Published on 12, July, 2020
Have just joined this community - have been with my husband for 11 years. He's not formally diagnosed, but my own GP has suggested that he is on the spectrum, after I visited her because my husband said that I had mental health issues!
It seems that what I took to be difficult, abusive and controlling behaviour, was actually the outworking of him being on the spectrum.
I've read an awful lot about this recently, and can't believe I didn't see it before.At the moment, I haven't mentioned anything to him, as I need time to get to grips with it myself.I plan to broach the subject, when the time is right.The things I struggle with, are hidden away in our life at home, and no-one outside would ever guess that anything was wrong. Not even our family know, other than my daughter (from another marriage).Main problems are: repetition of domestic routines that make me want to scream! Having to run absolutely everything past him, in terms of timings of arrangements etc., with no wriggle room once agreed, or all hell will break loose! He does not sleep well, comes to bed much later than me, then only stays for around an hour, before going to sleep on the couch - he never comes back to bed in the morning in time to spend any time together, but just gets up, so no intimacy whatsoever - been like this for about 9 years......!
Constant preoccupation with hobbies - at the expense of time spent together, which I really resent.
He's unable to support me if am having a difficult time - & always seems annoyed if I am a bit 'down' - putting pressure on me to pretend that I always feel great. I am learning to do things for myself, and to be a bit selfish with my time, to avoid feeling constantly drained.
If I had known all this to begin with , I can honestly say I would not have got into this relationship, but now I'm in it, I feel that I have to act responsibly, and stay.
I worry sometimes, about how far from the 'real me' I have come, and how much I have let go of and given up, which upsets me.
My husband has held very responsible roles in education, and is very well educated, although when I look back over his life, he has struggled to maintain relationships (I'm his 3rd wife), and has also struggled to stay in work, without some drama unfolding (raising grievances, not being able to adapt, etc.).
I'd be grateful to hear anyone else's views or experiences on this.
Thanks
Are relationship problems common with ASD people? Like having any at all?
As I'm very new to all this, I'm probably not the best person to give you an answer,s but I think there can be difficulties with communication, and the different reactions of the two people to various situations can be difficult to align sometimes. I guess that it's a case of learning to work together to get over any obstacles - as in any relationship. Having said that, all relationships are worth working at - there are lots of people who find intelligence an attractive attribute - especially as there doesn't always seem to be too much of it around these days!