World Mental Health Day

That's so funny, laddie49; my (now 19 yo) daughter was described as 'thrawn' by both her Scottish grandmother and Scottish uncle when she was little.  I'm pretty sure she has PDA (or ASD with PDA traits).  Long story which I won't bore you with here, but after enduring a lifetime of her difficult behaviours and emotions, 'thrawn' is definitely the word!

Thanks Tom and Vometia for your comments. I am a bit "tired and emotional" this evening so apologise if my response tonight is offensive in any way. I feel very emotional that anyone can empathise with the way I think and feel so thanks for that.

Vometia I have been accused of being mysogenist in the past. Even told I was a Rat. Now that confused me a lot (which may have been deliberate as I was on a councelling course at the time) but it upset me a lot at the time. I love women and am definitely hetrosexual so if I say anything offensive please tell me you are offended and why. I recognise my autism may cause me to say the wrong thing or in a wrong way.

I would very much like to continue to speak to you and Tom in the future so I want to try and get the basis of a relationship right. I am aware I have lied in the past to try to avoid humiliation when I knew I was in the wrong and tried to lie my way out of it. PDA I now recognise is a symptom of my autism. So this online relationship with new people who have similar views to mine is causing a very emotional reaction in me. But scary at the same time.  Am I being authentic or just lying to get attention? On my councelling course which was person centred councelling, the princilple aims were congruence and unconditional love. I failed because I could see through the acting which was going on. I cannot act. I have been told you need to learn to act. But I don't know how to I have never learnt that social skill.

So if I fail to respond correctly please give me some feedback so I can learn.

Thanks for your responses, take care Laddie.

Thanks for your comments Tom. I agree with your assessment that my place on the spectrum is mild or high functioning. I also have identified part of me describes Pathological Demand Avoidance (PDA) symptoms. I don't like it when others demand that I change my behaviour or tell me what I should or should not do. That is a common characteristic of others from my part of the world. There is a word for it "Thrawn".

Take care, Laddie.

Ok I will try not to upset the mods this time. Ha ha. 

I agree with you Tom that some people might think that autism may be used as an excuse to claim benefits.

The dilemma in my mind is just that, that I will be judged to be using ASD as an excuse for not trying hard enough. So I am torn on whether to insist on a formal diagnosis or to just let it lie as it is. If the answer is no, you are not bad enough to justify a diagnosis, then I will feel like a fraud.

I think the mental health of the world, never mind UK, is getting worse by the year, and governments are struggling to cope. I see on the news the tragic story of how many young girls are now reporting mental health problems. I blame the awful celebrity culture you mention Tom and advertising, for screwing people up big time. Also the roles of men and women have changed so dramatically in my lifetime that its difficult to know where things are heading.

I see you plan to move away Tom sometime in the future. I have done so myself but it did not turn out the way I hoped. The baggage always seems to catch up eventually.

Take care, Laddie.

It is a good idea to try & bring the publics knowledge of mental health out of the dark ages.

Money would be better spent on crisis care so that those going through these situations can stay near their families.  Or have quality emergency care.

We lack this over here.  There are too many incidents of young people commuting suicide.  

Men also tend not to ask for help until they are going through a crisis.  

There are so many things that can lead to mental health problems.

 Awareness is good.  But a lot more funding for support may be better spent then money on awareness campaigns.  

Star

Thanks for your thoughts, I wrote a longer reply but it looks like it hit the floor up in the mods office.

Mmmm. I admit that thought had also crossed my mind.

There was a 10 minute slot on the radio lunchtime discussion programme today doing just that. Acknowledging it is a problem that 40% of people in work are stressed out, and the advice from the "expert" was tell someone you trust and don't resort to drugs or alcohol to alleviate the symptoms and we can give you CBT to "cure" it.

Laddie.