Published on 12, July, 2020
The amazing expert at my PIP assessment stated that as I was diagnosed at 46, I can't be that bad because I held jobs, had a mortgage, etc, and the condition doesn't change or get worse. I have had the same conversation with my partner recently about this, and am interested in opinions.
The way I described it to her was - when you are younger, you can party all night & work all day - for me there was no partying because I was up a 4am so I could be focused by 9am, then shutdown when I got home. However, as you age, the partying gets harder to do, and recovering from one eventually takes a day or two! So, for me, rather than the condition getting worse, it's the affects of it that are harder to deal with and recover from.
What are other peoples experiences with this? I can't find much about it online!
I don't think it gets worse but I think there are periods when it is harder to deal with. I see it more like a rollercoaster than something that gradually gets better or worse.
There are some parts of me that are massively improved. I still get upset, angry and frustrated easily but I can deal with this much better than as a child and don't just explode anymore.
Other things I find harder to deal with like social interaction. I was never good at this but as a child I wasn't aware quite how bad I was at it. Now I've failed so many times I just try to avoid people I don't know altogether.
My anxiety has certainly got worse as I've got older and I think this is a combination of more pressure from life (e.g.job to hold down and bills to pay) and more awareness of my difficulties.
I can deal much better with things when I don't feel stressed. If there is something on my mind other things tend to fall apart. So it is very up and down as to how well I cope.