Autism and co-morbid conditions

Hello and welcome to the forum! I also have CPTSD and EUPD as well as autism! I’m still trying to process it all as they are all new diagnoses to me 

Thank you that makes a lot of sense. I found myself questioning the different symptoms and wondering which condition is responsible too. I’m trying to understand what conditions I have to help me determine what the best course of therapy I need to focus on. 

I do have a specialist team who I am seeking support from. Sadly it’s a long waiting list for everything I’ve requested so far (emotional regulation coaching, counselling, CBT, DBT).

It does sound helpful to have someone to help me break down the information and to also have that comfort knowing what I am reading is accurate and applicable. 

Nice suggestions there, thank you. 

I think my co-occuring conditions are pretty common ones. I also have ADHD and a few lovely anxiety based diagnoses. They were all diagnosed at different times and when I first started the process I've getting diagnosed I got pretty obsessed over what caused what. There was some importance to this as autism alone did not account for all my difficulties and I felt I needed the other conditions to be diagnosed to feel how I was made sense. 

But I've also learnt that there is no point in getting too caught up in what part of your brain/which condition you have causes different elements to your personality/behaviours. You are just you and this is the part that we have to learn to accept.

For me I spent a lot of time researching the different conditions and I think this was important for me at the time. However it took up a lot of my head space and I have since learnt to just let me be me. I don't need to understand every detail of my conditions. Just how to manage how I am.

As someone else suggested, reaching out for professional help may be a good idea. They may help you to understand your conditions and how they affect you and how you can manage that. With somebody knowledgeable explaining it to you, that might make it all feel a bit less overwhelming than trying to sift through the vast amount of information out there on the internet.

Sudden mood shifts can also be down to depression. Things that seem to come out of the blue may be because you miss the signs of them building.

It takes time. Knowledge is power.

You can't control what you don't understand 

That provides a very interesting and insightful perspective. I hadn’t even thought about patterns and effects of things like that. Thank you so much for sharing that!

I know certain environments do trigger me and cause flashbacks or anxiety induced panic attacks. I tend to avoid them as much as possible. 

Definitely experience mood shifts which can be very sudden and unpredictable. It has caused me to blow up at people before and then I feel like a truly terrible person.

I do agree about being out of touch with how I feel vs what my reality is. Think part of that is as you said because of masking for so long. The only thing I have figured out so far is to do with my core personality. I want to be a kind and compassionate person rather than the alternative.

You have given me a bit to think about, thank you 

Thank you for your warm welcome. It is a pleasure to meet you.

Your suggestion is greatly appreciated and I really appreciate it. I am trying to learn about the condition but have much to explore. The topics on here certainly help to break things down, I have read a couple. I’m sure the link will be invaluable so thanks for sharing.

I think the problem with a later diagnosis is you will almost certainly have masked to some extent to fit in. You may be a bit out of touch with how you feel from learning to ignore or override it.

Try to note how you really feel, what things make you feel different. It is not good or bad, just info. You can then look for patterns. 

Your emotions are the way your body flags things that may be important to you, although it can be mistaken which takes some training to realign.

Your moods may also change.

It could be helpful to write things down.

Sleep is important, so do what you can to improve it. Try to avoid stimulants for a while, nicotine, caffeine, alcohol, till you are sure what effects they have.

Beyond the short term too. If I drink 2 pints of beer say, I feel better while I drink it, get to sleep easier, don't sleep as well, but feel more emotional the following afternoon, which I have only just realised. This link, even in modest quantities to how I feel 24 hrs later was unexpected. Dehydration, or some foods could do the same thing. Some sounds or environments may be harder. You get the idea.

Hi L.J., welcome.

With so much new information being presented to you around your diagnosis (multiple) and with overlapping symptoms too - why not think about one topic at a time, explore it for a while, then move onto the next topic.

For example, if you were to start with one topic - perhaps "anxiety / social anxiety"?; you could then read the National Autistic Society guidance on the topic, have a think about what you read, then discuss your thoughts with your healthcare professional (if you feel you would benefit from their support with a specific aspect of the topic):

www.autism.org.uk/.../anxiety

Hi, thank you for your input. Getting to know myself is something I know I need to work on. Existing while feeling I am lacking identity has been something I have experienced since childhood. 

Therapy is something I have been asking for from my CMHT (for the ptsd and possible eupd)

I genuinely feel like what you have said could be very helpful, thank you 

Hello. It will take time.

You have been struggling, thinking you are normal but wondering why things were hard, now you know. This is a bit of dent to your confidence but it will come back. It is also a challenge as it you are not sure if you know who you are, but this will also come. You can figure out what you like, one thing at a time. You can find your values, what you believe in. You can establish some foundations then start on the details. There are some things you know are true.

You won't solve everything in one go. It might be helpful to think about that your biggest issues are now, and start there.

You might also like to look for autistic accommodations. There are videos on YouTube with many suggestions, some may help.

I expect you may also need some therapy or professional help.

DNE