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mike91
Emu Egg
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Joined: 15 Feb 2019
Gender: Male
Posts: 8
Location: uk

30 May 2019, 3:54 pm

Has anyone found a way to control OCD / Anxiety & tics in Asperger’s drug free. I mean sometimes I feel completely fine, other times borderline coping.

Just strange how it has oscillated randomly throughout my life since early childhood. With the anxiety like a parasite that needs a host (something to worry about) im sure stress plays a part at times, but other times its difficult to work out a reason, maybe subconscious fear, who knows?

Just wondered if anyone out there has found a long-term solution whether diet exercise, supplements etc… ?



boating_taxonomist
Yellow-bellied Woodpecker
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Joined: 6 May 2018
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31 May 2019, 5:10 am

As far as you can identify what's making you anxious, and especially where it's related to core autism symptoms (difficulty with change/the unexpected/disrupted routines/sensory sensitivities etc) I think the best thing you can do is alter your environment and find strategies to reduce those things (rather than expecting to push through them and somehow make yourself feel less anxious about them). Things such as allowing yourself to obsessively plan if you need to, or wear headphones to deal with noise etc. I know my local autism service has a stress/anxiety course/group and their focus is on problem solving for what you can do about the worry, and distraction techniques for things you can't do anything about.

If you're struggling with obsessive thoughts, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy might be helpful and has been shown to reduce anxiety associated with ASD. Some people are a fan of meditation or mindfulness techniques and find them very helpful (though personally I can't stand them-I don't get them and they just make me feel frustrated). Other people just find their own little techniques for dealing with them; if I'm ruminating on something for example, I have a few things I find helpful 1) I write all my worries down and that kind of helps get them out of my head and stops my thoughts going round in circles trying to work through them 2) I try and come up with a plan to 'solve' them if I can. 3) I use a lot of 'self-talk' to stop the thoughts in their tracks (telling myself out-loud 'it doesn't matter', or 'I've already decided I'm going to do x, y and z, so it's all sorted, I don't need to worry about it any more'; sometimes I just tell my brain to shut up!-actually my favourite is 'shut up brain or I'll stab you with a q-tip' (which is a Simpson's quote :p ).

I can't always figure out why I feel anxious; usually if that's the case I just kind of keep reassuring myself everything's fine and find nice things to distract myself.



killerBunny
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Joined: 13 Dec 2015
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02 Jun 2019, 12:26 pm

Méditation

Or a never ending chemical cocktail of gaba inhibitors.
Pick your poison.



crstlgls
Tufted Titmouse
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Joined: 9 May 2019
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04 Jun 2019, 7:02 pm

I find that my moods go up and down like you describe a lot, too. Also depends on how much i have going. Right now, I'm in an accelerated summer course, so my mood seems to be down right now. The deadlines are really tight, and that just exhausts me. I'm in a Dialectical Behavior Therapy Group. You might think about looking online to find out more about these skills.



BTDT
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Joined: 26 Jul 2010
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04 Jun 2019, 7:26 pm

Meds may be ineffective because your brain may actually be OK, but you are in a stressful environment, so the only effective solution is to change the environment.



breaks0
Velociraptor
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Joined: 8 Jul 2018
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Location: New York

04 Jun 2019, 9:14 pm

I've recently had this jittery anxiety problem and I feel it physically in my chest and sometimes my stomach too. I'm in therapy w/a CBT ASD specialist and we're finally getting to emotional regulation next week. She's teaching me several different breathing and relaxation exercises, which it's too early to tell if I can do them outside of a therapy session (yet). But I'm optimistic I'll master some of them and when in therapy, they have definitely worked to relax me and at least for a while reduce my physical feelings of anxety.

All that said and I know this isn't probably helpful to you, but no way in Hell would I ever consider stopping the Sertraline (Zoloft) I take every day b/c I know I'd be more jittery and anxious w/o it. It's (along w/my other 2 meds) also helped me sleep fairly regularly almost every night, which alone is enough of a reason for me to continue taking it. Maybe meds just aren't for you, which is fine. But they help alot of people, often harmlessly.



mike91
Emu Egg
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Joined: 15 Feb 2019
Gender: Male
Posts: 8
Location: uk

07 Jun 2019, 3:40 pm

I’ve tried lots of things including a stress hypnotherapy tape that worked for a little while then stopped working, I’ve taken magnesium, vit D, B6 & Zinc worked wonders for a few days then all stopped working when I took them.
I don’t think it was placebo.

I understand the body tolerance effect but strange that something works for a few days then stops.

I would probably go down the Zoloft pharmaceutical route but don’t really want to be on that for the rest of my life or jeopardise my work by being spaced out or any other bad side effects.

Most of my anxieties stem from the fear of being socially isolated that probably come from my childhood experiences, though don’t know how that’s compatible with autism since we`re not supposed to like being social.

My tics stem from being stressed out and boxed in usually at work.