Can undiagnoised Asperger Syndrome lead to mental health issues?

I think Diagnosed or Undiagnosed Asperger Syndrome can be a cause of mental illness.

Firstly as the NAS say many Autistic become mentally ill because of lack of support not directly because of Autism.

Secondly some Autisitc people have a mental illness because of a Co-Existing condition.

David

 Mirror, mirror on the wall,,, it is like reading about yourself,,, same pattern... breakdown,, diagnosis...,depression, anxiety, ocd, phobia....,, medication that did not work, only made me stotic.... and finally psychologist,,, Aspergers.. D'oh. a 4 year road journey,, surrounded by professionals who missed the obvious, I asked them why did you not find this out before,, they say it was the residual diagnosis because I did not respond to medication..... so one day I am classified as mental health patient, next day mild autism(learning and development disability). I am glad The downside is that because I have aspergers,,  I find it hard to communicate my pain, so therefore my condition has went unnoticed. 

Anyway it is not mental health problem, it is an environment condition with which brings on cognitive difficults,, until a road of comfort is learned.

I am trying to get the right support in place,, this is hard, not because I can't get support,, it is the correct one on one support which I need, for trust and someone who really understands the condition, how small things have big implications on me.

I've had problems through life due to undiagnosed AS with depression, and more indirectly, with weight loss, though clinically not an eating disorder.

One advantage of a diagnoses of Asperger Syndrome is that Asperger Syndrome cannot be helped with medication but the Co-Existing Conditions can be.

People with Asperger Syndrome need support in a stressful situation not medication.

That is if the problems are caused by Asperger Syndrome.

They should be given support in new situations.

David.

Hi, I really empathise with your situation with your partner, I have had anxiety and depression for many years now (I'm 36) and had a breakdown in 2004.  I have recently been told I may have Aspergers by my psychologist....it has really explained so much about the stuggles I have been having all through my life, and some of these  are because of the Aspergers and have resulted in the mental health problems. There are other issues in my life that have contributed aswell, so I can't say it's all the Aspergers but a good deal of it is.

From my experience of the mental health services, I can give you a bit of advice....if you can, really keep pestering the mental health team, it really is true that those who shout loudest get more help.  You might feel that you are being a pain in the neck to them but it's the only way that they will listen! I'm lucky that I have the help I need now and some of that has been as a result of pestering!

My parents, as 'carers' have found it all very difficult, but they have always been there for me....at my lowest, I felt like I didn't want them there...but I can see now that I couldn't have got through that period without their support.....I guess what I'm trying to say is, keep going and fight for the help you both deserve....I understand that it's really tough for you aswell...if you were able to get the help for him, it would take a lot of pressure off you....look after yourself too!

I don't know if that's any help, and I've kind of diverted off the subject a bit, but yes, I really believe some of my mental health problems are a result of undiagnosed Aspergers.

I agree with KaloJaro about receiving an early diagnosis: the earlier the better.

I did not not receive a diagnosis until June 2011, well into my 40s.  My diagnosis came about because I was seeing a vocational adviser about my depression and she found thinking about me as having Asperger's helped her understand me; through her, I was put in contact with a local Autistic Trust and that led, eventually, to my diagnosis.

Following my diagnosis, I read the NAS Asperger web pages and tears ran down my cheeks as I realised there were the explanations (at least, some of the explanations) as to why I have behaved (and continue to behave) in certain ways.

The counsellor, doctors, etc. I have seen about my depression believe I have always suffered with it; in December 2011, I spent three weeks in a mental health ward and am now on the waiting list for psychotherapy.

When you consider that I have had to deal with school, socialising, work, etc. undiagnosed, depression is not surprising.  A diagnosis does not mean the end of depression but it is a step forward.

My diagnosis has meant that I can at last start to do what is natural to me without having an internal argument about whether it is "right" then trying (and failing) to behave in a neurotypical way.

These links may help re your request for proof of undiagnosed Asperger's resulting in depression:
http://aspergerfoundation.org.uk/faq.htm#12
https://duckduckgo.com/?q=asperger+syndrome+and+depression
http://autism.about.com/od/aspergerssyndrome/a/moodsasperger.htm
http://www.sweetsearch.com/search.html?q=asperger+syndrome+and+depression

Thanks, I'm gonna need all the luck I can get ^^

I think I've got a post floating around here somewhere asking people with positive stories about Uni to let me know how it went, I think it'll also be interesting to see what others have studied as well as how much they enjoyed uni.

