Moopants wrote:
a specialist will look at the psychiatric diagnosis to see if the symptoms if mental illness are indeed aspergers or autism or of they are due to mental ill health.
What you should do is perhaps write down about your experiences with mental illness without referring to diagnostic criteria. While there are co-morbidities and many people with autism also experience mental ill health, the brain is such a complex organ that many things diagnostic of e.g Aspergers can also be found in the likes of different personality disorders.
Some things to consider:
The social issues seen in Aspergers can also be seen in many mental health conditions so taking them out of the equation, what is left?
Look back at when your problems started or had they always existed?
What are the biggest/most disabling problems you have encountered?
Did any medications help with the symptoms?
Its important to remember, given your dislike of psychiatrists labels, that Aspergers is just another label. There is no "cure". Diagnosis may provide some answers or understanding but it wont suddenly change your life. You will just be labelled an Aspie and all the same problems you encountered will still exist until you find ways of coping with them.
Thankyou for your reply. I'll have a proper think about what you've said.
I know that I have had problems since early childhood. I was always alone as a child, I found it very hard to make any friends, and impossible to maintain friendships. I was bullied from primary school onwards. I found it very easy to learn to read, which I taught myself to do, but was terrible at writing, I had remedial handwriting lessons. I was anxious as a child too. I used to chew my hair, bite my nails (still do), pick at my skin, rock, wet myself at school although not at home. I was always oversensitive, bright lights and certain noises would make me shy away and cause crying fits. From early childhood until my 20s I was prone to seizing up, just being unable to talk at all which would drive my mother potty, but the more upset she would get the more unable to talk I was. I have always been rigid, in the way I like things done, and in routines. I have always become very disturbed and upset by unexpected things happening, such as people arriving early or late, or new people coming into my life. I've always been easily overwhelmed, by too many things happening at once, more than one person talking, the tv, the radio, dripping taps, the noise of the central heating, or next door's central heating, fireworks, car alarms, banging, barking, tapping, rustling etc etc. I definitely have what other people call control issues. I can't explain my emotions to people such as psychiatrists. I seem to be perceived as something eg angry, when I am feeling completely the opposite to what they say I am feeling. I had several obsessions as a child that still remain today. I learned everything I could about dog breeds, read the same books over and over and over again, was completely obsessed with converting all my classmates to vegetarianism for about 2 years, and must have annoyed them intensely. I collected penpals from around the world, I wanted to get one from each country.
My mental health issues are primarily severe anxiety and depression. I still need routine to keep my anxiety at bay, and do things like rocking, flicking my feet constantly, picking at my hair until my scalp bleeds, and more. I think the depression is caused by my complete inability to do the things I feel I ought to be able to do, hold down a job, keep a relationship, make friends, have kids. I feel completely out of synch with the rest of society, and so overwhelmed by other people and the confusing nature of the world that I have isolated myself from all except my mother. I've gone though perhaps 15 different kinds of antidepressant and only one has had any impact, although that's minimal. I've tried mood stabilisers, antipsychotics and sleeping pills, but nothing does anything to me, except give me horrible side effects. This might be why my diagnosis keeps changing.
I don't actually mind labels as such, I just object to it being changed every time I see a new psychiatrist, plus although some seem to apply others have seemed unlikely to be right.
I haven't really got a lot of insight into why I can't do the things others can do such as make friends, just that the world seems completely obsessed with trivial things, other women find me quite odd (I don't ever wear makeup, get my hair or nails done, couldn't care less about the things they are interested in such as 'celebrities' and fashion.) I moved to a rural area a few years ago, which was some relief from the noise and stress of towns.
I spend my time watching Star Trek, and other sci fi programmes and films. I also read a lot, about religion, politics, animals, and I'm doing a science degree online. I collect books, cds and dvds, everything bought online of course.
Sorry, I've just realised I've gone on a bit, its just easier to write these things down rather than have to try to say them to a psychiatrist. Sorry again. Thankyou.
05 Apr 2011, 5:24 pm
