Possibility of a mental problem/illness and Aspergers

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Hey I just want to get opinions from other Aspies.
I have been seeing a psychiatrist for at least 7 years now with on and off depression and anxiety. They don't really believe anything I say or just have a certain perception that I am just looking for things to be wrong with me. I go between believing them, to not believing them but doubting myself to thinking I need to change doctors. I am seeing a therapist now who has said to me that I need to go see them as soon as possible. I have been fighting the same battle of depression, hopelessness, suicidal thoughts, wanting to die, lack of ability to function normally. Despite this I am in college as it is the only thing keeping me going but I am always struggling. I am not quite sure yet but I think my thoughts may be delusions. I find them very hard to control, in fact I can't control them. Mood and behavior wise I seem to do well for a while and then bang- it hits me again and I have to go through the same battle. I also get lost in these scenarios that are being played out in my head that are based on some bit of reality but essentially are not real events. Please believe me when I say that I have been trying so hard to just get on with life. I am really getting tired of it.
Anyway she is saying that it looks to her that there might be a chemical problem and to be really honest with them and tell them exactly what I was saying to her.Hopefully I can do that. I am afraid because based on past experience I just know they are not going to believe me when I tell them these things. I do have stability in my life with regards to environmental factors but I am still struggling with these thoughts and battles and that is the main reason why she thinks I may not be able to just get on with life.
I was just diagnosed with Aspergers over the summer after persisting to the doctor that I should get tested because I was sick of their half assed attitude and I had researched it and done the tests and all signs were pointing towards it. It is pretty mild in some cases but it can be a real pain a lot of the time too. I am slowly learning about how it affects me exactly. What I was wondering and would like the opinion of Aspies with other illnesses as well is, how do I know what is a symptom of Aspergers and what is a symptom of a mental problem?, because the likes of anxiety which I get can overlap. How can I be more sure myself if I may have a mental problem? How do people here who live with both view life and manage? What has been your experiences with psychiatrists?

I've been diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome. I've also been diagnosed with depression and anxiety. I also believe I have Avoidant Personality Disorder (AvPD) based on the battery of tests I've given myself.

It's hard for me to know when Asperger's ends and a comorbid begins.

For instance, I only go out to places I need to, like a doctor's appointment or the pharmacy. It's rare when I go to a restaurant. I tend to avoid people. I'm depressed all the time and my self esteem is low.

I have no friends and have no family members near me. I can't tell if my isolation is aspie related or depression related or AvPD related.

I do take Risperdal but I don't know how it's working. My first therapy session will be held next week.

My experience with psychiatrists is they don't seem to know me as well as they should. After talking to me I believe they are still in the dark as to what makes me tick. Maybe I'm too complicated, I don't know.

Ye I am a complicated individual too. I havn't actually been told a diagnosis they were just giving me medication. I just don't know what to do anymore. I really don't. I've had countless counselors and I still find myself really struggling to function. I just want to be done with this s**t. My head is constantly in a negative spin that I can't get out of.

Hi Maia,

I have bipolar disorder, but not aspergers. I have had it for six years so there is a lot I could tell you about it, so don't hesitate to ask.

For me, bipolar is a mental illness or disorder because my brain behaves in ways that influence me to behave out of character, and to have mental experiences which are painful, or they are grandiose, for no real reason.

I have been to hospital three times, and had to take psychiatric medication. Psychology of various types has been helpful too. I have tried to educate myself as much as possible about bipolar disorder and similar mental illnesses.

It helps to have a good understanding of bipolar, because when symptoms arise, I know it's the illness, and I know what to do.

Thanks for your reply. I don't know what way my brain behaves- all I know is I get sideswiped by the thoughts and feelings. I get lost in hopelessness.
How did it arise with you as in symptom wise, was it gradual? I don't think it's bipolar but the longer I struggle the more I think that it's something more than just low self esteem. I do know that I get reactionary depression but as I said I have stability in my environment and am still struggling. It's impacting on my college work as well and college is one of two things that are keeping me going.
I'm very nervous about going back to the psychiatrist. I always feel like I shouldn't be feeling the way I do when I am with them, that I am making things up or being dramatic.
The only questions they ask is how has my mood been, how have I been sleeping and eating. I first went to them when I was 16 and they had a certain perception of me and havn't changed since then. It's been 7 years and it's getting harder and harder to fight.

I am grab bag of mental health diagnoses. I was first diagnosed with depression (self-diagnosed) and treated for it off and on again since my early teens. Then I developed addictions to nicotine, marijuana, and alcohol. I have some sex problems due to early childhood abuse. I was diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder recently. I self-diagnosed with AS as soon as I read what the symptoms were. I got my self-diagnosis confirmed a couple of years ago. Oh yeah, and I have also been diagnosed with borderline personality disorder.

