How do I know if I have it?

Post Reply New Topic

Resident at Johns Hopkins in 2017 said I have Asperger's (but didn't tell me how to get help for it). I've also been diagnosed schizoid, depression, GAD, agitation, anhedonia real bad. I have trouble socially. Been sick since I was 13 when I stopped talking (due to dissociation) and I'm 59 now. Been hospitalized 28 times and had ECT 4 times with no relief. I tell professionals that I may have Asperger's and no one wants to help. I think I'm really screwed. And hopeless. (I managed to get a college degree but I don't know how I did it.) I've always had a desire to have friends but after 13 I found it extremely difficult.

Welcome to Wrong Planet. I wish it was under different circumstances.

Here on Wrong Planet, we have a lot of older Adult Members. It is likely somebody here is dealing with the same or similar issues as you.

Based on the post I can only give a couple of things to think about.

You might be suppressing your autism too much. This might be causing some of the mental illnesses you are experiencing.

You have a lot of things going on at once. Trying to deal with them all at once will be understandably overwhelming. Better to hyperfocus on one or two issues at a time. Autistic people generally have problems with multitasking but are good at hyper-focusing. I would advise dealing with the simpler or easier problems first to gain a little self-esteem.

Even if you are not autistic the above is good advice

Autism is a convenient way to label people who have similar characteristics. There is no definitive way to say that someone “has it”. The question is whether knowing you are autistic is useful.

So, is having the autism label helpful to you? Does it point you towards strategies that might make it easier for you to achieve your personal goals - whether that’s “be happier” or “make money” or whatever?

There isn’t much “help” available in the sense there might be for some conditions. If you have cancer, people will spring into action to help fight the cancer - it might not work, but there is a clear goal. If you are severely depressed, then there’s therapy, medication, safety plans, hospitals, ECT, etc. If you are autistic, there’s quite a bit of support for helping children integrate into educational settings, but much less for adults, and you have to go out of your way to find it.

Try searching the internet for autism support groups for adults in your area. This won’t change your life but it is one way to make friends.

What helped me:
I read autobiographies of folks with ASD (from the library) and was able to relate.
I found in-person and on-line support groups (the latter for U.S. e.g. AANE).

Wishing you find a compass for yourself.

Welcome to WP! I hope you find the conversations here useful.

By the way, if you find a conversation here to be unpleasant you do not have to leave the planet...just leave that conversation.

Regarding you having Asperger's Syndrome: It is unclear to me whether you're saying the folk who told you that you had Asperger's were expressing a casual impression, educated opinion, unofficial diagnosis, or a formal diagnosis. Did they do formal testing?

If they did not do formal testing and did not give a formal diagnosis then I can understand why other professionals wouldn't be too interested—you may have other issues that are more "real".

If they did formal testing and gave you a formal diagnosis then how much help you can from get someone would seem to depend on what that someone does for a living. You would want help from someone who professionally treats autism, not someone who works in a different field. You might be able to find someone who can help here:

National Register of Health Service Psychologists "Find a Psychologist"

Insurance coverage is a separate issue.

Good luck!

I try to work on one problem at a time. (My anxiety is acute and so is my depression when it incapacitates me.) I'm 59 and been sick since 13 and I have nothing left inside of me anymore to fight my problems or try to live a good life.