Are my problems caused mainly by Asperger's?

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I'm diagnosed with Asperger's, and have struggled with lots of other things. Self-harm, eating problems (but not quite an eating disorder) low mood (at times) and suicidal thoughts and an attempt. My Mum has suggested that asperger's could be the cause, in a way, of some of these things, or that maybe it's possible that I have a mood disorder (depression or bipolar disorder). I know that these things are possible but to tell the truth sometimes I just feel that I'm completely normal, and the only cause of my problems is me, always doing things wrong.

I think most of these things have been caused by the way I felt so uncontrollable. Especially recently, I feel at times uncontrollable and as if there's so much energy inside me, and at other times as if something is pressing down on me and I'll never be able to things again. To tell the truth I don't have any major problems in my life. My mum says that I am oversensitive, that I get stressed too easily, that I can't cope with things as well as other people. I guess she might be right, but in a way it hurts that she says these things. I don't know what I'm asking for exactly, just your opinions on the whole thing, and I wanted to see if anybody could relate.

It sounds like you could have depression....but yeah I don't know if your mom constantly says those sorts of things, if she does I think she needs to back off a little as there is nothing more annoying then having someone constantly tell you what your not good at when you already know that.

Yeah I can relate. I have a bipolar diagnosis with my autism diagnosis. There have actually been studies that have linked the two disorders and other studies that have linked eating disorders with people on the spectrum. You are definately not alone with how you feel.

http://neuro.psychiatryonline.org/cgi/content/full/16/2/199

You've described some of the things that I deal with. I have High Functioning Autism and Severe Anxiety; as well as ADHD. I do tend to cause self-harm to myself. I get easily frustrated or overwhelmed and overstimulated by whatever is going on around me that I feel like I have no way to express those feelings, this I get into attempts of suicidal thoughts, self-harm, low moods and also stop eating if I feel really bothered.

It does sound like it could be due to AS... but I'm no expert on AS so I couldn't really say.

I'm kind of that way. A tremendous amount of energy and nothing to really do with it. I've had some success with exercise and running. And thank goodness for the Internet. And I try political groups which more often fail than succeed, so be it.

Okay, as I understand it, depression and anxiety will hit 25% of people at some point in their life seriously enough that medication would help. I think those of us on the Asperger's / Autism Spectrum are somewhat more likely, because we're at more risk of social isolation.

For me, my Aspie traits lead to that I have patchy social skills, above average in some areas, below average in others. Sometimes this very aspect of being patchy causes problems, in that a person might think something is intentional when it almost certainly is not. I'm intense. Which means I can really laser-beam in on some areas, which means other things slide. And I'm not too good at the low-grade energy skills like hanging out at a party.

I've looked up some articles on depression, something I also sometimes struggle with, and it seems like:

Something can start off situational and become biochem.

Human biochem is complicated and subtle, and no doctor in the world can predict whether, for example, Zoloft of Cymbalta will work for a particular patient.

It takes about four weeks to see if a medication will work. In a respectable sense, it's trial and error.

Which means, a person is not "stuck" with a psychiatrist. If a person has had good experiences, more power to them. If, like a fair number of us, a person has had generally negative experiences with mental health professionals, you can just as well see an internist or family practitioner. A 'regular' doctor can prescribe an antidepressant as well as any other doctor. A light touch, patience, and a willingness to go through five or six medications to find one that works, is more important than technical brilliance.

Welcome to Wrong Planet! Hope some of the above helps.

Here's a post some time ago on antidepressants:

SSRIs and SNRIs for depression?
http://www.wrongplanet.net/postt158330.html


Please Note: I AM NOT A DOCTOR. just a guy who's pretty good at Internet searches. I just go to google news and type in something specific like SNRI. It helps to be a more informed patient. And I think potentially, us casually working here together at WP can help to educate ourselves.

Thank you all... your answers are all really helpful. I agree that it's good to be informed.