Doctors Ignoring Women's Problems.

[Albert Wallner]

It feels like doctors are only equipped to talk about anxiety and depression.

I think that is literally the case. ASD is a very rare condition which is very hard to identify so most psychiatrists / psychotherapists aren't trained or educated in it. That's what my psychotherapist said at least. My psychiatrist had also never heard of asperger's syndrom when I went to see her.
Depression and anxiety is just way more common than ASD and people with ASD usually also suffer from that (me included) which is why it makes sense for them to focus on that. But it really sucks that doctors don't really know much about it just because it's so rare. I actually have a biological disease as well where the same thing applies.

Female doctors seem more understanding in general from what I observed

There actually is a psychological explanation for that. According to the big 5 personality trait model,women tend to be more agreeable than men. That means that women are more likely to really care about the problems of other people.

The first time I had a doctor tell me "You don't look autistic." I told him "Funny I didn't know autistic people had noticeable physical features." Shut him right up.

That's really good,you got him with that one!

Since it's not mental illness, I would not go to a therapist.

I would definitely disagree with that. Seeing a therapist who specializes in CBT and who knows about ASD can really help someone to deal with ASD. That was the case with me anyway. My therapist has helped me out so much with my ASD it's incredible! I'm literally only here right now because of her.

But cynically, I also think diagnosis is partly political and financial and those issues play a part in what is diagnosed and what isn't.

Getting a proper diagnosis can actually give you a lot of benefits that you were entitled to your entire life but just didn't know about. That was the case for me as well. Now that I know that I have ASD I can get some pretty cool and helpful benefits in college. Here is a link to all the benefits that you can get in the UK in case anybody is interested: Benefits - National Autistic Society

 

[Tom]

I remember reading a study several years ago where they found the average time a doctor let the patient explain their problem before interjecting/diagnosising was something like 18 seconds. Now this was for general practice medical conditions not mental health, but I would guess some sort of the same thing also occurs in mental health. You do have to be your own advocate to help insure quality/accurate care. Bringing somone else with you (ie. spouse, partner, family member) if feasible, can also be helpful, to remind you of things and as another pair of eyes so-to-speak.

 

[Aspychata]

Thank you for the reply. I will have to look and see if there is one near me. I'm in California right now, and I drive past a huge autism center, and always wanted to check it out. I'll do some further research. I honestly didn't know which doctor I should go to for help, so thank you.

The autism center may have excellent medical referrals for you. I would check in with that center.

The other interesting thing about us is our lagging ability to communicate our thoughts which gives the medical peeps problems trying to diagnose us. We can get so wrapped in our thought process then really do a horrible job trying to get someone else to diagnosed us. Its like we are talking in a foreign language. A therapist l went to, knew nothing about autism yet a huge number of us end up in counseling trying to make sense of our brain splat of inner turmoil.

 

[menander]

It is. It wouldn't be in the DSM if it wasn't.

That is peculiar. I wonder why it's in there. I was told it's not mental illness.

 

[BrokenBoy]

It's not a mental illness. Developmental disorders like autism differ from mental illness in several important ways.

It doesn't seem that those categories are mututally exclusive:

 

[BrokenBoy]

I also found this quote from an article that's really interesting:

The motivation behind the push to label autism as something other than a psychiatric disorder, in my view, comes much more from fears of stigma than any scientific principle. Unfortunately, however, one unintended consequence of the push to move certain conditions out of the mental illness category is increased stigmatization for those that remain there. “We are not you,” is the not so subtle message being sent.

https://www.psychologytoday.com/ca/blog/abcs-child-psychiatry/201510/is-autism-mental-illness

I find the "message" this guy mentions to be quite problematic.

 

[Mia]

It doesn't seem that those categories are mututally exclusive:
View attachment 62114

There is a difference though:

'Neurological disorders like Parkinson’s disease, Huntington’s disease, epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, and Alzheimer’s disease can be clustered together because they all involve malfunction of or damage to the nervous system — the brain, spinal cord, and nerves. Nervous system infections are also treated by neurologists. The hallmarks of psychiatric disorders, on the other hand, are disturbed behavior and emotional state'.

