still respect each other] and itd be a shame to miss out on something that coud be a benefit, if something gets the goahead by btbnnyr its got to be good.

I don't think that autism and panic attacks are connected to each other.
But, since because of my autism I have sensory overload issues, I think that can help trigger a panic attack.

I get upset too when people are black and white even though I'm told I am.

The letter sounds like he is oversimplifying to make the point that these are different conditions. Of course you can have both whether he admits this or not.

I usually feel the person is lying and get all upset by things like this. It's probably not worth upsetting yourself over.

If you go I hope y enjoy it, hope you find people nice as they are described!

Asperger's doesn't *cause* agoraphobia or social phobia or panic attacks. However, the way that we are treated by a world that doesn't understand can create the basis for these things. So it's not cause and effect but I think there's a high correlation. Where that leader got the idea that Aspies don't have panic attacks is beyond me.

I've known other groups where they stipulate that suicide should not be mentioned for various reasons. Okay, it's a rule. But the leader didn't say nobody ever feels suicidal. Just that the group can't handle it so it's a place to talk about it.

Is it worth talking it out with the leader? I mean, a panic attack can hijack a whole thread. otoh, why doesn't she make a thread for it?

Does this leader have Asperger's? It doesn't sound like she knows much about it.

The statement "Aspies and HFAs do not get panic attacks" is false.

Some aspies have panic attacks, some are diagnosed with Panic Disorder. Anxiety is a common co-morbidity with Autism Spectrum Disorders.

http://www.iidc.indiana.edu/?pageId=3616


http://sfari.org/news-and-opinion/blog/ ... mmon-basis

Panic attacks aren't a symptom or a trait of ASD but they certainly can occur along with ASD as part of a co-morbid disorder, as other posters have said. Panic attacks and agoraphobia and ASD aren't mutually exclusive. I have panic disorder and get panic attacks sometimes. I also have diagnosed ASD.

I rarely get panic attacks triggered by my anxiety. I am sure everyone does sometimes.

For what it's worth, I've gotten more out of cross-disability support groups than autism-specific ones. With people who have other disabilities than autism, you get more perspectives to throw in the pot and figure out solutions; plus, you feel much less alone, because people with very different disabilities turn out to have had experiences quite similar to yours.

When numerous situations every day are potential social and sensory disasters how can it not trigger panic attacks?

I've been diagnosed with both, the aspergers I know has been with me throughout my life but the panic disorder didn't come until much later after all the abuse, stress and anger I had dealt from day to day with finally caught up to me.