Awaiting aspergers assessment and struggling with anxiety and depression

Hi everyone, I have been waiting for an assessment to see if I have aspergers and it's dragging on a bit. C.L.A.S.S. Who are dealing with it are undermanned and only agreed to see me, as I confessed to my GP that I was having suicidal thoughts. It could take up to two years to be seen!

All of this, coupled with being a keyworker in the pandemic and with no real support network (my Wife doesn't care and have no Dad or Mum, grandparents or close family) my anxiety and depression has skyrocketed.

I'm 42 this year and have known I have been 'different' for a long time. I can't cope anymore. I'm angry all the time. I snap at my 3 year old and Wife all the and can't cope with day to day things. I wake up in tears and with heartburn. I'm addicted to OTC and drink. Is there anything that helps with this if you're on the spectrum? Anti depressants don't help - I've tried them all!

Many thanks in advance Wink

Parents
  • To be fair, my GP surgery has been worse than useless. Their responses have ranged from 'Don't worry, things will get better' to 'So, do you want more meds?' And on the last visit, I was given a link to the doc's Mindfulness blog (even though he'd never heard of Jon Kabat Zinn) and sent on my way. Oh, this was after he 'assessed' me and said that I'm not on the spectrum - even though he seemed like he was!

    I've also been given links to NHS websites that seem to be very 'hack of all trades' and fobbed off.

    What are grounding techniques? I've tried Mindfulness, but it's so hard to switch off......

  • I'm sorry you've had this experience. My GP was really unhelpful too - he didn't take my autism or my mental health seriously (I don't think he believed me when I said I think I'm autistic). Your GP's unqualified to 'assess' you anyway, so it was really wrong of him to send you away without a proper referral. 

    Are you on the assessment waiting list now? I got my autism referral and mental health support by self-referring to my local NHS mental health service. It was the mental health assessor who took me seriously and got me on the autism assessment waiting list, along with helping me access therapy. He was incredibly helpful.

Reply
  • I'm sorry you've had this experience. My GP was really unhelpful too - he didn't take my autism or my mental health seriously (I don't think he believed me when I said I think I'm autistic). Your GP's unqualified to 'assess' you anyway, so it was really wrong of him to send you away without a proper referral. 

    Are you on the assessment waiting list now? I got my autism referral and mental health support by self-referring to my local NHS mental health service. It was the mental health assessor who took me seriously and got me on the autism assessment waiting list, along with helping me access therapy. He was incredibly helpful.

Children
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