If you have more than one diagnosis, it can be overwhelming. It has taken me several years to get to the core issues. I am glad that I have a good psychotherapist to work with, someone who is experienced in treating the problems I have. Every diagnosis is a distinct problem with a specific solution. Sometimes the same thing can work on multiple problems, but you have to deal with each issue independently. Otherwise it is overwhelming. I'm no expert on AS and co-occurring disorders. I am just speaking from my personal experience dealing with multiple mental health problems for several years.

My opinion of psychiatrists is that they don't know what they are talking about. All they do is push pills. If your psychiatrist doesn't listen to you, find another one.

I have a psychiatrist, and I take what he says with a grain of salt. If the medicine works, I take if. If don't like the side effects, I inform him and stop taking it. I have a good psychiatrist now, but I don't see him as a therapist. He is a pill pusher. He prescribes pills for certain symptoms. That's it. He lowers or ups the dose or changes the prescription based on your feedback. He doesn't go into why you are having the symptoms. That is what a therapist does. A psychiatrist only notes the symptoms and prescribes medication. That is their role in the mental health system. Many of them are very arrogant and view mental ill people like children. They have no empathy. This is my personal experience as a client and as a mental health worker working alongside psychiatrists.

There are a load of possible things it could be from a personality disorder to generalized anxiety or a more serious form of depression than what they see. I did some self tests just to give me an indication of where to go from here because I am losing hope. It's not just the doctors but the nurses too who have the attitude that I am attention seeking but I can safely say that it's not. If it came across that way it's because I was only a teenager and was trying to find the best way of coping without knowing the problem.
When I brought up Aspergers with the doctor he said it's just another way of saying someone was a geek because they are so into their interest and that it's nothing more.
I have no official diagnosis at the moment.The only way they are going to even consider something else is if I brought it up but again that looks like I am fishing for a problem. Should I be looking for a diagnosis? I suppose if it helps me to get to the core issues. I am considering going to a different psychiatrist if they would let me which they probably won't.

The bipolar was gradual. I had a few episodes of depression in childhood and adolescence. I would get teary on a regular basis. Then about eight years or so the depressions got worse, I started getting phantom body aches and pains, anxiety, difficulty concentrating, and small mood fluctuations. After a couple of years of this, I had a kind of peak experience which was very similar to bipolar mania with psychosis. I was having trouble doing my job, and I quit it. Over the next couple of years I lost friends and every job I tried to work at and eventually I went to the doctor for a psychiatrist referral. He wouldn't refer me to the psychiatrist, until at least I had tried an SSRI. I should have got another doctor but I just went along with it, and after two weeks of taking these I was in hospital with psychosis, I think it was manic psychosis, but just diagnosed psychosis not otherwise specified. After a couple of years I had recovered from this and gone back to work but I still struggled with a couple of things. I toned down the work a lot and started to feel happy so I went off my meds and then had a manic episode which was diagnosed in hospital as bipolar 1 disorder. I went on lithium, recovered, got married, went overseas with hubby and then a couple of years later got manic again, this time on return home from a long flight. That was at the beginning of last year and I am just returning to ok. The extra meds they put me on make me very sedated so hopefully the pdoc will reduce them soon.

I guess if you are not comfortable with your psychiatrists see if you can find a new one. If you can't get a new one, see if you can improve communication with them. Before your visit make a diary of your moods, sleep patterns and how you are feeling each day. Write down anything relevant, such as medications or even sex drive. The sex drive is an important biological marker of moods; you don't have to give details, just 'high' or 'low'. Sleep is also a biological marker. Ask a loved one what your mood has been like if possible and write down their answer. As well as doing all of this you can write a list of key points or issues before you go to see the doctor, that you really want to discuss with him. He or she may or may not look at this paperwork but it helps you to become ready in your mind for the session.

I've the same opinion.
I got miss-dx selveral times in a very short period of time (at this time I transitioned from female to male at that time and one psychiatric clinic didn't wanted to accept that or whatever, but now I've had surgery, name change and so on). Since this time I don't really care anymore what psychiatrists tell me what I'm supposed to have. I've my own theories. It was a personal choice not to care anymore, maybe also frustration with the psychiatric system. I can't take psychiatrists serious who think they can tell me how my brain works within 5 minutes, noone can do that and no dx within such a short time should be considered as valid. Strangly enough my dx changed now being male. As "female" I was HFA and depressive, in between the genders I was everything from propably BPD to delusional and after I transitioned, now as male, I'm "just" depressive and ADD. Sorry, but I can't take that serious.