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It's been suggested I have ASD - advice!

paper-wings
over 3 years ago

Hello! It’s recently been suggested by my (fairly new) psychiatrist that I may have ASD. I’m currently 28 and been in mental health services for about 14 years with various diagnoses of anxiety, bipolar, schizoaffective disorder and borderline personality disorder - although I’m currently diagnosed with bipolar and anxiety. I currently work full time as a Social Worker and I am currently training to be an Approved Mental Health Professional. The suggestion of ASD has thrown me somewhat and my wife and family are not convinced I have it. I’m obviously not looking for a diagnosis on here, but I wonder if anyone who has been diagnosed could relate to the following?

  • I experience a lot of anxiety around some social situations - particularly groups where I do not have a pre defined role (for example I am usually okay if I am giving a presentation and know what I am going to say however if I am at a party where I don’t know many people I struggle)
  • I really worry about what others will think of me and that they will judge me negatively which causes me to plan social interactions in advance and try to do anything to make people like me. If my plan cannot go ahead then I feel quite distressed and worried.
  • People have said that I can come across as quite rude at times, despite me making loads of effort to come across as nice and friendly - some people have said they are shocked because I seem very friendly and genuine, but then can appear nasty and blunt. Although I can’t say I mean to do this.
  • I find social interaction exhausting. Often after a week of work I need the whole weekend to recharge and do no social interaction - which I know my wife finds difficult as I often just want to sit at home alone doing my own thing. 
  • Whilst I do have friends, I have always felt awkward and different. I don’t know how to make friends, I feel I just fall into friendships. I can vary from not knowing what to say, even to my close friends, to being the complete life of the party (however that is usually fuelled by a lot of alcohol and in the past, drugs)
  • Whilst I like my job and certain elements are very enjoyable, I find the unpredictable nature exhausting and generally very stressful. When I get to follow protocols exactly, or follow the law I find it helpful however when it is more ambiguous or when things change quickly and there are no rules to follow, I can find it more difficult. 
  • My wife has commented that I can be unpredictable at times of when I liked to be touched eg I can find hugs overwhelming at times and will shout and push her away. I’m not sure why it just feels way too much, but it doesn’t happen all the time. I also find when there a lot of different sounds (eg in a supermarket) I get overwhelmed and my psychiatrist thinks this is significant. 
  • I don’t think I have any intense interests, however I have a certain number of topics that I find calming eg I like planes and boats and looking at pictures or videos of them is relaxing. I can spend a lot of time reading about planes or boats online especially before bed as this helps me relax 
  • I have a very rich imagination and I find it relaxing to plan this out - for example I’m currently working on designing a hospital but more focused on the policies/procedures and how it would run. I’ve also drafted up various laws for a fictional country and I find it relaxing to work on these. At times I can find it hard to concentrate on real life and my work or studies due to this
  • I used to self harm regularly, however stopped about  4 years ago after having therapy which helped me learn ways to cope other than self harming. This would often be after really stressful events or when I was feeling very overwhelmed i.e. someone is 5 minutes late to call me back when they said they would. My doctor feels that this could be significant too.

If anyone who is diagnosed feels that they can relate to the above, I would be interested to hear... Like I said, I am not looking for some online diagnosis, but just a sense if my experiences are typical of someone with ASD, or not... Thanks!

  • over 3 years ago
    paper-wings said:
    I currently work full time as a Social Worker and I am currently training to be an Approved Mental Health Professional.

    Hi there,

    I'm a social worker (adult social care) too but currently undiagnosed. I have struggled a lifetime with anxiety and only recently have I considered I may be autistic. 

    I have my initial assessment on the 15th March and hopefully I'll have a better indication of whether I may or may not be autistic after that. I experience the same difficulties that you have mentioned in terms of functioning fine with predictable scenarios (except I hate speaking in front of a group so no presentations thanks!) but finding too much unpredictability unbearable and it makes me rapidly burn out. This isn't just in social work but every facet of my life. People keep saying "but you have a stressful job" to dismiss my thoughts about being autistic, but in many ways I function better in my job with my "work head" on than in my normal day to day life. 

  • over 3 years ago

    Hi there. I have pretty much exactly the same experiences as you and I have autism. I have bipolar and anxiety too. My bipolar has initially been a bigger problem for me, but now it is more stable, I am starting to focus on how I can function better with the autism side of my diagnosis.

    I'm not that chatty at the moment because I'm running on the low side, but welcome to the forum and I hope you find what you are searching for. I know I feel better knowing I can come here and have a break from trying to mask everywhere.

  • over 3 years ago

    Hello, welcome!

    I was diagnosed with ASD Thursday just gone

    I have bipolar, so can relate with one of your mental health diagnoses  Slight smile - although, sadly, as far as I know, it doesn't tend to be misdiagnosed in place of autism, whereas borderline personality disorder can. My psychiatrist told me he suspected I had autism too, and that's how I was first referred for diagnosis (although, difference between me and you is that I had suspected I was an aspie some years before)

    I can relate to the self-harm, rich imagination, unintentionally coming across as rude, feeling awkward and different, and having anxiety around unstructured social situations

    My family thought I was 100% 'normal' too, but if your psychiatrist thinks you have it, you probably do have it