Do your comormids cause you more difficulty then autism?

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There should be a not sure answer......I really can't say for sure what causes most of my problems as some things seem to overlap a bit. like I have anxiety so sometimes its hard to tell if I am being over analytical because of the aspergers or if I am just rationalizing due to anxiety as those are rather simular. So yeah it seems like there is a lot of overlapping.

Oh, man, I avoided most of the day to day stuff:

Sometimes, it hurts so much to even type, I can't even begin to explain it. When I was explaining yesterday why you can't judge someone's ability to work on the basis of their post-writing history, I was in fact typing through some really annoying pain. Not just typing, I mean. Anything can be painful, especially after doing something strenuous enough to aggravate it (like walking to the mailbox, feeding the cats, sitting in a hardwood chair for a couple of hours, etc).

Social situations are draining and often confusing. Being around one person in a quiet place who wants to talk about my interests is easy, but pretty rare (okay, my therapist qualifies). Add noise, light, smell, people, and it simply progressively becomes worse until I shut down, and even when I do function, it's below that of the people around me. One effect is considerable social lag, as it takes me a long time to "get" the context of a discussion among multiple people enough to say anything, and if they change the subject or move on, then I might get stuck with nothing to say again. If it gets into social niceties/chit chat/small talk, I let them go at it because I end up lost if I try to participate. And I don't want to participate.

Doing things I need to do is hard. I mean I used my cooking example, but there are a host of things. Most of it is an inability to properly sequence tasks in a way that makes them manageable (this does not always mean separating them into smaller tasks). I seem to have a low threshold for this at times, such as finding it hard to take more than 1-2 steps to make a meal. This is assuming I can get on track to do something, since I so easily get stuck doing other things without shifting my focus. Establishing a better routine has improved this somewhat, but it's still a difficulty.

Exhaustion in general having low energy reserves (coping mechanisms, lack of sleep, waking up frequently, etc) means that if I do get started on a thing, I can easily end up at the point where going further is just too much of a pain to manage, or I shut down, or just go straight to sleep. I'm actually pretty near exhausted right now.

Impulsiveness is a problem. I managed to spend the last of my money for the month on A Song of Ice and Fire so my sister and I could read the books (because we're watching Game of Thrones on HBO). Unfortunately, I forgot about leaving some on my card to pay for Netflix...so no Netflix instant until the 1st. This isn't the worst. I've managed to blow thousands of dollars in the past (mid-late 1990s) without really thinking about it, and without having a clear idea of how much I was spending. I spent too much money in December on video games that I actually barely play because they were up on Steam for very cheap. This has always frustrated me a lot, because it's the kind of thing where I get excited or interested in a thing and then I get it without stopping to think, and come to my senses after the money's gone. The fun of ADHD, etc. Routines actually help me deal with this to some extent, if I make spending money part of my routine, then I rarely overspend. This was in fact the case since February, but this month I miscalculated what I had and didn't think about what I wouldn't have and spent $28 on Amazon.

Concentration and focus are hard. And I mean, sometimes they're really hard. They're actually pretty difficult right now because, as I said above, I am near exhaustion. Combine exhaustion with ADHD and it's amazing that I can focus on one thing at a time, like this post. Fortunately, inertia's kept me here to write all this stuff down, although I'm not sure why. Maybe hypergraphia feels good. But a lot of things, I can stay on them for 5-10 minutes, sometimes 30 minutes to an hour, and then something grabs my attention and the previous task is gone until something reminds me, and I'm off doing something else that's generally easier and more interesting.

Panic attacks make everything else impossible. I either manage to stop a panic attack with CBT-type responses, or it overtakes me and I spend the next hour or more debating whether I should call 911 or if I am just having a panic attack. If it lasts long enough, the last shred of skepticism gives way and I'm off to the ER. I used to have them a lot more frequently, but the CBT stuff is pretty effective. Now it's only once a month at the most, and even when they do carry on I don't usually go to the ER. My last trip was in November, and it was actually justified (disabling, painful cluster headache), although the ER staff did not treat it because I was unable to correctly communicate my needs.

Language! So my speech is really inconsistent. I can monologue about something I really like for an hour or more, but when I was discussing various treatment options for Ritalin with my PCP, I found it increasingly difficult to use words. I actually felt like some kind of aphasia bomb went off in my head and I was stuck with sentence fragments while trying to explain how functional improvement on 5 mg doses of Ritalin was much higher and more effective than expected relative to simply titrating the dose up and up to get the desired effect. I was trying to explain a 15-20 minute test on a computer that starts with testing attention, and then impulsiveness, and is programmed to be long enough that most people can tolerate it, but people with ADHD cannot maintain for that length of time. And I was more, "machine...test...impulse". My therapist has noticed that I vary wildly from hyperactive talkativeness to barely any speech at all.

