What else do you have combined with Autism/Asperger's & how do you think the compliment or detriment eachother?

[Dom529]

Was just wondering this (amongst Autism being a Spectrum Disorder & there already being a lot of quirks + uniqueness).

I will start - I have Generalised Anxiety Disorder (GAD) which was diagnosed in 2019.

I think it does mean more anxiety to manage in tough times but does also possible make my mood low in the mornings (this is just a guess).

Would be interested to hear from everyone else.

 

[Progster]

Before I was diagnosed with Asperger's, I was diagnosed with social anxiety, though I think GAD would apply, too. I was also diagnosed with major depression, partly due to the burnout that lead to my diagnosis. I possibly also have ADHD, but I haven't been diagnosed with that, only Asperger's.

 

[Choosekindness]

Today was embarrassing, I saw leasing agent and as I'm talking to him, I of course forgot to mask and keep eye contact. So as I'm staring down and looking away, he moved to stand in front of me. So yes embarrassing moments like these are daily, so yes high anxieties. Now image talking with a group of professionals and I do that, hence why I get left out EVERY TIME. Or made fun of. And it’s my house or work. They call themselves adults
-eye contacts (lacking)
-touch (up until 3 years ago, I couldn’t even hug my kids, the sensation was extreme) now I can, even though I might forget but I mask really well. See people-give hug
-smell, never had candles, most scented things over the years I can managed. Otherwise it’s suffocating.
-Taste with practice I’m doing better, I am very picky and I always thought I was easy. I eat the same thing almost everyday. I don’t like meat in soup, but I manage sometimes. Especially wet meat took me 25+ years to not freak out.

You know I’m going to stop, this is long and I’m over sharing could be my ADHD also
There’s lots of quirks. And everyone here are wonderful just the way we are. Yes anxieties is tremendous especially the not knowing what’s appropriate but also heightened senses that almost decapitating. But as you live you make the best. Or like me, I get cut out of my own life.

 

[AutistAcolyte]

adhd (inattentive) and alexithymia.
it seems to me as though they counteract in some circumstances and work together in others.

i don't know if my sensory issues are rooted in adhd or autism or both, but lights and sound can really bother me. ive got clip-on sunglasses and earplugs that help with those situations.

i like (and function better with) routine, but i am also interested in new experiences as long as i'm able to do them at my own pace.
ive also noticed that my not picking up on things (information, social cues, etc.) can be exacerbated by adhd; i miss something because i'm focusing on something else, or maybe my brain decides it's unimportant information and tunes it out.

alexithymia has made interpersonal conflict difficult. i've only really had conflict with my roommate, and mostly because he is upset with some behavior that is easily traceable to adhd or being autistic or alexithymic. i can get dysregulated, not know why, and shut down. i'm sure it's frustrating for others, but it's also frustrating for me. i think it's even more frustrating that they don't seem to understand that i'm not being obtuse on purpose, it's like my brain has short circuited.

 

[autism-and-autotune]

Was just wondering this (amongst Autism being a Spectrum Disorder & there already being a lot of quirks + uniqueness).

I will start - I have Generalised Anxiety Disorder (GAD) which was diagnosed in 2019.

I think it does mean more anxiety to manage in tough times but does also possible make my mood low in the mornings (this is just a guess).

Would be interested to hear from everyone else.

Interesting; my partner also has GAD but it's been undiagnosed.

When I was a child, I was diagnosed with NVLD around eight or ten years old. I do not know if it is still there and separate from my autism, or if my autism was just mistaken for NVLD due to my developmental stage, the testing equipment and overall process, or... *shrugs* who know what else? Other symptoms relating to autism have always been present in my life, and it makes me so angry and disappointed at my parents, who never bothered to look further into my brain.

 

[Dom529]

Thanks for all the responses - interesting to hear what others have + how they are dealing (well) with it.

What is NVLD? @autism-and-autotune

 

[autism-and-autotune]

Thanks for all the responses - interesting to hear what others have + how they are dealing (well) with it.

What is NVLD? @autism-and-autotune

You're welcome!

NVLD is a learning disorder which causes difficulty with motor-skills, visual-spatial skills, and social skills. One of my banes was always math, which is very difficult for me, and nonverbal directions like recipes are incredibly horrendous for me to try and interpret.

It's ironic that fine-motor skills are listed as something to be aware of because my profession is writing and playing music :/ So...I really don't know why, in my youth, this was my diagnosis and not autism.

 

[Kayla55]

But not all red flags are co-morbid, for me I am different and can be emotionally intense at times. Accepting being different can also be a journey, I never researched all symptoms as undiagnosed and sometimes it was a bit tricky, very lonely but some of my symptoms were creative force, made me deeper, I was a real friends not fair-weather.
Fixating on analysing autism can take away some of just experience it.

My diagnosis in high school: misfit, reject but a lot was jealousy and sad people will pick someone with asd to take it out on but life goes on.

 

[Rodafina]

I wouldn’t say I “have” any of these, but I have diagnoses for OCD, GAD, mood disorder, and substance use disorder (in remission).

I’m probably just getting tripped up on semantics, but I definitely think about it as experiencing the symptoms of these disorders rather than “having them.” My thinking is that many mental health disorders (definitely not all) also occur on a spectrum in the population, and people experience these things differently and integrate them into their identities in different ways.

 

[Gerontius]

After whatever happened to me in January-ish I think I am really good at holding onto things almost like the "C-PTSD" stuff. I do not know if it is enough for a diagnosis or what. For sure I function only at a certain level of well-being; any lower than that & I start spiraling. It's about like stall speed on fixed-wing aircraft.

I am diagnosed with depression, and am unsure what it all actually comes from: is anxiety, depression, and a tendency to be deeply bothered by what most would call "minor things" autism-related? Probably.

 

[winterflower]

My current diagnoses are AvPD and social anxiety but those aren't topical at all anymore as I consider myself pretty much recovered from these.

My current correct diagnosis would be GAD, possibly with PTSD, though the latter has only been suggested by my psychiatrist and I'm personally not keen on self diagnosis. I'm on a waitlist for ADHD diagnostics as well.

Of course being autistic one is prone to anxiety in general, but to see whether it's worth diagnosis psychiatrists often seem to look at the origins of the anxious feelings. Are they related to and stemming from ASD e.g. you get anxious/panicky when you can't follow your routines, or are they seperate enough for an additional diagnosis?

I personally get the autistic anxiety but also the GAD anxiety. They are, in my experience, fundamentally different in origin although the results - that is, anxiety and/or panic - often feel similar. It's good to learn to differentiate between them as you can only work on your anxiety when you know the root cause.

 

[Dom529]

Lots of variety in responses - thank you for everyone (thus far) on being brave enough to share.