Published on 12, July, 2020
Hi just joined. Hoping to glean as much information as possible to help my daughter. It’s been a tough 7 years with all sorts of diagnoses which didn’t quite fit. The thing I am most bitter about is the fact that psychiatrists, following guidelines, are told that eye contact is the be all and end all. I tried for years to get them to acknowledge her autistic traits but was always told her eye contact was fine. How come I could do a 2 second google search to find out that eye contact is NOT the be all and end all. I’m so utterly devastated for her. She’s been on antidepressants and ended up on quetiapine which is a disgusting drug which just made her into a zombie and left her very overweight and with dreadful reflux. And I had to take her out of school at 15 because she couldn’t cope. She couldn’t even write her name anymore when she left school as she was so damaged. So she has no qualifications and no confidence still to even think about it. She can’t work because she can’t commit. Just day to day life is hard doing nothing. I’m hoping the diagnosis will help but it’s only been a couple of weeks.
I am 19 myself and have been wondering if I have autism for a while I have been in nearly every anti depressant there is for depression and anxiety but I feel that something hasn’t been quite right from a young age I’ve always felt odd and felt like I have to try to fit in. I struggle to stay in any jobs as I end up having a breakdown after a few months which either ends in me leaving because I can’t cope or being sacked and is always put down to my depression. I really struggle with friendships and feel so alone so often. I feel like I have no one because I never know how to act in public I’m always anxious with every word I say that I’ve said something wrong and it’s absolutely crippling me. I also left school with no qualifications and I’m now living with no job no social life and being left to take sertraline to mask the problem which leaves me too tired to do anything. I’m not sure whether it could be autism or it genuinely is just depression and anxiety but it just doesn’t make sence. Every day is a massive struggle I dread leaving my house and seeing people. I can’t go out without feeling like everyone is staring at me or thinking negative things about me. This could be my anxiety? But I don’t know? I have no friends or family who I can talk to too about this and I know that if I go to the doctors it will be years of waiting and just as with my diagnosis of depression will likely be very limited help other than meds so I just wanted an opinion first.
Oh my things sound bad for you right now. I really think you should see your GP - lay it on really thick - even maybe make out people around you think you may be autistic just so you can get an assessment. I’m not actually sure how the nhs thing works. We paid for a private assessment for our daughter. It was £450 so unless you can afford that there must be another way. Maybe you could ask someone on here. Personally I just felt surely my daughter can’t be this depressed and anxious for so many years without there being another reason. Knowledge is power. If you found out you can look at yourself in a totally different light. A diagnosis for my daughter means she doesn’t have to feel so guilty all the time for not being able to live like “normal” people. I expect you’re an intelligent person with so much to offer. You just haven’t found your thing yet. And remember you’re still a teenager and the anxiety will improve. My daughter is exactly the same worrying about what everyone thinks. Are you sure there’s no family member you can talk to? If not you must use this forum to get you where you need to be. Thinking of you xx