Page 2 of 4 [ 60 posts ]  Go to page Previous  1, 2, 3, 4  Next

itw
Blue Jay
Blue Jay

User avatar

Joined: 5 Jun 2007
Age: 63
Gender: Female
Posts: 99
Location: washington state

27 Feb 2011, 5:13 pm

Getting overstimulated so easily is definitely an Aspie trait. My NT acquaintances are always telling me that they experience the same things I do but, with any autistic spectrum disorder, it's the degree to which this happens. Everyone gets overwhelmed but I find myself overwhelmed most of the time. It doesn't take much and I do believe it's an Aspie trait.

Waiver, you might want to investigate the possibility of having Aspergers. Have you taken the "Asperger Quotient" test? You can take it online - just google "asperger quotient test" and take the test that "Wired" has: http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/9.12/aqtest.html Do your own scoring because if you let them calculate it, it will always come up with 24. I had several people take it and when everyone was coming up with a score of 24, we became suspicious. :)

RedHanrahan, I've also been through the drug and self destructive behavior thing. I was definitely self medicating and was always frustrated when it wasn't working. I am now on Lamotrigine which helps me a lot. I stopped the drug and alcohol thing more than 20 years ago (I'm 50) and I found that the depression and anxiety was unbearable even with legal drugs (antidepressants). It wasn't until a friend's grandchild was diagnosed that I started looking into Asperger's. It took forever and a lot of work on my part to get my doc's to get onboard with the diagnoses and then they finally started trying other drugs that might help me.

Hope this helps.



RedHanrahan
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 1 Sep 2007
Age: 57
Gender: Male
Posts: 1,204
Location: Aotearoa/New Zealand

27 Feb 2011, 5:52 pm

Thanks but I'm a lot better now.

Diagnosis was good for me for the most part, it suited my analytical approach to life and allowed me to become a lot more self aware and in turn I am a little more in control.

I am sober these days even down to being cafine free and don't even take any 'legal' authorised medications and have adopted a slightly more informed and disciplined CBT approach to my cognition of sensory overload.

I am not down on some illegal drugs though as some of the conciousness enhancers definitely allowed me to grow through the experiences they stimulated particularly MDMA.

I do know what you mean by 'self medicating' though - well I think I do anyway

peace j


_________________
Just because we can does not mean we should.

What vision is left? And is anyone asking?

Have a great day!


Georgia
Sea Gull
Sea Gull

User avatar

Joined: 21 Oct 2010
Age: 52
Gender: Female
Posts: 242
Location: At the foot of the mountain

28 Feb 2011, 1:48 am

I've been taking Wellbutrin/Bupropion for almost two years and I think I either need something stronger, or I need to hole-up in my house for a few months.
(Yes, my state of mind is usually overwhelmed. I hate it.)


_________________
Hoppiness is lurv.


Waiver
Emu Egg
Emu Egg

User avatar

Joined: 26 Feb 2011
Gender: Female
Posts: 3

28 Feb 2011, 8:01 am

itw wrote:
Getting overstimulated so easily is definitely an Aspie trait. My NT acquaintances are always telling me that they experience the same things I do but, with any autistic spectrum disorder, it's the degree to which this happens. Everyone gets overwhelmed but I find myself overwhelmed most of the time. It doesn't take much and I do believe it's an Aspie trait.

Waiver, you might want to investigate the possibility of having Aspergers. Hope this helps.


Thank you for responding. I will take the tests and see what happens. I'm hesitant to say or think I have Aspie traits because I'm afraid of incorrectly diagnosing myself or assuming something which has not been confirmed by professional diagnosis. But whatever the results of any quiz, there's enough of a pattern throughout my life to suggest there's something that has never felt right. I'm tired of feeling that it's just a personal or psychological issue. I am a bit tired of blaming myself for something for which I may not have complete control.



itw
Blue Jay
Blue Jay

User avatar

Joined: 5 Jun 2007
Age: 63
Gender: Female
Posts: 99
Location: washington state

28 Feb 2011, 12:28 pm

Waiver wrote:
Thank you for responding. I will take the tests and see what happens. I'm hesitant to say or think I have Aspie traits because I'm afraid of incorrectly diagnosing myself or assuming something which has not been confirmed by professional diagnosis. But whatever the results of any quiz, there's enough of a pattern throughout my life to suggest there's something that has never felt right. I'm tired of feeling that it's just a personal or psychological issue. I am a bit tired of blaming myself for something for which I may not have complete control.


