Published on 12, July, 2020
Hi everyone,
I am 41 year old Spaniard who has been living in the UK for almost 10 years now.
My wife convinced me to seek professional help last year. She was pregnant and I was having a very hard time coping with anxiety, stress and suicidal thoughts. Things got worse when our little one was born. After initially being diagnosed with general anxiety disorder I was finally suggested to go through autism assessment and as a result of that I was diagnosed at the beginning of this year.
Once I got my diagnosis everything seemed to make sense to me and my wife - being so strict about schedules and time boxes, strong routines, explicit communication, lack of friends, no interested in social interaction, etc.
And here I am wondering what to do next. It has been a wild ride. My wife has been wonderful all this time and she is making all that is possible to make sure that I don't get panic/anxiety attacks again. But these still occur from time to time, and suicidal thoughts have come back sometimes, especially after periods of great stress/frustration with the little one.
I am at the moment contacting different organisations to get some therapy/counselling. But given the current pandemic things are moving slow, and in the meantime I keep having attacks from time to time and I feel more and more like a burden for my wife. I don't know how should I tackle this in the short term. As a result of a 111 call my wife did during one of my latest episodes I was contacted by my GP, who suggested medication. I am considering taking that path.
To be honest, I don't know what to expect from this forum. I guess that I just need to find somebody out there who has lived through a similar situation and share experiences. But I thought that introducing myself would be the very first step. So here I am.
u doing ok arent you ? -- i mean its a stuggle but you have achieved so much ( a family ) in the face of such ADVERSITY. Get a Golden Retrievier as a stress dog and buy your wife a bunch of flowers. you have so much to celebrate :)
your fool aidie
Thank you Aidie. Yes indeed, the person who assessed me said that I made a good job putting systems and habits in place to deal with my issues even without knowing about my condition. But I guess that the birth of my son was too much to deal with. I make my best to remind my wife everyday that she is loved!