How might ASD's affect the aging process?

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Acacia
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11 May 2009, 9:42 am

Do autistic people live longer or shorter lives?

I was thinking about this yesterday, as I feel like my body has aged much faster because of physical and psychological stresses that can be a daily part of life for people with ASD's.
It just seems to make sense to me in theory, that repeatedly encountering social difficulties and failures can have a detremental effect on the human organism, and manifest itself in ways like illness and premature aging.

I'm not talking about the mental sense of "age", or that you might be an "old soul". That stuff is different for everyone. In this discussion, I am wondering about how ASD's might affect the way people age, and what other long-term physiological effects might be prevalent among people with ASD's.

Please share any thoughts and experiences on this topc.
Thanks!


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gemstone123
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11 May 2009, 10:47 am

I've sometimes wondered about this as well. I've never heard anything that says that people with AS live longer or shorter....I have heard some people with AS say that they look quite young for their age.
Although if you do lead a stressful life, like a lot of people do then it can affect your health. It depends on person though I suppose. :)



poopylungstuffing
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11 May 2009, 10:50 am

I have a young face, but a sort of oldish body.. i carry a lot of stress in it...



Ruari
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11 May 2009, 10:54 am

Counter to that I would have to say personally that while the social pressure can cause undue stress I don't worry about thing outside my control and just accept things that may cause some people worries.

Also I'm sure the blank look plastered across my face is great for keeping away the wrinkles.



ooOoOoOAnaOoOoOoo
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11 May 2009, 10:59 am

Ruari wrote:
Also I'm sure the blank look plastered across my face is great for keeping away the wrinkles.


That is one benefit of having a blank expression. It really does keep away wrinkles, like crows feets and laugh lines. Your face will age less quickly so try not to be too animated.
Other things that age the skin: smoking, drinking alcohol, squeezing and pulling black heads, white heads and pimples. Hydrocortozone cream is supposedly bad.



Acacia
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12 May 2009, 12:19 pm

Ruari wrote:
Also I'm sure the blank look plastered across my face is great for keeping away the wrinkles.

Yeah, that is an interesting thought. I always wondered why I see other people my age with scowl lines, and dreged channels of repeated expression on their faces... and I don't have anything like that. Must be the perpetually vacant look on my face.

On the downside, my hair is turning grey. Very noticeably. Not that I care, but I know it is not natural. My dad didn't go grey until he was in his 50's. It seems like the last few years of doing battle with the human social world is taking its toll on me. :?


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outlier
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12 May 2009, 2:06 pm

Going by my appearance, I can pass for someone in their early twenties (i.e., up to a decade younger). But my body is inundated with GAD-related symptoms exacerbated by outside stressors. I have very little stamina and the doctor has confirmed I'm currently not well enough to work. I'm concerned about the long-term consequences of all the stress and am doing what I can to recuperate.



fiddlerpianist
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12 May 2009, 2:12 pm

outlier wrote:
Going by my appearance, I can pass for someone in their early twenties (i.e., up to a decade younger). But my body is inundated with GAD-related symptoms exacerbated by outside stressors. I have very little stamina and the doctor has confirmed I'm currently not well enough to work. I'm concerned about the long-term consequences of all the stress and am doing what I can to recuperate.


I've been told I look young, but I think it's because I dress really sloppily.



outlier
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12 May 2009, 2:32 pm

I think I partly get mistaken for someone a lot younger because of my body language.



WardenWolf
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12 May 2009, 3:46 pm

It definitely increases stress, and stress tends to speed up the aging process.


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subliculous
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12 May 2009, 4:11 pm

i've always looked younger than i am facially, i think partly due to the fact i don't have very angular facial features (i'm half persian). people have always commented how flawless my skin is and i don't have wrinkles or lines yet. i started going grey around 28 though, and now at 40, i have a whole strip of silver down the center of my scalp. i'm sure that's due to the lifelong mental stresses of asd and my body's just recently starting to go all out of whack with hormone imbalances and weight gain.
some drawbacks to looking younger though, is people don't take you seriously, and most younger people think i'm just a dork their age and treat me like s**t, when i fact i'm just a chronological misfit. the fact i was the youngest of four and raised by old parents doesn't help either, raised for the wrong generation. and then the people i do relate to, the ones about 10+ years older reject me as "not one of theirs". so i'm in limbo. i should have grown up ten years earlier. i think things would have been so much different for me.



Aspie_Chav
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12 May 2009, 4:24 pm

My body seems good not aged; however, I have reached an age where looking younger is a concern.

I think despite my depression, I don't feel stressful and I don't have the symptoms of stress, such as pot belly etc.



Flismflop
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12 May 2009, 4:32 pm

How might ASD's what affect the aging process of what??? For that matter, who is "ASD"?


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FrogGirl
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12 May 2009, 5:00 pm

I look younger than I am, but my health isn't in the best of shape as I have alot of stress that I deal with. I guess you can say looks can be decieving in this sence.

or it could be all of the diet pop that I drink. lol.
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12 May 2009, 7:04 pm

most times i feel like a old guy in a young mans body. i follow rules, obey all the laws of where ever i live, pay my rent on time, dont really act a fool in public but only in my own house where anything goes. because i am the congress, president and senate all in one