I was very lucky in the fact that my psychologist told me to take the test and, even though he didn't know a lot about aspergers since he's an adult psychologist, he was very willing to educate himself through books, seminars and talking to other docs about it. Ask your doctor what he or she thinks. It's worth the investigation. Knowing why I am the way I am has helped me immensely. Although, there are times when I get really depressed knowing there is no cure since It's how our brain is wired.

Just as a side note:
I also have a nephew who is 14 and is on the low end of the autistic spectrum. He's nonverbal but he display's traits that I can relate to. I had another nephew who died last year (he had other medical problems) who also was autistic (he had all the traits like walking on his tip toes and hand flapping and being totally withdrawn). He was never formally diagnosed with autism since he had so many other things wrong with him and he was born in 1976 when the medical establishment knew almost nothing about it. Anyway, this lends a lot of support for it possibly being inherited. I think my mom had Asperger's too. I also found out that I had a great-uncle that no one knew anything about until my Aunt started doing genealogy. He died in 1912 in the Oregon State Insane Asylum. His dad swore everyone in the family to secrecy. I was able to obtain his medical records and am very suspicous he had Aspergers. I'm going to have my doctor look at them to see what he thinks. Back then, they labeled a lot of people who weren't insane as insane. I am so glad I live in this time because I'm sure they would have put me there.



itw
Blue Jay
Blue Jay

User avatar

Joined: 5 Jun 2007
Age: 63
Gender: Female
Posts: 99
Location: washington state

28 Feb 2011, 2:32 pm

Georgia wrote:
I've been taking Wellbutrin/Bupropion for almost two years and I think I either need something stronger, or I need to hole-up in my house for a few months.
(Yes, my state of mind is usually overwhelmed. I hate it.)


I take lamotrigine along with buproprion. The lamotrigine (lamictal) helps my anxiety which causes my depression. It allows me to leave my house and have a somewhat normal life. There are also other drugs that can enhance the antidepressant. Talk with a psychiatrist about it. They, of course, know more than any other kind of doc.
Hope this helps.



tomboy4good
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 14 Apr 2008
Age: 62
Gender: Female
Posts: 1,379
Location: Irritating people everywhere

14 Mar 2011, 9:46 am

So glad to know I'm not the only one who gets overwhelmed. I have not been formally DX'd because my HMO doesn't recognize Aspergers, especially in my age group...too old (as if it never existed prior to the early 90s).

I work full time in customer service. I am required to wear a headset (it makes a high pitched beeping when my phone rings-issue number one). Issue number 2, it's noisy. Number 3, I am constantly interrupted, which makes staying on task really difficult. Issue 4, I am in the throes of menopause with bad hot flashes that are preceded by intense anxiety. As if those things weren't enough, I have a daughter who calls me at work because she forgets I have a job & needs to talk. I'm pretty sure she's on the spectrum somewhere, but lower functioning than I am. Throw into the mix the busy season, & meltdowns are eminent. My boss just doesn't understand how difficult my job is for me. I hear that no one has ever performed it as well as I do, but even so it's affecting my health. And I get yelled at if I make mistakes. :oops: I know I'm not perfect, & I know my limitations....I just wish I could get others to understand too.

I'm going to have to get some of that Rescue Remedy. Maybe it might help...it's certainly worth a try. As it is, my doctor only wants to put me on anti-depressants, instead of treating my actual health issues. I've tried several & they don't help my symptoms, & that just leads to more stress. Sometimes I feel like a volcano on the verge of exploding.


_________________
If I do something right, no one remembers. If I do something
wrong, no one forgets.

Aspie Score: 173/200, NT score 31/200: very likely an Aspie
5/18/11: New Aspie test: 72/72
DX: Anxiety plus ADHD/Aspergers: inconclusive


itw
Blue Jay
Blue Jay

User avatar

Joined: 5 Jun 2007
Age: 63
Gender: Female
Posts: 99
Location: washington state

15 Mar 2011, 11:44 am

tomboy4good wrote:
So glad to know I'm not the only one who gets overwhelmed. I have not been formally DX'd because my HMO doesn't recognize Aspergers, especially in my age group...too old (as if it never existed prior to the early 90s).

I work full time in customer service. I am required to wear a headset (it makes a high pitched beeping when my phone rings-issue number one). Issue number 2, it's noisy. Number 3, I am constantly interrupted, which makes staying on task really difficult. Issue 4, I am in the throes of menopause with bad hot flashes that are preceded by intense anxiety. As if those things weren't enough, I have a daughter who calls me at work because she forgets I have a job & needs to talk. I'm pretty sure she's on the spectrum somewhere, but lower functioning than I am. Throw into the mix the busy season, & meltdowns are eminent. My boss just doesn't understand how difficult my job is for me. I hear that no one has ever performed it as well as I do, but even so it's affecting my health. And I get yelled at if I make mistakes. :oops: I know I'm not perfect, & I know my limitations....I just wish I could get others to understand too.

