If you have a diagnosis for more than one health condition/disability/learning disabilities.. How do they interact and how do you manage?

My diagnosed conditions are DCD, & depression with anxiety.

Currently got a sore back and I've been really busy. My DCD is rampant because of how the pain takes up the brain space needed for motor control. I know this because of my intention tremor being visible and constant. If I'm well it's only before a substantial effort in movement 

My beloved was upfront enough to ask if we needed to make a few adjustments in our kitchen routines to deal with the increased risk of injury when I'm in this kind of state. 

a) it's amazing to have someone notice

b) I'm so pleased he's feeling he can ask - because of his experiences of domestic violence he's often struggling to bring up potentially emotional topics...and I can get upset when I can't do "normal" things

I have autism, fibromyalgia, anorexia and osteoporosis...and I'm only 27. It's difficult some days to get up any enthusiasm, but I manage by taking one step at a time and trying to live within my own limits, rather than comparing myself to what 'normal' people my age can do. It helps to have a general plan too...get into a medication/eating/day routine. Forums where you can talk to people who have the same issues can help at times. It's all about living the best life YOU can. Work on what you can do, rather than dwelling on what you can't.

I have, high functioning autism, Post traumatic stress disorder and dyslexia..

I just barely manage, I feel like a burden to other, defiantly more so on my husband :( I dont know how to pay bills and manage the financial side.  but i do feel luck that i am not homeless.  i work as a cleaner 3/4 days a week, and I do get help benefit wise at the moment.  

i should be great full i have a supportive husband and job. but I feel like.... less of a person as i struggle to communicate like an adult.  i feel like i have a brain that dose not understand good and bad quit well, and i do sometimes get them mixed up.  and the PTSD dose me no faves ether when it comes to people. 

life is hard O_o

Well done for remembering the skills. The trouble with interventions for me is the executive function bit.. The pain management programme and cbt required consistent "homework " and managing a few things at once. In essence the ideas are really helpful but I wasn't able to execute them by myself. Mindst I was at work and commuting then too so it was all a bit much. There is next to no resources in my area either.. Hope the new job goes well. 

I've also done some CBT.  I still use the principles in it to challenge myself - such as the other day, when I was panicking about changing job and having to buy a car.  Everything came tumbling in at once - so I stopped, worked it through, challenged the thought processes.  It definitely helped.  There is a form of CBT, too, that's especially adapted for people on the spectrum.

What's available seems to depend on where you live.  By going to work at an autistic trust, I'm hoping to find out a lot more about resources in my area.

Everything in its own time, as you say

1. Yes you are right of course re 61. And it is a long walk to get to this point. But luckier than some I have read about who only find out in ther old age! As you can imagine from my history I have had a series of talking therapy including cbt not DBT tho over the years at one level or another. However with the diagnosis I now have I could maybe get more specific therapy but the nearest is an hour away and private. In this post diagnosis phase as you say this forum has been a revelation in finding folk on the same page and wish I'd plucked up courage months ago.  But things in their own time and all that. 

Same here - though losing mum, the most catastrophic event of my life, has shown me that I have more resilience than I thought.  I think it's largely because I've been self-reliant for so many years: living alone, doing everything for myself.

In some ways, I regard the ASC diagnosis as a 'fix' of sorts.  Since getting it, I've felt validated.  Much more positive.  I now have a way, too, of explaining certain things about myself that used to leave me baffled and low.  I'm relatively okay with things as they are now.  I'm guessing from the numerals in your name (year of birth?) that you are about the same age as I am - a little younger, actually!  It's a long time to live in confusion.  I don't have any other conditions, really, so I'm not going to be looking for anything else now in terms of 'fixing' me.  I'll carry on as I am.  But I do understand that other people go through a lot more than I do, so would want further help.  I suppose it also depends on what people want out of life.  Some people want friendships, relationships, etc - whereas I'm quite happy to carry on without them.

Do you have any therapies in mind?  I was referred to a DBT-based course of therapy, but it was too far away for me to get to - plus I was nursing mum at the time.  There doesn't seem to be much else available to me around here.

Coming on the forums helps me tremendously, of course.  Comfort in numbers.

Yes I have often thought that the root of the depression and anxiety was something.. then when I realised the something was autism it just fitted. I got my dyspraxia diagnosis first with ADHD mentioned but it just didn't quite give me the whole answer. It was the niggle I hadn't quite got the answer and suffered with depression  and then fibromyalgia/cfs for so long that kept me on track to get the autism diagnosis. (Plus sleep apnoea,arthritis, eczema, blepharitis ). It is a huge relief to have to jigsaw finally fit together and I suppose I am impatient for me to learn how to fix myself so that I can break free from my bubble again. But my bubble is sort of ok for now til I'm ready or next major thing happens. It just takes time and adjustment to my diagnosis, caring for myself and my dad and losing mum. My resilience has reduced over time. I find it harder and harder to get up and start all over again each time. 

Hi Misfit,

For years, I was diagnosed with an assortment of MH issues: depression, anxiety disorder, SAD, etc.  For a time, it was even thought I had BPD, though I couldn't get a diagnosis in spite of exhibiting virtually all of the major symptoms.

For me, my diagnosis of ASC two years ago provided the root of all of this.  I firmly believe that all of the other issues stem from autism.  Much of the depression was caused by my seeming inability in so many areas of life - especially social interactions and relationships.  Anxiety has been a constant with me for much of my life - again, usually made worse around social situations.

When my GP last signed me off, just after my mother passed away, she put on the certificate 'Post-bereavement depression and anxiety linked to Autistic Spectrum Disorder.'

Sounds about right to me.

Thanks caretwo. I sometimes think that but then I read about suggested treatments for specific things and wondered how to separate them out. I have seen some people use the noise cancelling head phones and that some people carry emergency sensory kit wherever they go.. not got one organised yet. I too have the anxiety and depression along with a few other things and it does make managing harder. getting out into the fields is my most important medicine. 

I have diagnoses for Asperger's, social anxiety and depression.

There is no doubt that my Asperger's impacts both my social anxiety and depression. Would I have either if I did not have Asperger's? I do not know and do not consider it relevant; all I need to know is how to manage/deal with my social anxiety and depression. So, for example, my noise sensitivity can contribute to my depression and so I may wear my noise-cancelling headphones to reduce the noise I am subjected to or I may go a walk.

I think it is about looking after yourself rather than looking after particular conditions. I hope that makes sense.