Diagnosis experience and coping strategies for obsessions

https://www.autism.org.uk/About-autism/All-about-diagnosis/Diagnosis-information-for-adults.aspx

https://www.autism.org.uk/about/diagnosis/adults/after.aspx

...if you are a"30 year old", then you are no longer a "girl"... you are a WOMAN. (We all have to face up to such facts, and that is that!) 

This is what I usually write: Getting an Autism Diagnosis is not easy, and can take a few years to gain (yes -YEARS)... and so if you have the chance, then do go for it. Gaining a diagosis means that you will have access to certain extra services in LAW.

Lol yes I should have said woman.. I am used to talking about "girls" and "boys" when in general social conversation so that is why I said that here :) 

Thanks for sending these links: the info is really vague, there is no detail about what is done in these tests - I am considering going private to not go from pillar to post. As there is so much snake oil out there I want to try to ask about first hand experiences on forums, as well as doing research. 

I will research and ask on Reddit too. Are there any other forums I should check out?  

Good morning. I was diagnosed in middle age by an NHS clinic. I was actually a bit sceptical of the positive diagnosis, as it was based on subjective impressions, most by a psychiatrist. However, just the label explains certain things, and may stop me over-analysing past behaviour. The downside is lack of serious post-diagnostic support; part of the problem for me is that it's hard to explain the problem, and no one really seems to know how to help. On the other hand, there are a few voluntary groups where autistic people help each other.

Every Iced Node said:

ii) What kind of diagnosis tests exist? I have read about the disco test on this site however there is not that much information about it. Is there other types of autism tests which I should also read about? 

Besides DISCO, there is the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (version 2, which I had, and is most recognised among researchers), and the Autism Diagnostic Interview. Not every diagnosis uses such a structured activity. For more detail see NICE clinical guideline 142, section 1.2.8.

You are not expected to prepare for any of these tests, and it's assumed and probably preferable that you don't.

Every Iced Node said:

What are coping strategies for obsessional thoughts?

As you say, at some points they can be an advantage, so you may want to accept your tendency to them. I  wouldn't say this was one of the big problems for me, but suppose a distracting activity can help. Variety, thinking about the bigger picture... For obsession towards a person particularly, maybe recognise what need the obsession fulfils for you, and see if there's an alternative.

Every Iced Node said:

Are there any other forums I should check out?

This is the main UK one I'm aware of. Outside the UK, Wrong Planet is popular for international aspies.

By the way, you may want to change your username from the default NAS3nnnn, and possibly your profile picture too (partly it helps people to know you're not a bot). To do this, click on the round button up the top right of the page, then 'Profile', then 'Edit profile'.

thanks for sharing!! 

I think it was the wake-induced lucid dreaming that did it, but I can't be sure as I started learning the wake-induced kind very soon after learning to use dream control spontaneously whilst asleep. 

I'm almost certain that the creepy malevolent characters were simply a failure at fully suppressing whatever part of my subconscious usually made the nightmares.
 
I am ridiculously prone to nightmares and according to my mum I have been describing them since I learned to talk (and as a small child had a very difficult time distinguishing them from reality- I would often get really upset at her for things 'she' had done in my dreams, also at preschool age I made my dad rearrange my bedroom every month or so IRL because of dreams about an eye that would appear on whatever bit of furniture was closest to my bed and just stare at me. I thought moving the furniture around might confuse it into leaving). 

I have also had hypnogogia from a very early age. With hindsight my sleep/wake cycle has always been blurred at the edges and I deliberately blurred it further, so I'm not surprised it didn't sit well with me. 

Sorry, going off-topic probably...

Emma said:

it did come with some quite nasty side-effects

That does sound pretty spooky. To clarify is the 'it' any lucid dreaming, or this specific 'Wake-induced' dreaming? It sounds like you weren't entirely in control, and maybe the tendency to nightmares was persisting? (I can have dreams of being kidnapped, or chased by killer robots, and so on, but I think of them as exciting dreams rather than nightmares.)

