Hello

[Christine Jarvis]

Hello,
My name is Christine, I'm 29 years old and am from Yuba City, CA. I am currently waiting to be officially diagnosed by Alta Regional Center, which allow me to receive the services I need once they evaluate me and prove that I do have autism; even though my therapist who's worked with many autistic people before has said I one hundred percent have autism due to all my symptoms and she thought this would be a good place to be able to talk to people who are similar to myself. It's very hard because not only do I have autism but I've also been diagnosed with Generalized Anxiety Disorder as well as PTSD; so everyday it's a struggle to not let my anxiety and PTSD get the best of me. With my PTSD I can read an article about an accident and automatically assume it's someone I know so Ii will text them over and over again until they respond because it gives me that relief that I need to calm myself down, and that way I don't have to have it control me and worry about it all night and not sleep. And the worrying doesn't only apply to accidents it also applys to the COVID-19; which is why this pandemic has been extremely stressful and hard to deal with; I do not do well with change or uncertainty. But today I told my therapist about how my brain automatically jumps to someone i know was in the accident i read in the paper, and she told me that it's because of my PTSD I want to feel like the people I care about are safe as much as I want to feel safe. So, she told me to tell myself if I start getting those thoughts is "what is the likelihood of it being someone I know", and "what is the worst thing that could happen". As you can see this is why it's very hard for me to talk to anyone in my family since none of my 5 siblings have been diagnosed with Autism, Anxiety, or PTSD; and they have no clue what I go through on a day to day basis just to get through each day. And that is why I signed up for this forum is to allow myself to find people who are similar to myself and have gone through similar things I've been through. So, any helpful tips regarding my PTSD would be much appreciated.
Thank you,
CHristine

 

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[Christine Jarvis]

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Thank you very much. I'm glad I know that there is a place and that there are people similar to me who I can talk to.

 

[MyLifeAsAnAspie]

Welcome to the forums .

 

[VictorR]

Welcome!

 

[Christine Jarvis]

Thank you everyone. Has anyone else been diagnosed with anxiety as well as PTSD along with your autism?

 

[Thinx]

Hi and welcome. There are plenty here with anxiety, it's common because when the world is hard to understand and connect with, people with autism get anxious. However, you can work on anxiety, exactly as you have started to do, because once you understand it's partly autism that is affecting you, you can start to think through things like irrational worries and reason with yourself, as you are already doing from what you say. I hope you enjoy it here and find plenty of useful information and threads to read and respond to, and feel supported here.

 

[Christine Jarvis]

Thank you I'm trying to work on my PTSD as well as my generalized anxiety disorder. I guess I just need to remember that my PTSD is anxiety disorder and that I just want myself and the people I know to feel safe. I talked to my counselor yesterday about how every time I read about an accident or something bad happening to someone I automatically assume it's someone I know and have to text them all the time until they text me back and them texting me backs let me know they're okay. But she says the way to work on this is to challenge the thoughts and ask myself what's the likelihood it's someone I know and what's the worst thing that could happen.

 

[clg114]

Welcome to Autism Forums!

 

[Isadoorian]

Welcome to the Forums! I hope you make new friends and enjoy your stay in the process

 

[Rectify]

Welcome to the forum @Christine Jarvis I think you'll find many people here who share your other diagnoses as well.

 

[Aspychata]

Get what you are saying. Sometimes the PTSD can make you jump in a closet in your mind where all those worry thoughts hang out. I have several closets, PTSD closet, my divorce closet, my general anxiety closet, my wtf closet. The biggest help is dissecting how you feel if triggered or just in a downmode and acknowledging these tough feelings and then-very important), letting them go.
Since l started doing this, l spend way less time in those closets.

Welcome home!!

 

[Christine Jarvis]

Get what you are saying. Sometimes the PTSD can make you jump in a closet in your mind where all those worry thoughts hang out. I have several closets, PTSD closet, my divorce closet, my general anxiety closet, my wtf closet. The biggest help is dissecting how you feel if triggered or just in a downmode and acknowledging these tough feelings and then-very important), letting them go.
Since l started doing this, l spend way less time in those closets.

Welcome home!!

Thanks. But it's even like when I try challenging myself about my PTSD thoughts, the thoughts are just so overwhelming it ends up being that they are much more intense that trying to challenge them doesn't work and then I just give up.

 

[Christine Jarvis]

Welcome to the forum @Christine Jarvis I think you'll find many people here who share your other diagnoses as well.

Thank you. I'm hoping I can find people who are going through the same or similar things and can relate to how i feel when i'm going through these issues. So, I don't have to feel like such an outsider in my family especially around my sisters.

 

[Christine Jarvis]

Hi and welcome. There are plenty here with anxiety, it's common because when the world is hard to understand and connect with, people with autism get anxious. However, you can work on anxiety, exactly as you have started to do, because once you understand it's partly autism that is affecting you, you can start to think through things like irrational worries and reason with yourself, as you are already doing from what you say. I hope you enjoy it here and find plenty of useful information and threads to read and respond to, and feel supported here.

Thanks it's just hard because it's like my anxiety makes my PTSD worse so im trying to figure out how to work on everything together

 

[Rocco]

Welcome aboard I wish you well on the road ahead

 

[Aspychata]

Thanks. But it's even like when I try challenging myself about my PTSD thoughts, the thoughts are just so overwhelming it ends up being that they are much more intense that trying to challenge them doesn't work and then I just give up.

Hope you feel comfortable enough to come here during those times. l have found a lot of support here. ☺

 

[Alexej]

Hi and welcome to the Forums @Christine Jarvis

 

[Rectify]

Thank you. I'm hoping I can find people who are going through the same or similar things and can relate to how i feel when i'm going through these issues. So, I don't have to feel like such an outsider in my family especially around my sisters.

I assume you mean that maybe by making contacts with simliar people here that you won't mind so much the feeling of being different within your family makeup? Because, of course, making friends here won't make you more like your sisters if they are neurotypical.

One of the things I think we aren't focusing on enough lately is the beauty of difference AND how we all can meld together quite nicely sometimes. In relation to family and friends it does depend on them as well as us, of course. You can't necessarily change some people's attitudes. But it's a beautiful thing when you see people who are very different getting along,d finding common ground, appreciating their differences etc (and you don't have to be NT and ASD to be different to each other)

Sorry, I got carried away there, but one final thing - I found it hugely helpful to come on here and feel that I had neurology similarities with peeps here. So I'm sure you will too. It's nice.