I'm going to have to get some of that Rescue Remedy. Maybe it might help...it's certainly worth a try. As it is, my doctor only wants to put me on anti-depressants, instead of treating my actual health issues. I've tried several & they don't help my symptoms, & that just leads to more stress. Sometimes I feel like a volcano on the verge of exploding.


Does your HMO doc think you're going to grow out of it? Get a new doc if you can. My doc wouldn't consider my diagnosis until I basically had a breakdown. Then he had me see a psychologist that he said knows about Aspergers which he didn't but he was willing to look into it. He had me take the Asperger Quotient test and listened to what my life has been like. So, he told my phychiatrist (who you need to see because they know what drugs are out there) I had Aspergers and that they needed to go to the root of my depression which is social anxiety (among other things). Anyway, that is why I am on Lamotrigine. It really helps. Believe me, I felt like a volcano and I did explode to the point where I had to be hospitalized for a short time. That's actually when they started trying other drugs along with the antidepressant. They put me on Zyprexa first, which worked well but I gained 20 pounds. I researched it and found out it causes massive weight gain. So, I switched to the lamotrigine, I lost the weight and I feel a lot better.

I haven't tried the Rescue Remedy but if it works, that's great.



tomboy4good
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 14 Apr 2008
Age: 62
Gender: Female
Posts: 1,379
Location: Irritating people everywhere

15 Mar 2011, 7:40 pm

itw wrote:
tomboy4good wrote:
So glad to know I'm not the only one who gets overwhelmed. I have not been formally DX'd because my HMO doesn't recognize Aspergers, especially in my age group...too old (as if it never existed prior to the early 90s).

I work full time in customer service. I am required to wear a headset (it makes a high pitched beeping when my phone rings-issue number one). Issue number 2, it's noisy. Number 3, I am constantly interrupted, which makes staying on task really difficult. Issue 4, I am in the throes of menopause with bad hot flashes that are preceded by intense anxiety. As if those things weren't enough, I have a daughter who calls me at work because she forgets I have a job & needs to talk. I'm pretty sure she's on the spectrum somewhere, but lower functioning than I am. Throw into the mix the busy season, & meltdowns are eminent. My boss just doesn't understand how difficult my job is for me. I hear that no one has ever performed it as well as I do, but even so it's affecting my health. And I get yelled at if I make mistakes. :oops: I know I'm not perfect, & I know my limitations....I just wish I could get others to understand too.

I'm going to have to get some of that Rescue Remedy. Maybe it might help...it's certainly worth a try. As it is, my doctor only wants to put me on anti-depressants, instead of treating my actual health issues. I've tried several & they don't help my symptoms, & that just leads to more stress. Sometimes I feel like a volcano on the verge of exploding.


Does your HMO doc think you're going to grow out of it? Get a new doc if you can. My doc wouldn't consider my diagnosis until I basically had a breakdown. Then he had me see a psychologist that he said knows about Aspergers which he didn't but he was willing to look into it. He had me take the Asperger Quotient test and listened to what my life has been like. So, he told my phychiatrist (who you need to see because they know what drugs are out there) I had Aspergers and that they needed to go to the root of my depression which is social anxiety (among other things). Anyway, that is why I am on Lamotrigine. It really helps. Believe me, I felt like a volcano and I did explode to the point where I had to be hospitalized for a short time. That's actually when they started trying other drugs along with the antidepressant. They put me on Zyprexa first, which worked well but I gained 20 pounds. I researched it and found out it causes massive weight gain. So, I switched to the lamotrigine, I lost the weight and I feel a lot better.

I haven't tried the Rescue Remedy but if it works, that's great.


Hi ITW,

I wish it were that simple I have Kaiser. The only mood disorders they recognize are depression & bi-polar. Anything beyond that doesn't exist. :-( I've been trying for at least 3 years to get them to listen. I might as well talk to a wall for all the good it does. Btw, Kaiser no longer treats menopause either. Their preferred drug to treat symptoms is Prozac. Nice huh? I know what my problems are....done enough research to understand it. Probably have more life knowledge of Aspergers than any of the shrinks I've seen to date, including the psychiatrist. Soooo, I'm stuck being on the spectrum & flying under the radar.


