Published on 12, July, 2020
Hello all i am gus c a 69 year old pensioner who volunteers for lots of different organisations . I had been suffering what i thought was anxiety and depression after being diagnosed with prostate Cancer 12 years ago and having no support in the way of family or friends . I had one to one councelling at my GP's one to one therapy with a mental Health Nurse ,Group Therapy and CBT but non of them worked . The only thing that works for me is voluntary work and lots of it . Anyway i went to my GP feeling very low about 5 weeks ago and asked for a Mental Health assessment . I went for it last saturday morning and had a lot of questionaires with tick boxes and the practitioner looked at them and said i definatelly had Asperger's Syndrome and anxiety is part of it . I have not had a very good life up till now and i think it may be i have had it for all my life . I had a bad time at school with bullying and time off with injuries .Losing an eye and breaking bones including a badly broken leg after being pushed off a bike by bullies . I have been harrassed by bullies for money lately and have had them jailed three times and another case coming to court next month . The amount taken from me is in the thousands of pounds . The assessor said he would get me some help for the Court Case and told me to get in touch with you here . I volunteer Nationally with NHS England as a patient rep for Urology on a clinical reference group and Judging Vanguard Bids for new models of care with NHS England and interviewing new staff for NHS England at all levels . I am Patient Representative (removed by mod) for Urological Cancer . I can work at a high level and be listened to but i can also just resign for the most trivial things if i feel i have been talked to the wrong way . I dont know what the treatment is or if there is any or what happens from now .
Hi Gus and Welcome (again!)
There isn't a treatment for Asperger's as such - there is a lot to learn about it though and life can be much better if you understand how it affects you. It often leads to mental health issues though as we are often battling with a world that doesn't think on the same wavelength as us. Untangling the MH issues from the ASD from what else is in our personality is not simple - plenty of patience and discussion helps and this forum is a good place to talk about things and work things out.
There are a few of us who have been diagnosed later in life (I was diagnosed at 56) and this often comes after many years of conflict and misunderstanding. Diagnosis has helped me understand myself and how I interact with other people and I am learning to be more patient and to study people more before jumping in and stirring things up.
You may get some help from your local mental health trust - I don't know what services there are in Manchester but some areas have specific teams for helping people like us. Otherwise, there are lots of books to read.
Merry Xmas!