I've mentioned my random 'alpha-wave' thoughts. I suppose this is kind of the opposite of lucid dreaming - I'm awake (sort of, on the edge of sleep), but letting whatever comes to the top. It's usually about someone else, random situations like dealing with a toddler who won't sit where they're put; although sometimes it can be random people from ten years ago.

I'm rather focussed on the real world, but getting some rest. Used to daydream a lot when younger, and have more obsessions. Not any more.

I learned lucid dreaming, mostly as a cure for persistent nightmares but it became my main free-time-filler for a couple of years! XD 

It's incredibly fun and quite addictive (at my worst I would come home from college, straight to bed to dream until dinner, then back again not long after) plus learning WILD let me sleep on demand which is kind of useful, but it did come with some quite nasty side-effects for me which mean I can't really recommend it (probably don't read about them if you're prone to suggestion, either);

Firstly, an invasion of nasty and intrinsically terrifying 'characters' I couldn't control or get rid of for some reason, which first appeared when I was doing multiple dream sessions a day (overdid it, I think).
They behaved like manipulative, malevolent independent beings in their own right- not at all like regular dream characters, plus something was usually slightly 'off' about their faces- almost always it was that the eyes were jet black all over or a swirly rainbow iris, occasionally the mouth was too large or had weird needlelike teeth- and I would identify them and feel instant terror even from a distance. They would appear often enough to introduce a bit of anxiety to the act of lucid dreaming but not constantly. They have, touch wood, stopped showing up now I've not been lucid for several years.

Then not long after the characters appeared I started having VERY frequent and frightening sleep paralysis episodes on awakening, with visual hallucinations and then when I learned to keep my eyes shut audible ones (I never got rid of these, though now I share a bed my partner can usually tell when I'm having an episode and break me out of it so it's better). 

I took a complete break from LD-ing when I was having a very busy and unhappy time in real life, but when I tried to go back to it I had to pretty much immediately give it up when my dream characters started reacting with violence whenever they noticed that I was dreaming and aware of it.  I never fully regained control.

I never felt truly rested when I'd been lucid dreaming, anyway, so maybe my brain was just fed up of not being allowed quality sleep.

I have tried and failed to do meditation for a long time, then I found a popular meditation app, which is helpful. I completed the first meditation on it today. 

I briefly thought about lucid dreaming, as a way to live the obsession and then be able to forget about it in real life; then I thought about how nebulous the process of learning it is and how living the fantasy might actually make the obsession worse and not better 

So as you confirmed, there is not a cut and dried way, it is just the cost to pay for the obsessional gift I guess..

No cut and dried way, no. Some people seem to just know what would satisfy them. Maybe you have some fantasy of what it is you're working towards. I suppose try to work out when the obsessions are more or less intense. We're not always good at knowing ourselves, so could ask friends too.

Many people find meditation helps. I don't do it regularly enough. I suppose 'mindfulness' in general should help us pay attention to bodily sensations and other feelings, and I know some autistic people who say it does help overcome a lack of inner awareness.

The kind of therapies that might be considered are Cognitive Behaviour Therapy and Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy. You may read mixed things about them on this forum. In my experience, trying to 'psychoanalyse' to understand your own motivation simply doesn't work.

No cut and dried way, no. Some people seem to just know what would satisfy them. Maybe you have some fantasy of what it is you're working towards. I suppose try to work out when the obsessions are more or less intense. We're not always good at knowing ourselves, so could ask friends too.

Many people find meditation helps. I don't do it regularly enough. I suppose 'mindfulness' in general should help us pay attention to bodily sensations and other feelings, and I know some autistic people who say it does help overcome a lack of inner awareness.

The kind of therapies that might be considered are Cognitive Behaviour Therapy and Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy. You may read mixed things about them on this forum. In my experience, trying to 'psychoanalyse' to understand your own motivation simply doesn't work.

thanks for sharing!! 

