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Autistic? work and depression

Origin

Hi, 

I am 27,in the UK, currently on the waiting list for an assessment after having an ASD screening from an NHS physiatrist, I don't know how long the wait is going to be but for now I am struggling bad with  my mental health and this has now resulted in my contract at work being terminated because I have had to take so much time off due to this. I really struggle with socialising and emotions and sleep, which leads to a difficult work life, being exhausted and burnt out constantly. Now I have no job and am not in the right place mentally to look for a new one or hold onto one at the moment. I have tried to reach out to many services for support and have yet to receive any, most professionals are brushing me off and telling me to learn to live with it. 

Does anyone have any ideas of some decent support networks, people to contact, services, resources, etc?

Also how do you survive without a job, can you get DLA, UC, PIP?

still waiting for assessment/diagnosis 

Any help would be appreciated.

Thank you 

  • ah your on a waiting list, that will take about 8 years or so lol

    i survived without a job by living with my parents and never functioned or did anything until i was like 31, i only moved out when i got a job in my 30s... by the sounds of it you had a job already early, this will go against you in assessments and in whether you qualify for pip, and theres no way in hell that id be allowed pip myself due to having a job and my own place and now function... despite having not functioned all the way to my 30s and youd think that would qualify me for backdated pip all from age 16 to 31 then but its just not how the system works. infact im still on a diagnosis waiting list that i was on before i got a job and before i functioned around the time i started looking for help and i likely now wont pass the diagnosis for autism due to having now got a job and a flat and showing i now function despite having not functioned most of my life.... that is just how it is.

  • in reply to TheCatWoman

    They are totaly self important and fake. I cannot stand them!

  • in reply to TheCatWoman

    I do find since diagnosis I've talked to people about my condition and often find the answer to me saying what I feel or experience is "just stop doing it" or "well just ignore that and don't focus on it" , like I'm doing it by choice!

    So hard to get people to understand what goes on in our heads!

  • in reply to Autisician

    I did find a group who are there to allegedly there to help adults with ASD including getting diagnosed. Unfortunately the experience was entirely negative and felt like the result of a brain storming session from well meaning NT deciding what people like me want and need. Funny how they never ask us isn't it?

  • in reply to NAS92608

    I've just been diagnosed late in life, I feel far more autistic since, but from other threads on here I hear that's fairly normal, the focus on the condition makes it worse, so once things settle it should improve.

    Eventually it won't feel like a daily battle without any meaningful goals, what you feel now isn't forever. 

    My view is that we are looking ahead to a future we don't yet understand, so that's where the anxiety comes from. Once we figure things out and find a new normal, that future won't look so bleak. In the meantime try and bring the focus closer in to now, you can sort tomorrow when it gets here, you don't need to have all the answers for it today.

    I know all these things are easier said than done and I'm terrible for not taking advice, but I hope it helps,

    Take care, I hope it all goes ok!

    Edit.. there are some free guided online  CBT courses you can get from NHS, self referral, think it used to be called "IATP", Google should find it.

  • in reply to NAS92608

    I really can't get over the hump of being AWARE that my whole life, is going to be grifting through and nothing meaningful milestone wise, and feeling like I'm severely missing out..I'm just struggling mentally with all of that right now. 

  • Hello, I'm new here and so grateful I came across this as I was originally searching for a chat room, so if one exists I would really like to participate. I can relate to everything that is being said, and yes, the diagnosis was very liberating for me as well in the first year, and now I'm going through a heavy depression, and being misdiagnosed with so many other things because it's been months of the depression, and I'm afraid it won't get better the more I try and say maybe a magic pill will make me less autistic. My dilemma is I want to experience everything non autistics experience, and I want to be happy, not behind my peers and still feeling like a child..in my 30s...if anybody else feels this way it would he helpful to put my mind at ease just for tonight.

  • Hi Origin,

    Very sorry to hear that you're having a difficult time at the moment. If you need to access benefits while you're not able to work, I would recommend contacting Citizens Advice who can usually help with this - https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/benefits/ - either in person or online. You can also see how to claim benefits on the official government page here - https://www.gov.uk/browse/benefits

    You might also want to have a look at the Autism Services Directory here on the NAS site - https://www.autism.org.uk/autism-services-directory - which lists various types of support services local to you if you search by your location or postcode.

    Hope this is of some help,
    Ross - mod