Did you start having anxiety later in your life?

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16 May 2008, 11:40 pm

I didn't start having anxiety till I was about 12. That was when I got diagnosed with it along with my AS I believe.
Before, I wouldn't get anxiety over changes or not getting my way, I only got upset. I didn't get anxiety over noise, instead I just covered my ears and said everything was too loud. I didn't get anxiety when my mother got rid of my dresser and wardrobe when I was nearly six because they were "too small." I didn't even get anxiety when new routes be taken, instead I only got upset. There was no panic or nothing. I don't even remember feeling anything inside of me before 12, instead I just didn't like the changes and wanted everything back to normal and I would also not do very well with changes because everything would feel uncomfortable. It beens in my school report cards about how well I behave and follow instructions. I've seen that I don't do well with changes I've read. I don't remember if it was one of the comments on my report card or on a letter written by one of my teachers or IEP.


I can remember reading about Temple Grandin getting anxiety about that age too too and didn't do something about it till she was 33 because it was out of control but hers seemed worse than mine and hers were different too than mine.



Thomas1138
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17 May 2008, 12:43 am

It doesn't sound like your anxiety wasn't present, just not as pronounced.

In some ways it's not too surprising. A teenager will regularly blow their lids over things that they did without question back when they were 8 and obediance was simply expected. An adult may be even worse since they have, more or less, autonomous control over their routines except in certain situatiosns (like school or work). A sudden loss of control is then magnified into a mini (or major) crisis.

Of course, I don't know you and could be wrong. But I wouldn't be surprised if it isn't an increase in anxiety so much as a decrease in your motives for handling that anxiety on a constant basis.



Pithlet
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17 May 2008, 12:47 am

I never handled stress well as a younger child, but I didn't start getting chronic anxiety until I was about 9. There were some external reasons for that, but for some reason alot of other possibilities kept running through my head. I would literally worry myself sick sometimes. No one saw it, though. I was very adept at concealing most of my distress, except until it inevitably turned into one of my rare tantrums.



17 May 2008, 12:51 am

Okay I may have had anxiety when I was younger than 12 because I would be crying and yelling at everyone but it wasn't as bad then.
Now my anxiety is less again now that I am an adult and out of school. But it came back when I had my first relationship and came back again with my second one and back again with my current but it wasn't as bad simply because he understood me and liked the way I am because it was part of being me and he didn't interfere with my routines or put pressure on me.



Xelebes
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17 May 2008, 12:53 am

Anxiety has always plagued me.



Thomas1138
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17 May 2008, 1:00 am

Quote:
Now my anxiety is less again now that I am an adult and out of school. But it came back when I had my first relationship and came back again with my second one and back again with my current but it wasn't as bad simply because he understood me and liked the way I am because it was part of being me and he didn't interfere with my routines or put pressure on me.


Yeah, that works pretty well with my loss of autonomy theory. As a single adult you didn't have to worry about anyone but yourself. The anxiety didn't go away because you became an adult. It just never manifested because you controlled your own triggers.

When you start relationships and your partner naturally expects you to give and take: Boom!



Josie
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17 May 2008, 1:03 am

My anxiety has gotten worse in my twenties.



FireBird
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17 May 2008, 1:06 am

I have had anxiety for most of my life.



kaytie
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17 May 2008, 1:12 am

i have always been anxious.
i remember dreading going to school in the mornings, i'd throw up or wouldn't stop having to go to the bathroom.
it got worse every year.



Josie
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17 May 2008, 1:14 am

kaytie wrote:
i have always been anxious.
i remember dreading going to school in the mornings, i'd throw up or wouldn't stop having to go to the bathroom.
it got worse every year.


That is totally me.



Thomas1138
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17 May 2008, 1:17 am

Me too (except the bathroom and throwing up part). Except my anxiety came from knowing that I'd be beaten and humiliated at school.

I think that actually qualifies as rational.



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17 May 2008, 6:55 am

I've always been an anxious person, but since I've gotten older i've become more anxious.
I wasn't anxious about going to school until I was 11. I developed a severe case of anxiety when I was 13, which made me drop out of school at 14.
Ever since then I have had some struggles with anxiety and over the past year have started having anxiety attacks, although thankfully not very often.


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Danielismyname
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17 May 2008, 7:23 am

The general trend as of here.

I was born anxious, and as life throws things at you [or you it], the anxiety builds. A few years ago I was in a constant state of panic which required hospitalization; this set off the search for the cause of my anxiety, and discovery of the ASD.

It's very common for undiagnosed adults with an ASD to present similar to me in a professional setting due to anxiety (AS or "mild" forms of Autism that is).



17 May 2008, 9:26 am

I used to get literally sick sometimes in my teens when unexpected things would happen. Now I don't get that way anymore. I haven't had it in my adulthood so I assume it's gone. I just get anxious or feel stress. And other times I feel nothing because I've learned to deal with unexpected things.



IdahoRose
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17 May 2008, 11:04 am

I've had anxiety since I was, like, 6 or 7. @_@



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17 May 2008, 11:23 am

I didn't get social anxiety till I was about 12. And it kept getting worse and worse until I started on Celexa at 19. :)