Asperger’s and mental health issues

yes its a very tough thing to do....... start like this when u think of something in the past just say "ahhh I am having a thought about the past"   thats all u have to do is start labelling those thoughts. 

thats the first easy step.

u dont have to do anything i say,,,,,,,,,, i just know the techniques to help change your way of thinkin

the choice is yours .

yeah, i just feel that's the kind of thing that's easier said than done, but I agree that would be the ideal thing to do right now 

Hello Meg I was diagnosed with autism/Aspergers a few months ago and I suffer from anxiety and OCD so it’s very common for people who have autism also suffer anxiety or depression I thought after being diagnosed with autism that my anxiety and OCD would improve straight away but I have realised that it will take time it’s slowly getting better hopefully it will for you to.

Thank you

nice contribution

ok my response to that is

well maybe yes maybe no ,,,,,, we will never, ever, ever, ever, ever know because its all in the past.,

you can do nothing about the past so drop it immediately 

you cant really predict your future  so stop worrying about it as well

what is left ?

• you and now ------ thats what you concern yourself with
• thats basic mindfulness/Zen
• and it works

That a lot of my mental health issues could have been avoided or less severe 

what is u are angry about ? 

whats really getting to you ?

This really resonates with me - I’ve had so many labels thrown my way from mental health practitioners who misdiagnosed autism. None ever felt right and the misdirection from professionals caused more stress and anger as their diagnosis didn’t feel a match to my experiences, I felt misunderstood and so disconnected from the world around me. I’m happy to talk openly about all of this - just maybe not in a public forum, given that it covers so much of my medical history . That aside I don’t always check through old threads I’ve posted to. It’s probably best to fire me a private message if you want to chat this over :) I’m pretty easy going and open - so it may be useful 

Yeah kind of. Like I have things to look forward to but right now I’m just so angry and having such difficulty processing things. Like I’m denial almost

Twenty years, now, in the Mental Health Bullpen. When all I needed was greater support for my Asperger's.

hi Meg

good to hear from you

go ahead with your counselling. I found as an autistic they couldnt really change anything for me.

u need to love/accept you / yourself 

how does that sound to u  ---- do u hate u ? , ur life ?   whats really getting at u ?

i can guide u up through various tools that may be useful to you  

Yeah I get what you are saying, it just feels as though a lot of what I’ve been though mental health wise could have been avoided 

So in the past I have really struggled with anxiety, depression etc which has led to lots of self harm, eating issues and suicide attempts. I could never understand what I was doing wrong and why I blamed myself so much and I would punish myself for that. And just hearing in the assessment that it was likely caused by not knowing I had autism was just so hard to take. I’ve done loads of different counselling over the years, seen different psychologist , been under acute mental health teams do some a lot, like cbt dbt and various others. At the moment I’m not seeing anyone but will go back to seeing counsellor as I don’t think I can cope with this on my own

Thanks for that! 

Blue said:

You need to change your username and add something into your bio, Most folks on here do not answer questions until that done because we tend to get a lot of trolls and here. 

I hear what you are saying but what you are describing is not effective CBT. I think it is unfair to be suspicious of CBT when what you described in my opinion wasn't CBT. Having had both mindfulness training and CBT (and living with hyper sensitive sensory responses), both done by practitioners with no special knowledge of autism, and coming from a family of psychotherapists, I believe when done correctly CBT does help reduce mental health stressors associated with Aspergers, that has been my personal experience. 

I have had Cognitive Behavioural Therapy twice now and they they used mindfulness techniques to alter your belief system to encourage you think about stress situation in another way. Problems with this is a person on the spectrum may lack the imagination to alter the perception of social situations making it difficult for them to change their perspective in a positive manor.

The practicing action such as splashing your face in cold water when you are experiencing a negative interpretation of an upcoming situation can not only be distressing to some individuals with sensitivity issues but can overstimulate individuals on the spectrum into autism related meltdown or shutdown. 

It takes a Cognitive Behavioural Therapist with a deep understanding of autism to have a positive effect on an individual's with autism without the therapy resulting in self destructive behaviour. 

Cognitive Behaviour Therapy can be as destructive as Applied Behavioral Analysis when performed incorrectly and with a practitioner who has not got the understanding and knowledge of any neurodevelopmental disorders such as Autism, ADHD, Aphantaisa & Sensory processing disorder. 

That very much depends on what your working definition and practices of CBT are. Mindfulness has nothing to do with CBT. CBT in practice involves physical actions that you undertake to redirect neuro-pathways using GABA, the chemical effecting neurotransmitters. 

Hi NAS70841

Welcome to this forum

If possible can you  describe the mental health issues that are causing you issues so I can work out if they are autism related or not.

What type of therapist are u dealing with?

This is going to sound really cynical but Cognitive Behavioural Therapy isn't always suitable to treat individuals with autism spectrum disorder. Not all Cognitive Behavioural Therapists can adapt Cognitive Behavioural Therapy to individuals with autism spectrum disorder and when they do they tend to focus on mindfulness techniques which are unsuitable the majority of people who have sensory sensitivity.