Anxiety

Good luck! It's not an easy journey but with as much support as you can give her I'm sure she can get there. 

(Sorry about the double post. It got caught by the spam filter so I tried to remember what I'd said and type it up again.)

Thank you for taking the time to reply. We have spoken with the doctor today and she suggested propranolol, which I have never heard of, we shall give it a go along with continuing therapy, hopefully this will give my daughter some relief that she really needs. It sounds like it is a good option.

thanks again, it’s so nice there are people that understand what we are going through.

There are a bunch of things that are used for both but some are more targeted at anxiety (most are prescribed for a wide range of things - I take stuff for anxiety that is also used for physical issues in some people)

I found propranolol helpful for the physical symptoms of anxiety and it's supposed to possibly also have an effect on the mind side. And I have diazepam for the real emergencies, which is strong and effective and addictive so is only prescribed for very short periods. I also take pregabalin but I'm not sure if that actually helps. 

I also had that relatively manageable anxiety before a traumatic experience that made it much more extreme and constant. It did get easier after meds and a lot of therapy, but I've had 2 relapses that take a lot of work to get back from. I hope your daughter can get that recovery going soon. 

There are a lot of things that are used to treat both, but you really need to talk to a psychiatrist about your options. 

Personally I found propranolol helpful for the physical symptoms of anxiety, and I have diazepam (very strong, very addictive, so it's not prescribed for more than very short periods) for real emergencies. I also take pregabalin but I honestly have no idea if that helps or not. 

Thanks for the recommendations. Her therapist is a specialist in autism which is good and before my daughter was attacked she had helped her with her diagnosis. We shall be continuing with her therapy and like you said hope antidepressants are a short term solution.

Here are a few books that may help her understand and cope with the anxiety that often is a part of autism / aspergers syndrome:

Asperger Syndrome and Anxiety - A Guide to Successful Stress Management - Nick Dubin (2009)
ISBN 9781843108955

An Aspie's Guide to Overcoming Anxiety - Attwood, Tony, Evans, Craig R., Lesko, Anita (2015)
eISBN 9781784501198

If the therapist is not well versed in working with autistic people then I would recommend changing to one who is. We suffer a lot af trauma of different degrees and the ways to treating it are different to those of neurotypical people, so the therapist needs to know what will work and what won't.

Antidepressants may be a good short term treatment but therapy is the most effective way to get the trauma processed and understood / accepted in a way that allows her a more normal life (for an autist that is).

The therapist is going to be key to this and I think they may need to work with either a GP or psychiatrist before they can have antidepressants prescribed (in the UK this is the case I believe).

Thank you for your reply, it’s really helpful. The therapist does think she has ptsd and is starting EMDR on Wednesday. What are anti anxiety medications ? How are the different from antidepressants?

it’s good that you can manage your symptoms and I hope my daughter can soon.

Really appreciate your reply.

Hi there, 

I am so sorry to hear about what happened to your daughter, that must be really hard for you all to cope with. 

It is really good that you have already sought help from a professional, as that would be my first recommendation. Make sure that the therapist is 'trauma informed' or has experience with people handling trauma as if they are not, this might not be the best fit. 

It might be worth raising with her therapist the possibility of her having PTSD following this violent attack, as this might be what is now limiting her life in the aftermath. 

I have something called Complex PTSD (sounds similar but is different in some ways) and I have found that anti depressants and anti anxiety meds really help me manage my day to day symptoms, so I think this is definitely worth looking at together with your daughters doctor. 

If your daughter was to be diagnosed wit PTSD then something called EMDR could be very helpful. This treatment is especially beneficial for someone like her who has experienced 1 incident of trauma like she has. 

Let us know how she gets on!