I think it was the wake-induced lucid dreaming that did it, but I can't be sure as I started learning the wake-induced kind very soon after learning to use dream control spontaneously whilst asleep. 

I'm almost certain that the creepy malevolent characters were simply a failure at fully suppressing whatever part of my subconscious usually made the nightmares.
 
I am ridiculously prone to nightmares and according to my mum I have been describing them since I learned to talk (and as a small child had a very difficult time distinguishing them from reality- I would often get really upset at her for things 'she' had done in my dreams, also at preschool age I made my dad rearrange my bedroom every month or so IRL because of dreams about an eye that would appear on whatever bit of furniture was closest to my bed and just stare at me. I thought moving the furniture around might confuse it into leaving). 

I have also had hypnogogia from a very early age. With hindsight my sleep/wake cycle has always been blurred at the edges and I deliberately blurred it further, so I'm not surprised it didn't sit well with me. 

Sorry, going off-topic probably...

Emma said:

it did come with some quite nasty side-effects

That does sound pretty spooky. To clarify is the 'it' any lucid dreaming, or this specific 'Wake-induced' dreaming? It sounds like you weren't entirely in control, and maybe the tendency to nightmares was persisting? (I can have dreams of being kidnapped, or chased by killer robots, and so on, but I think of them as exciting dreams rather than nightmares.)

I've mentioned my random 'alpha-wave' thoughts. I suppose this is kind of the opposite of lucid dreaming - I'm awake (sort of, on the edge of sleep), but letting whatever comes to the top. It's usually about someone else, random situations like dealing with a toddler who won't sit where they're put; although sometimes it can be random people from ten years ago.

I'm rather focussed on the real world, but getting some rest. Used to daydream a lot when younger, and have more obsessions. Not any more.

I learned lucid dreaming, mostly as a cure for persistent nightmares but it became my main free-time-filler for a couple of years! XD 

It's incredibly fun and quite addictive (at my worst I would come home from college, straight to bed to dream until dinner, then back again not long after) plus learning WILD let me sleep on demand which is kind of useful, but it did come with some quite nasty side-effects for me which mean I can't really recommend it (probably don't read about them if you're prone to suggestion, either);

Firstly, an invasion of nasty and intrinsically terrifying 'characters' I couldn't control or get rid of for some reason, which first appeared when I was doing multiple dream sessions a day (overdid it, I think).
They behaved like manipulative, malevolent independent beings in their own right- not at all like regular dream characters, plus something was usually slightly 'off' about their faces- almost always it was that the eyes were jet black all over or a swirly rainbow iris, occasionally the mouth was too large or had weird needlelike teeth- and I would identify them and feel instant terror even from a distance. They would appear often enough to introduce a bit of anxiety to the act of lucid dreaming but not constantly. They have, touch wood, stopped showing up now I've not been lucid for several years.

Then not long after the characters appeared I started having VERY frequent and frightening sleep paralysis episodes on awakening, with visual hallucinations and then when I learned to keep my eyes shut audible ones (I never got rid of these, though now I share a bed my partner can usually tell when I'm having an episode and break me out of it so it's better). 

I took a complete break from LD-ing when I was having a very busy and unhappy time in real life, but when I tried to go back to it I had to pretty much immediately give it up when my dream characters started reacting with violence whenever they noticed that I was dreaming and aware of it.  I never fully regained control.

I never felt truly rested when I'd been lucid dreaming, anyway, so maybe my brain was just fed up of not being allowed quality sleep.

I have tried and failed to do meditation for a long time, then I found a popular meditation app, which is helpful. I completed the first meditation on it today. 

I briefly thought about lucid dreaming, as a way to live the obsession and then be able to forget about it in real life; then I thought about how nebulous the process of learning it is and how living the fantasy might actually make the obsession worse and not better 

So as you confirmed, there is not a cut and dried way, it is just the cost to pay for the obsessional gift I guess..