At times damage from these illnesses can require psychiatric help. But both of these fields are exclusive yet depend on one another for the exchange of information.

 

[Mia]

I also found this quote from an article that's really interesting:

The motivation behind the push to label autism as something other than a psychiatric disorder, in my view, comes much more from fears of stigma than any scientific principle. Unfortunately, however, one unintended consequence of the push to move certain conditions out of the mental illness category is increased stigmatization for those that remain there. “We are not you,” is the not so subtle message being sent.

https://www.psychologytoday.com/ca/blog/abcs-child-psychiatry/201510/is-autism-mental-illness

I find the "message" this guy mentions to be quite problematic.

I don't find his ideas to be accurate, it's not about a separation from others with recognizable metal illnesses. Mental health difficulties becomes a mental illness when ongoing signs and symptoms cause frequent stress and affect your ability to function on a regular basis for quite extended periods of time. And perhaps for some with autism, some co-morbid disorders affect daily living and functioning. But, it's the co-morbids that are treated not autism.

Keep in mind from the same article: "only medications with FDA approval in autism are psychiatric medications, although these are used to address irritability and aggression and not the core autistic features".

In other words the meds are used to treat co-morbid disorders that sometimes go hand in hand with autism. Like depression, anxiety, adhd, and others that people find it difficult to function with. Much like people who may be treated for long-studied mental illness such as schizophrenia.

 

[BrokenBoy]

I don't find his ideas to be accurate, it's not about a separation from others with recognizable metal illnesses. Mental health difficulties becomes a mental illness when ongoing signs and symptoms cause frequent stress and affect your ability to function on a regular basis for quite extended periods of time. And perhaps for some with autism, some co-morbid disorders affect daily living and functioning. But, it's the co-morbids that are treated not autism.

I disagree with this, while I have comorbid conditions, ASD is arguably my most debilitating condition.

Because of ASD I struggle to have meaningful connections with people with leads to isolation and feelings of loneliness and I can barely handle even being touched by others most of the time. I also experience sensory issues often leading up to panic attacks and a lot of people with ASD including myself are unemployed.

 

[Mia]

I disagree with this, while I have comorbid conditions, ASD is arguably my most debilitating condition.

For you that may be correct. But for many individuals with ASD, who have jobs and function adequately in the world it's not. It does depend on the severity of your ASD, as it is a spectrum.

 

[AngelaS267]

I disagree with this, while I have comorbid conditions, ASD is arguably my most debilitating condition.

Because of ASD I struggle to have meaningful connections with people with leads to isolation and feelings of loneliness and I can barely handle even being touched by others most of the time. I also experience sensory issues often leading up to panic attacks and a lot of people with ASD including myself are unemployed.

Not connecting with people still wouldn't necessarily classify autism as a mental illness though, because your describing a result of our neurological differences combatting with social constructs and not necessarily the fact that your communication is "wrong." If you lived in a country that praised people for being quiet and having poise, then nobody would think twice about the fact that you don't talk a lot as an autistic person. Also, shy people who aren't autistic have a hard time creating meaningful connections with people, but that wouldn't make shyness a mental illness. The same goes for being introverted or awkward. Your anxiety stems from a difference in communication style which unfortunately impacts our lives, but that doesn't make our autism disordered per say.

 

[Nervous Rex]

It's not just women.
I could give you a list of horrible experiences with Doctors across multiple practices that would make satan cringe. I can also give you a list of doctors that were honest and professional.
The first time I had a doctor tell me "You don't look autistic." I told him "Funny I didn't know autistic people had noticeable physical features." Shut him right up.

Just thought of an alternative reply: "No, Are you sure you're not thinking of Down's Syndrome? That's the one that you can tell just by looking." (Hope this isn't considered derogatory to those with Down's Syndrome - if it is, I wouldn't say it).

