I think although I may have experienced a mild degree of psychosis I have difficulties/problems that are not suited to this forum.
I have an urge to talk about those problems but I get the impression they are seen as irrelevant to this forum/people don’t really understand or want to know about them.
I am wondering whether I shouldn’t post about my problems/difficulties and should just stick to posting news .
I think the responses are just people trying to be helpful. I don’t think you should leave. However, I suppose it’s not a bad idea to see if you can find help other places as well. Maybe people with more similar experiences will have suggestions.
I’d like to hear them, let us know if we can help
It’s the ASD/NVLD problems I’ve talked about here on several occasions . I am not saying I don’t have a mental illness that has included some degree of psychosis. However that hasn’t been the only thing that’s affected me.
Even without the anxiety and paranoia I’d have difficulty with social interaction. In fact it’s struggling with those ASD/NVLD symptoms, and other people’s reactions because of those difficulties, that has tended to keep the anxiety at a high level and the paranoia at quite a high level.
It’s definitely affected my functioning.
Are you getting any treatment for this now? Could you get treatment for it if you asked for it? I get the impression that your treatment team has given up on you. That, and I know they haven’t been very understanding. I don’t think it’s right that you’re left to struggle with these issues by yourself and not getting appropriate help. Maybe you could join another forum in addition to this, one with people who can understand these other issues better than we can?
Check out the autism forums too.
I wish I could help too, I’m always happy to chat but I don’t follow what those acronyms are. I can understand social awkwardness but maybe not fully the type you experience. Still I think you should make use of all the resources you can to help cope with the anxiety you’re dealing with including this forum. Everyone deals with anxiety so I think there’s a lot of common ground
ASD= Autism Spectrum Disorder.
NVLD=Non-Verbal Learning Disorder.
They are similar but different.
I am getting no support for it. This is very much because the issues have never been recognised by a mental health team. Everything is myopically seen as leading back to the psych dx. What I have found out has been through my own research.
A decade or so ago my then care coordinator arranged for me to see a pdoc about the issues. It was a disaster. I was asked a few irrelevant questions and the issue was huffily dismissed.
Due to past experience, when I was branded as awkward,demanding and troublesome for seeking more help and support, I have been too nervous to really press things.
I have made the odd attempt which has fallen mainly on daft/deaf ears.
The best I got was my NP earlier this year mentioning autism in relation to things I said. However she also said (a) The service didn’t really deal with that and there wasn’t much available (b) It might be explained by schizotypal symptoms (there is known to be a degree of overlap between the two). She did give me a leaflet for a local autism charity but as I was due to move at any time I didn’t pursue that. She never though said she would refer me for an assessment.
I have looked for a charity in my new area but it all seems to be geared at parents with autistic children.
Hi there Firemonkey!
I hope you are feeling more hope regarding this and that you can n will get the support and understanding.
I have also been diagnosed with Aspergers and usually have a horrid time amount people socialising.
My main diagnosis is schizophrenia but my social difficulties have been so severe I could not leave my apartment I had and that when I was around people I go mute and feel one of the intense hysterical angst raging ones inside my body so I can not move but sit there n suffer immensely.
I could not work with aged care because of it.
I thought I could handle having just one client.
Social support … no way.
I suffered immensely trying
Even with family it can be so painful.
Amoung my bf friends n family i suffered too.
It seems a little better at this point in time but it has been so bad I truly could not handle being around people.
At all.
I still avoid many situations.
I think I get disrespected and pushed around s bit and seen as a total lowlife and looked down upon because of it too.
I hate going mute.
Recently I have been able to say a few words sometimes yet not socialise .
My body does not tense to hysterics all the time anymore.
My mother is convinced I have autism and not schizophrenia but I have had big psychosis that is clearly schizophrenia but she is afraid of the stigma and labelling.
Love seeing you around fire monkey and hope you will feel comfortable with us online to vent what you need n hopefully get support too.
I could not attend weddings, dinners etc but yesterday I sat through a bbq without my body n being going hysterical.
I was quiet and a outsider but it was great food n I sat pretty quiet and I was the driver.
Driving 80 in 110 road because I am not the best driver but am good enough to have my license.
I am a member of the wrong planet forum.
I think you should stay, your articles and stuff are very informative. I don’t have autism or aspergers ( I don’t think) But still find value in wrong planet, as a place with people with similar interests if nothing else. Those aspies are really involved in their interests, it’s infectious.
I say stay here too if you find value in it.
I am also not sure I belong.
My schizophrenia is very severe.
There are some fellow strugglers like @far_cry0 and @Om_Sadasiva .
But overall I feel that lots of people here have illnesses milder than mine,
the big majority I would say.
I see myself as having both ASD/NVLD symptoms and mental illness. I noted some of the things written in the letter to support my move here.
“And he has in the past suffered from some delusional thoughts which are now managed by medication” January 2017
“Struggles to take care of his needs adequately” January 2017
“Suffer from a high degree of anxiety” January 2017
“
” Due to some of his personality traits he finds it hard to develop or sustain social relationships" January 2017
I’m sorry that you’ve struggled so much to be heard, and still not been helped. Even if they think it’s all psychiatric, aren’t they still obliged to help you with the anxiety and the paranoia? Also, is there an autism charity in another town that you can call? They might know of something in your area, or be able to offer you some assistance if you’re able to travel a little to see them. It probably doesn’t help that I say this, but I think you’re right about both the ASD and the NVLD. You’ve posted enough info about the last one, and even if I’m not very knowledgeable about NVLD, the test results you’ve posted seemed pretty significant to me.
Is there any chance that you’ve under-communicated the severity of your anxiety and paranoia? And the personality issues they mentioned? They might be allowed to ignore the other issues, but it’s definitely not right that they ignore issues that they have the opportunity to do something about. And from what I’ve read, you rarely leave the house, so it could be very beneficial for you to get some assistance with the anxiety and paranoia.
You are doing better than you give yourself credit for. If your schizophrenia was indeed ‘very
severe’ I honestly think you would really struggle to participate here .
Yes there are probably those with both milder and more severe illnesses than you taking part here.
@firemonkey my schizophrenia is very severe.
Apart from participating here and playing chess I do nothing.
If I wouldn’t use the forum I would be left with nothing to do all day.
I think they believe they are doing what they can with the medication. It has helped to some degree with the emotional reactivity but not so much the paranoia itself.
It has not helped with the general/social anxiety.
Years ago I was put forward for a group dealing with anxiety where we were supposed to sit and talk. I never got past the beginning of the first session. We were told to mention something interesting about ourselves as a group warming exercise and I went into a state of panic and fled from the room. I just couldn’t think of anything.
I did later do another group which was loosely CBT orientated . It helped a bit, but not much.
What firemonkey is trying to say is that some SZ people can’t even figure out the internet. So you’re not that bad. It took the doctors 5+ years to figure out my medicine. That’s pretty good I guess. It also took me that long to quit monster drinks. I was my worst enemy.
I definitely have Aspergers symptoms/traits but not enough to have the condition. I think that’s what most people would say.
I also do very little apart from going online. You are one up on me with the chess. Years ago my father made a small attempt to teach me. It was an uphill task. For me the sequential /planning ahead aspect of it completely throws me.