Recently Diagnosed. Where do I go from here?

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FrogGirl
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09 Jul 2009, 1:32 am

I was recently diagnosed with Aspergers at 34, and I am now wondering where I go from there. It is nice to know what has made everything so difficult, if not impossible, throughout my life, but now that I know what it is, I want to move forward, and try to accomplish a few things in my life that i want to do. My Dr. said that one thing that is priority is dealing with the severe anxiety(I never have a moment where I feel calm without anxiety. I just experience different levels of anxiety all day). Is there a thearpy to learn to reduce anxiety without using more medications? I am already on Prozac for depression, and Adderall for ADHD.



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09 Jul 2009, 1:38 am

Did you have anxiety before taking those meds? Anxiety can be a side effect.
If I were you I'd seek therapy but turn down meds if they ask you to take them. I dealt with social anxiety without meds, mainly cause my psychologist was against them.
I don't know if the treatment for Generalized Anxiety Disorder is the same as social anxiety, but I benefited from Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. You could try googling that and www.emofree.com (emotional freedom technique).


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FrogGirl
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09 Jul 2009, 1:51 am

I have always experinced anxiety my whole life. It just seems as my responsibilities get bigger, and there are more of them, my anxiety just gets overwhelming. I have taken the Prozac since I was 19 for depression, and it is doing its job. I just started taking the adderall when my memory and concentration got so bad that I couldn't function at all, and I really don't notice mcuh change with the adderall. Right now, my new more difficult repsponsibilities has been overwhelming. I now rent a house and owe for all of the utilities. I was finally getting my anxiety under control enough for me to take a short nap, when I opened my mail and found that I owe $210 for taxes for my vehicle and is due at the end of this month. I Don't know where that money is going to come from. I need to make a list of all of the things that are worrying me( my mom always did the same, but she called it her "to do list".



ToughDiamond
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09 Jul 2009, 6:21 am

FrogGirl wrote:
I have always experinced anxiety my whole life. It just seems as my responsibilities get bigger, and there are more of them, my anxiety just gets overwhelming. I have taken the Prozac since I was 19 for depression, and it is doing its job. I just started taking the adderall when my memory and concentration got so bad that I couldn't function at all, and I really don't notice mcuh change with the adderall. Right now, my new more difficult repsponsibilities has been overwhelming. I now rent a house and owe for all of the utilities. I was finally getting my anxiety under control enough for me to take a short nap, when I opened my mail and found that I owe $210 for taxes for my vehicle and is due at the end of this month. I Don't know where that money is going to come from. I need to make a list of all of the things that are worrying me( my mom always did the same, but she called it her "to do list".


Your experience with anxiety and bills looks similar to mine.......though I know where the money is going to come from, as I'm still holding down a job (though that drives me up the wall too). I live near to my workplace so I go home for lunch and to get my breath back from the pressure and social anxiety at work, then there's some threatening official letter waiting for me, invading the only bit of space I've got. The bills do get paid but mostly they're late. It's crazy, I'm intelligent enough to sort them out but somehow can't face them until I'm more scared of being in default than I am of tackling the payment.

I've also just been diagnosed with AS. Mostly I'm focussing on the prospect of getting my employer to make some adjustments for me, and that scares me as well. I don't take pills for anything though. I tried some beta blockers once when my anxiety was at its worst, but I didn't like them. I find it hard to gauge my anxiety and depression, nearly always I just trudge on regardless. I come from a very stoical family who always tried to solve their problems themselves. I guess I've got a very stable, rugged constitution.....and I always feel that if I'm anxious or depressed, there's a reason that's to do with my circumstances, and that I just need to tackle that rather than taking pills to alleviate the symptoms. I get confused enough about my feelings and state of mind, and I think meds would just cloud the picture even more. That's not to say that they're bad for everybody of course.

I'm afraid of responsibilities too. Note the plural form of the word - just one straightforward responsibility, fine. But the moment I get so many thrust on me that I can't hold them in my head simultaneously, I'm lost. :( Ultimately I probably do quite a good job of sorting it all out, somehow the most important things do seem to get done, but it sure doesn't feel that way when I'm staring at a bunch of apparently urgent stuff. The one-track mind just can't cope with it without freaking out. The weird thing is, from the outside you'd hardly know anything was wrong. Stiff upper lip, y'know. :roll:



Prim8
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10 Jul 2009, 6:54 am

FrogGirl wrote:
I was recently diagnosed with Aspergers at 34, and I am now wondering where I go from there. It is nice to know what has made everything so difficult, if not impossible, throughout my life, but now that I know what it is, I want to move forward, and try to accomplish a few things in my life that i want to do. My Dr. said that one thing that is priority is dealing with the severe anxiety(I never have a moment where I feel calm without anxiety. I just experience different levels of anxiety all day). Is there a thearpy to learn to reduce anxiety without using more medications? I am already on Prozac for depression, and Adderall for ADHD.


FrogGirl, none of the meds you are on are designed to address anxiety. Prozac is, whilst really good at dealing with Depression, not one of those SSRIs that also tackles anxiety. I was recently switched off Prozac onto Lexapro for the same reason and I have found my anxiety levels finally are under check. Speak to your doctor about trying a different antidepressant; one that also acts on your anxiety, which seems chronic and of more concern than your Depression?! I too am recently diagnosed AS and in my early thirties. So far, for me, I have gone from experiencing relief at finally having some answers, to denial and doubt and self-loathing. It's turning out to be a strange journey, but at least I have those all-important answers and it's a matter now of adjusting. The moving on, I assume, comes in good time. Good Luck with everything!


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