 

[Matthias]

So I had to talk to a psychiatrist this morning about my depression. This has been a huge step for me. This is the first time in my life that I've ever gotten help from professionals with my anxiety and depression. I am very grateful, and happy to be getting this help.

However, I have noticed a very unfortunate pattern with all of the health care professionals that I've spoken to. They don't want to talk about me being autistic, and it takes many tries before I am heard.

I spoke with this doctor for an hour. He, like many of the other doctors I spoke to, asked me what has caused the depression and anxiety in the past. I bring up the obvious family trauma that I went through which gets me extremely emotional every time without fail. But I always also say to them, I also have other mental health concerns that have gone unchecked all my life that have continued to impact me. Autism being the big one.

This doctor I spoke to literally said to me, "Well. I must say, you don't look autistic.".... A whole doctor with a PH.D. I didn't even get to explain to him how I came to this conclusion. He just said that after I told him I believed I was on the spectrum and I have issues with communicating with people because of it. That was actually when I FIRST started experiencing anxiety. I didn't know how to communicate with people, and didn't know why. The family trauma came after. I told the doctor that symptoms are often missed in women which is why I may look okay. I told him the reason I can articulate myself to him so well is because I have had this conversation 1000x already with many different doctors and therapists. I know this conversation like the back of my hand. I know I'm going to cry, and I know in what order to explain what happened to us growing up. But when I am out in the world, I struggle hard to communicate with people.

It's very frustrating as a woman to have this recurring issue of not being heard when I say something THE FIRST TIME! It took me 3 doctors visits from 3 different doctors before someone gave me help for anxiety and depression, with the first doctor telling me I was smart and articulate, and he didn't want to put that I had something wrong with me "on my record." To have health care professionals that I trust tell me that what I'm going through isn't happening is counter productive. It's a waste of precious time. Someone might not get the energy to go back to the doctor again for another year because of their mental health issues. All the doctors who have minimized my struggles have been male doctors (I am not saying all male doctors are bad or don't listen, but in my experience, male doctors have brushed off a lot of my concerns.) It sucks that women have to sit back and go through unnecessary pain and struggle to keep afloat with their mental health, all because the doctor doesn't want to take your concerns seriously.

The doctor said at the end of the visit, "It's also important to go out and communicate with people to help get yourself out of a depressed mood."... I had said to him 3 times that I struggle with communication. It feels like doctors are only equipped to talk about anxiety and depression. But if you MISS the other things, then what's the real point??? I still need support in that area of my life, it is a BIG part of my life.

Had anyone else experienced this with their doctor? I know it's not just women, but statistically, we get ignored more regularly than male patients. Guys here are welcome to share their experience, but I just want to know who else gets totally ignored by their doctors?

The reason they don't want to talk to you about autism is probably because they don't understand it. Doctors say things like "you don't look autistic" because they don't want to admit they can't help you with it.

Given that so few doctors understand autism, I think it's better for most autistic people to rely on self-help books for therapy. Studies have shown that traditional talk therapy isn't effective (they compared it to a placebo, talking to a friend for the same amount of time, and found no difference). The most effective therapy for depression, anxiety, and many other problems is CBT. Fortunately, CBT can be done easily and work just as well using self-help books, eliminating the need for a therapist.

I found the following CBT videos to be very helpful because they were created specifically to help autistic people with thinking patterns more common in autism:

They're targeted toward children so some stuff won't be relevant but they helped me greatly and I haven't found anything better. For depression, the book "feeling good" by Dr. Burns is the #1 recommended book by therapists for depression. A study found 70% of those who read it in 4 weeks were no longer depressed after 4 weeks and remained free of depression 3 years later without any need for additional therapy or drugs. CBT, from the videos and self-help book, cured me of life-long depression in less than 4 weeks and I'm still free of depression and anxiety 1 year later. It also helped me correct misunderstandings I had which makes it much easier to understand people to the point where I don't consider myself autistic anymore.