Part of this is a difficulty with translating my thoughts into words. Part of it is that I am terrible at holding up my end of a conversation. Part of it is inattention and poor working memory. I suspect part of it is the fatigue from whatever my chronic pain is. Whatever the combination, sometimes verbal words are just too much work.

Sensory overload is pretty impairing. A sustained loud noise can effectively shut off my brain for the duration - a really loud squeaky cart or a loudspeaker or whatever means I can't think of anything else until it passes, and effectively forget where I am, who I am, what I am doing, why I am there, etc. Once it passes, I have to pick up the pieces. Fortunately, visual cues help a lot. Fluorescent lights and daylight mean rapid overload and even migraines if I don't wear dark glasses. Any kind of overload usually means a shutdown, either right there or eventually. The sensory input also effectively "clutters" my mind, making it progressively harder to think or focus on anything until I can rest.

Anyway, it's hard to tell which one is worse when they sometimes reinforce each other so effectively.

yes. I would say that my difficulties in life are about 40% AS and 60% other stuff.
Social anxiety, generalized anxiety, and OCD related issues, mostly.
Obsessive thoughts, trichotillomania, and never-ending anxiety are the visceral, physical problems that I experience
AS comprises the more intellectual, abstract difficulty that shows up when I'm not expecting it.
Put together, I am... me??

reading your post Verdandi influenced me to finally have a closer look at ADD, I see a lot of myself in focusing problems, I always neeto get up and go on short walks in my house during something, I find it hard to watch full movies or complete tasks, I find it hard to do things with many unclear steps: it took me ages to figure out how to cook basic things. Much to the annoyance of family; whenever we watch something I always need a break to recharge and pace every 40 minutes or less, I always procrastinate and leave things till the last moment.

I'm endlessly filled with static and chatter in my head, always daydreaming and fantasising

Asking my therapist makes me uncomfortable since she might think I am getting a little diagnoses happy, to quick to apply labels to myself, even if they're likely, I've only just told her about my obsessional thoughts and compulsions.

I don't know. I think it was my bipolar disorder that messed me up enough to disable me, but it's the ASD that makes recovery hard. If I just had bipolar I could just pop a few pills and be done with it. With ASD I don't really know how to get back on my feet.

Yes they do. However, the combination of the disorders is the worst. For example, I have anxiety and OCD. When I am anxious, I will react to the anxiety with a meltdown, because it is "too much" for me for me to handle.

I have no comorbids, which is probably why I am considered to be "high-functioning". So no.

To add on to mine; High Functioning Autism, ADHD and Severe Anxiety...

Each one can cause what I consider, a chemical reaction, like if you mix up a bunch of chemicals together that don't go together... you get a big huge chemical reaction, mostly negative, correct?

That's what its like for me. My HFA is the main disability but mix it with ADHD and Severe Anxiety and my mind will just go completely out of tune and I'll freak out badly. I can't really explain what each one does to cause this since I really don't know it myself but I can try...

With ADHD, I have a hard time staying focused and I also get distracted; add that with HFA and I get massive and I mean MASSIVE sensory overloads. I get frustrated, I whine, I cry, cover my face or ears and I usually try to run away or feel like running from the sensory overload. Now, you add in the severe anxiety? You get a huge emotional overload that can cause me to scream and yell; also making it hard for me to react in a positive manner. I become more angry and have outbursts or tantrums, throwing things and even pounding my fist against a wall, not breaking it off course.

Other things that occur is usually after, I feel bad or I just don't feel like being around anyone. It can be debilitating because if I have a meltdown, other people react in a way that makes my mom feel embarrassed. I don't meltdown often but when I do, its best to keep a distance. I tend to worry over negative reactions from people, I can't tell when they are mad by looking at them but I still somehow detect it... and that's when I start to panic and become closer to tears.

It's harder to explain unless I record everything that happens and then tell you. But its a hassle because it is also what prevents me from getting a job or going to any kind of college; most people don't understand this and often times see me as normally functioning... regardless of the slight delays in development, emotional and also learning. I am often quiet and stimming with my hands and holding my Axel plushie, or have music with me that most of the time people never really wonder what is wrong with me.

Yet, without my Axel plush or my music, I become more prone to panic attacks and meltdowns. My mom used to hate me taking my plushies everywhere because she was embarrassed but she sees now how they help my overloads a bit and keep me from become upset. I am attached more to my Axel plushie and my scarfy... more emotionally and sensory wise than people would imagine. They always calm me and make me less panicky and emotional.

I would have to say "No" because I have Aspergers first, then I have OCD, various anxiety and social phobia disorders, and some depression. As long as I meditate and exercise regularly, I am fine. I can keep the anxiety and depression at bay.