Aspergers, OCD, general anxiety and phobias.

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My life has always been plagued by anxiety. I have also been diagnosed with OCD. It is truly ruining my life. Every day I worry about EVERYTHING, I am a nervous wreck. I also have a phobia of learning to drive but I am moving house soon and will be near more buses. I am afraid of other people, germs, dying, other people dying, aging (time related and feeling like I have failed at life.) Anyway I guess I am posting to see if anyone can relate? I am on Buspar for the anxiety, seems to be doing nothing to alleviate this misery.

Oh...That's so sad! Is there some way Jedi Master Tifa can help you?

Not diagnosed with OCD but do have strong traits of it and I can empathize. I was up AGAIN at 3am just worrying over something silly (should I change cable providers). First I worried about dying alone, then when I found someone I worried about blowing it, when she left I worried about being unlovable, found a woman who loves and wants to marry me, then I worried about finances and when I found out she was very well off I worried about 'taking' too much from her. When she told me flat out not to then I started worrying about whether I can take care of a house or child. I have tried drugs, counselors and neither seems to do much good. Luckily she has anxiety issues and understands what I am going through.

What are the treatment regimes your clinician(s) are recommending?

Like we say with autism having an explanation is an important start. My niece has it, clinical level OCD is tough. I wish you the best with your efforts to overcome.

I am on a combo of medications and cbt in therapy.

I take Buspar for my anxiety & it does help with my anxiety in general & stops me form having panic attacks but does nothing for my OCD. I take Neurontin/Gabapentin for my OCD & it helps alot.

Oh man, I can completely relate. This could almost be me, except that I don't have OCD. I have OCD traits, but nothing so severe that it affects my life. The anxiety, on the other hand, sucks. I can't seem to stop it, and it's now so bad I haven't slept properly for months. I haven't yet figured out how to deal with it, so all I can offer is solidarity.

I don’t believe I have OCD. What I do know, is that I obsessively worry. About everything. It feels like I am constantly “on edge”.

While I don't have OCD I have been diagnosed generalized anxiety disorder which started turning into depression. I tried initially a combination of online courses, exercise and Chamomile tea. Only when I started taking SSRI and cognitive behavioural therapy helped me to get through - I still have worries but I can control them. And being able to fall asleep makes wonders for your emotional health being (not sure if that was your problem but it was for me).



It sounds like a generalized anxiety disorder.

This may be true. Interestingly, I am rarely "on edge", when I am in deep focus.

I am also always anxious, and many of my phobias seem to have gotten worse. I've never liked dogs much but over the last five years I've developed an actual fear of them. I used to be able to suppress the dislike enough to be polite to dog owners and pet their dogs and say how cute the dogs were. But now when I see a dog I move as far as I can from it and make "keep that smelly thing away from me" faces at dog owners. I don't mean to be rude but I don't like them.

I don't remember being afraid of crowds, jangling keys, or shrill laughter when I was young, either. But now they make me jump or flinch or wince, sometimes even to go hide somewhere.

I can't speak for all aspies but a lot of us tend to worry over things, even the littlest of things or we get anxious or worried about something and it plays on our minds, more so then the average NT. Unless it overtakes your life to the point that you refuse to go outside or you can't sleep due to worrying over things then it's best to seek help. Otherwise some things can be prevented more so. like I get anxious in a crowded environment so I refuse to shop when I know it will be the busiest of times. In regards to the posts above, if you feel as if learning to drive will get too much for you, can't you just stick to public transport? not everyone drives, even some NTs find it stressful.

Did anything happen to you in particular to set of these phobias? like were you bitten by a dog or hurt by one? as for the shrill laughter or noise, maybe that's linked to the noise sensitivity and overload of noise? I can't cope with many conversations going on at once or too much noise, which is also why I don't go to busy night clubs or crowded functions.

Here's some good advice that I've learned: worrying constantly will actually project your fears into your life so that the things you worry about are more likely to happen. Also, here's something nice that I found recently that might help: http://www.angeltherapy.com/blog/10-life-lessons-i-learned-angels

Replying to read in more detail later...i too struggle with this but don't have time/inclination to detail it now.

I can't speak for all aspies, but I know that I worry a lot.


For me, the opposite happens. The things I worry about rarely happen. Perhaps, because I avoid those things. Or, perhaps, because the worrying leads me to be very proactive (to ensure that the worst case doesn't happen).

I have a lot of worries that never happen. I am always very proactive over the stuff i worry about too. It is not a controllable thing. The behavioral therapist said it is related to brain chemicals and and an overactive fight-or-flight response. As in, my mind sees a trigger that might be worrisome but can't differentiate between a major and minor worry.

So even with a small worry, my mind sees it as a worst-case scenario. Someone has a tiny cut and I am positive it will soon be gangrenous and i wonder how they will cope with the prosthetic once the limb is amputated...maybe it's flesh-eating bacteria and they will die from it...and mind races on. You get the picture, i guess. Therefore I always have bacitracin cream, tea tree oil, and other ointments on hand. Who knows how many lives and limbs i have saved.

It is comforting to realize it is brain chemicals rather than a character flaw. I grew up with the Christian teaching of "worry is sin," and what is someone chronically uncontrollably anxious supposed to do with that? I take comfort in the thought that God knows me and He made my brain. Rather than becoming more anxious over anxiety that i have a hard enough time controlling.

I have had some success with buspar. If i am having a really bad day, i sometimes add a hydroxizine to my antianxiety regimen but 90% of the time buspar does the trick. It is not managed as well as with something stronger, but the stronger meds tend to make me feel numb and i hate that. So this is my compromise i can live with.