Aspergers With a Dash Of Anxiety

[Judge]

Now: Do you guys have paranoid/OCD-like thoughts to? Such as the stuff I mentioned?

Every single time I exit a store and looked for my parked car and don't immediately find it. ( I had my car stolen years ago.) Inevitably it's almost always wedged between two large SUVs.

And every night I feel compelled to lock my front door. No less than four times.

 

[Baeraad]

Now: Do you guys have paranoid/OCD-like thoughts to? Such as the stuff I mentioned?

Not in any meaningful way, no. I may have a few tics from time to time, but nothing that really gets in my way.

 

[Gracey]

Now: Do you guys have paranoid/OCD-like thoughts to? Such as the stuff I mentioned?

not about the weather. I live in UK and much like the people, the weather is very reserved.
the paranoia/ OCD - like behaviours I can have but are attached to other things.

a fear of powerful storms and wanting to keep yourself safe is healthy. survival instinct.

not functioning day to day because of anticipatory fear when there's no storm forecast is something else.
(can you see the difference?)

Do you know what 'catastrophising' is?

 

[Riley]

Do you know what 'catastrophising' is?

My guess? Imagining disasters that won't happen.

 

[Anonym]

Anxiety?
Yes, yes and yes.

I also didn't recognize it for what it was until relatively recently, as a part of my ASD diagnosis journey. It blew my mind when I realized I'd struggled with intense, often debilitating anxiety my whole life and that I was just beginning to see it. Looking back from this new perspective it seems so obvious now. It's kind of nuts.

Partly, I've learned it's just a part of my neurology; ASD and ADHD, plus fibromyalgia and synesthesia stuff. Add in several decades of accumulated traumatic experiences and social confusion issues then sprinkle a hearty dose of alexithymia on top of it all. It's no wonder I'd become such a wreck.

I'm learning to manage it with a little bit of everything:
Therapy, of course. Don't underestimate the benefit of a good therapist. (They're not all good, some are even downright awful, and if I don't like one for any reason, it's ok to find another!)
Medication (nothing too strong, though, I'm really sensitive about my body chemistry).
Self care; quite the buzz phrase these days and for good reason. I try to eat healthy (mostly), stay hydrated, engage in regular physical activity (even if it's just sweeping the floors and walking the dog) and be cognizant and accepting of my limitations (without berating myself over them). I'm especially mindful of preventing sensory overload and am learning to spot it and find ways to "tap out" when it starts to be too much.
Support network; I don't have many relationships, but the ones I do invest in are founded on trust and positive reciprocation. It's taken a very long time to sort out the bad; the takers, abusers, users, manipulators, deceivers. It wasn't always easy to spot them or to cut them out, either. I've definitely had to ghost a few.

All of this helps with my day to day baseline so when the big stuff happens (because it does), I find I'm handling it better than I used to.

Anyway, that's the gist of it. Lol sorry, this was a longer response than I initially intended, but hopefully what I've shared can help somehow.

 

[Kit]

I think my anxiety is the worst.