Autism and co-morbid conditions

Thanks LJ51125. Nice to meet you too.

You haven’t upset anyone here don’t worry  

Aww well at least you have got a good GP who is willing to help you. I have moved to a new practice since I moved to my flat last year and I have managed to get a GP who specialises in mental health and is willing to see me regularly but if I needed to see him sooner he will free a space up to see me. My last practice were the complete opposite, you always had to be triaged and only get a phone appointment and give out the tabs without the medical checks and just leave you. They never went into the practice half the time and if you did go in they would literally have their feet on the seat for the patient or even their desk. 

As for the guilt yeah I’m still challenging it. Some days I’m able to play my games and enjoy but other days the guilt just attacks and I can’t get rid of the feeling until I get rid of the games (put away) it’s so horrible and I hope this goes soon 

Thank you for sharing that, I’m terribly sorry you had to endure that

I do try to keep a mood diary but I’m so forgetful that I manage a few days then forget. Unfortunately I can’t set that up with GP just because they are always busy. I do get phone calls from mental health nurse to check in though, it helps. I’m so grateful that my GP has been so supportive through all this, I’d be lost without them

Ahh I completely relate to the loss of interest in things. I’ve been bullied for the things I love and am passionate about so much that when I’m feeling low I can’t help but get those nasty voices race around my head. I’ve recently started meds too as therapy hasn’t worked for me and I’m noticing my moods seem a bit better but too early to tell. I would recommend you try keeping a mood diary and make notes of what you did that day. I can recommend an app if you want? And if I’m allowed to here. Also are you able to get continuity appointments with your GP at all? If you are able to it might be worth having check ins with them so they can help too. 

Thank you, a pleasure to meet you. I was on waiting list for just under 2 years for diagnosis but was told to research EUPD last year. I found out there is a lot of symptoms that appear between conditions through that research. Personally I do wish that I had been made aware of just how many of the symptoms are shared or at least told where to look. 

It is very complicated trying to research these things alone and there was a lot of conflicting information which didn’t help. 

I dare say there is much I don’t know or understand but it could be worth looking into even just to get a better understanding of it. For me personally I don’t like to seem ignorant or oblivious so if I can I will learn. I would like to make it clear though that this is not a remark against anyone else, I just like to learn as much as I can about things.

Anyway I do hope that you may have better luck in understanding any possible connections there may be

I’m diagnosed autistic but was not made aware of any co occurring challenges. That said I really struggle to retain information and this is one of the things that gets me into trouble at home. I even struggle to retain information regarding my interests sometimes as well. 

Nice to meet you

That is helpful advice. I have been working to try and adopt activities to sort of distract myself in a way from a lot of the negative emotions. Sometimes it works but others it doesn’t. I struggle an awful lot with losing all interest in things. It often leaves me unable to commit to anything fun, relaxing or engaging. It has gotten at least a little better since being medicated for EUPD. 

I feel like what I need is time to clear my head and get away from the chaos of everything for a while. Taking a small vacation isn’t possible right now but something I would like to arrange when I can

Oh, no no no! You said nothing wrong, this was just a little semantic discussion I happened to agree with TheCatWoman on. You used the proper name, it’s just an opinion like the discussion of the autistic symbol—in the end, not a truly deal breaking issue, but little pet peeves that have more to do with medical institutions than anybody else.

I can understand it’s a lot to take in. I’ve found it very hard to understand too and everything just feels like it’s too much at the moment. The best thing is to take a time out and do what you love, I find that helps so I can process things better, though I am still in early days with processing 

It’s okay I understand what you mean. I think it’s fascinating how we can understand each other yet it is difficult for neurotypicals

Hi thanks for the warm welcome. I’m sorry that you have ptsd as well. Personally I think that ptsd is where one of my difficulties is because I don’t fully understand what it is other than being trauma based. It really is a lot to try and understand

You said the right thing, it’s just that some people want the right thing to change to a better right thing.

Wow, that might be the worst explanation I’ve ever made lol

It is the correct terminology, co-morbidities. But morbid is not the most cheery phrase.

I would prefer co-occurring, but that's not what they chose.

Thank you for your kind words, I guess I’m just used to not fitting in. I appreciate you sharing your experience. It’s very interesting how so much of it seems to overlap. I did get some research documents following the assessment but a bit hard for me to follow all of it

You didn't say or do anything offensive, I just hate the term co-morbid and think we should have a better one that dosen't sound so heavy and judgemental

I apologise if I upset or offended anyone. I’m really new to all this and tend to struggle with how to word things

1. Agreed!

Lot's of us have other conditions that may or may not relate to autism. I just wish they wouldn't refer to them as co-morbidities, it's a very disempowering way to describe things, make it sound like they're going to kill you and that they're depressive in origin.

Hey there LJ!

Don’t be nervous about posting! We’re generally pretty accepting around here.

I probably have the most common cocktail mix of co-morbidities (ASD/ADHD/Generalized anxiety/Depression), but the interesting thing about it is that I was only diagnosed with ADHD (ADD back then) as a child. It took me until around age 30 to realize “Hey, this seems to be more than just an attention issue,” I mean, there’s some overlap between all four of those disorders such as:

ASD/ADHD - Difficulty following conversations
ASD/Anxiety - Social anxiety
ASD/Depression - Low self-worth
ADHD/Anxiety - Fear of being distracted while driving
ADHD/Depression - Lack of focus on things that are less interesting
Anxiety/Depression - Fearfulness of future events

And etc. So I went under the radar as just ADHD for so long. It’s weird now seeing things that I thought were just quirks that were tangentially related to ADHD (such as stimming) and now realizing that it is all part of a combination of conditions I have.