I remember my mum was confused when I said I wanted to do an animation degree which involves working with people, and even more surprised when I said I wouldn't mind living alone on campus for a bit. xD

If it is unddiagnosed it could lead to mental health issues as you do not get the  help you need and the people round you might go mad if they do not understand you.

Above is only part of the story.

Autism can lead to mental health issues as many people with Autism have Co-Exisitng conditions but having said that it is important for Autistic people to have the right support.

Am able to log in as I am in the libriary but do not appear able to log in from my home computer.

David

Thank you.

On a more personal level my partner has been told he has severe depression however not given any medication, but as a child he got dianoised with ADHD. He's a heavy drinker and really struggles with emotions. We were both in the army together but since leaving his behaviour has been getting worse and it's heartbreaking to watch.

I recently found out we are expecting our first child (a boy) and thats the only reason I'm pushing for him to get dianoised but the process through the doctors are so slow, they have put him in touch with a psycharitric nurse who has basically taken over a month to get back to him and said theres not alot she can do. My poor partners mood is up and down like a yo'yo and he just cant seem to switch off. He burns himself out with constantly working with only having a few hours sleep if any a night. I really dont know what else i can do for him apart from reseach as much as I can. I'm hoping to study autism in more depth once baby is born. 

thank you your post helped me massivly x

Ive written in my project about autism being portrayed as negitive but after watching Louis Theroux Extreme love documentary it makes you see that its not negitive at all. If you look into history some of the most famous and powerful people of all time had Asperger Syndrome. 

Massive goodluck for uni btw and thanks again x

I  am really annoyed that I was not diagnosed as a child and did not get the support I needed. Maybe I would not have developed OCD?? This is hard to know, however, as I am convinced my OCD is a neurological condition, linked to my aspergers in its origin. But this being so, surely if I was diagnosed as a child, measures could have been put in place to help me overcome OCD symptoms before they became disabling.

Hiya, I have Aspergers Syndrome and I went undiagnosed until last year (I'm now 18).

I grew increadibly depressed throughout puberty and my ocd tendancies went into overdrive, one occassion I was up all night crying trying to complete a terms worth of maths accelerated homework. I also became even more withdrawn and isolated until a teacher speculated that I should be tested for OCD. At the CAHMs interview, the psychologist discovered I exhibited all of the classic symptoms for autism and had me tested.

Since my diagnosis, I've finally accepted that having help from school isn't a sign of weakness, and I've learned that if something goes wrong, its not neccesarily my fault, so I've felt less guilty about things in general. I've become more sociable and can deviate from my routines a little now as opposed to dissolving into panic and chaos the second I forget one thing.

Now that I've had support for Aspergers, I'm actually looking forward to going uni, and I've generally become a happier and more confident person. Don't get me wrong, I'm still upset that my head of SEN at primary didn't notice my symptoms, as from all the stories I've heard from mum its so obvious I'm autistic its disappointing (hated change, played alone, was too 'grown up' for other kids, more intelligent in my subjects but hopeless at keeping more than one friend).

If the people trained to recognise autism or learning difficulties can't recognise the symptoms, what chance has the general public got?

Another thing I've noticed in all my research, everythings about the bad side of autism. 'They can't adapt well, they need routines, can become violent when upset etc etc.' ....it makes us sound like a burden, like we're charity cases.

All the people who sat next to me in lessons at school went up at least two grades to A's or B's because I was able to explain complex equations or definitions in simple memorable terms, my friends rely on me as their 'alarm clock' at school because I'm always dead on time and when I promise to do something, I do it.

And my little cousin who's further down the spectrum, he's the most loving kind person I know. A little clingy but everything he does is with others best interests at heart. He will run off mid conversation to go and get a teddy for one of his cousins if they get upset at a family gathering, he's always smiling and is amazing at maths.

Sorry for the immense rant xD

Summary: Yes, I do believe being diagnosed early is better, because at least that way you know you're not just a 'freak', and that if you need support you'll get it. However, there isn't enough awareness of autism in general, and whats worse, its never portrayed as a positive thing for the community, more 'they do well in this subject'. We're not all social rejects all the time, merely when we feel like it. :)