_________________
If I do something right, no one remembers. If I do something
wrong, no one forgets.

Aspie Score: 173/200, NT score 31/200: very likely an Aspie
5/18/11: New Aspie test: 72/72
DX: Anxiety plus ADHD/Aspergers: inconclusive


Djn
Yellow-bellied Woodpecker
Yellow-bellied Woodpecker

User avatar

Joined: 18 Mar 2011
Age: 50
Gender: Male
Posts: 54
Location: Ohio

22 Mar 2011, 10:20 pm

Yes, I get overwhelmed pretty easy. It seems that the pace of my wife and I's life has pickedup over the years. Weekends where there are at least a couple of social events with big crowds I feel zoned by the end of the weekend. Sometimes if I go into a situation with people milling around alot, noises seem to reverberate around in my head. I've found non-aspies don't understand this sound sensitivity, but it wears me down.



poppyfields
Deinonychus
Deinonychus

User avatar

Joined: 23 Jul 2010
Age: 35
Gender: Female
Posts: 377

22 Mar 2011, 10:33 pm

I have emotional overloads a lot. When things don't go according to plan I can't adjust. If I'm talking to my boyfriend and he says something that upsets me, I can't just move on like a normal person. The stress of it propels me into a mild meltdown and I have to get out of the conversation right then (usually by hanging up on him since we live far away) whichh of course makes things even worse. If I stay in the situation, I become like a broken record, my mind cannot move past the poblem, it's like tryingg to open a locked door when you don't have the key.



Matariki
Tufted Titmouse
Tufted Titmouse

User avatar

Joined: 23 Mar 2011
Age: 33
Gender: Female
Posts: 28

31 Mar 2011, 6:12 am

Yep, I can get really overwhelmed. Especially when there is too much noise, I don't know what it does but it makes me want to run as far away as I can. I find when I'm in a supermarket or riding my motorcycle, listening to music cuts out outside auditory distractions allowing me to remain calm and focus. Sometimes at home I have to cover my ears when my siblings are being loud, as it hurts. I've always had extremely sensitive hearing.

Also too much social interaction makes me go into isolation, recently I got out of an isolation period which lasted 3 months. That meant me not leaving the house except for maybe once a week to pick up groceries.

As for melt downs, they tend to happen when I'm having trouble trying processing emotional information.


_________________
"I am different, not less " - Temple Grandin


Georgia
Sea Gull
Sea Gull

User avatar

Joined: 21 Oct 2010
Age: 52
Gender: Female
Posts: 242
Location: At the foot of the mountain

03 Apr 2011, 2:19 am

I'm having a wierd sensation today that I wonder if anyone else has experienced.

What would usually overwhelm me is trying to do things that I'd rather avoid, but I'm trying to stick it through like a good little fake NT.

Today, I was doing creative brainstorming with another eccentric friend of mine for a few hours. It was really fun and our convo gave me tons of ideas for some new artwork. The trouble is, now I am so wound up (EIGHT HOURS LATER) that I can't sleep. I'm used to having insomnia because I'm fretting over work or the kids.

This is fun stuff that's got me all agitated. I don't get it! :hmph:


_________________
Hoppiness is lurv.


nolan1971
Toucan
Toucan

User avatar

Joined: 12 May 2012
Age: 52
Gender: Male
Posts: 290
Location: Gainesville FL

14 May 2012, 8:16 pm

Yes for me absolutely! I can't handle several things at once so I usually spread out tasks and chores as much as possible. Like laundry one day and shopping on another which makes it much easier to handle.



finallyFoundOutWhy
Yellow-bellied Woodpecker
Yellow-bellied Woodpecker

User avatar

Joined: 27 Dec 2011
Age: 58
Gender: Male
Posts: 51

25 May 2012, 5:39 pm

what everyone else said: me too

the biggest problem for me is that i see the world as a system

as in "systems" as in "networks" and in "a system of doing things/process"

i'm a computer guy by profession, but all systems interest me: e.g. politics, the human body (and subsystems e.g. endocrine system), ecology, factories and workflow, blah, blah, blah

because i see the world and its interconnectedness, any problem that i am trying to solve, no matter how small has a massive number of cascading effects

if too many problems get tossed my way at once, or i don't keep my attention to a narrow topic/focus the immense number of variables and potential outcomes freezes me because i can't calculate through and model all of the possible outcomes from that many potentialities

i am also very concerned about other peoples feelings and wants and needs - ad those to the above described "systems" world-view and...

i freeze and am overwhelmed constantly


_________________
"Your Aspie score: 172 of 200
Your neurotypical (non-autistic) score: 51 of 200
You are very likely an Aspie"
Diagnosed 2010 at age 45
Asperger's and NVLD


Sweetleaf
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 6 Jan 2011
Age: 34
Gender: Female
Posts: 34,439
Location: Somewhere in Colorado

25 May 2012, 5:43 pm

I get overwhelmed very easily, it would be nice if I didn't because then maybe less people would wonder why I can't deal with the same amount of crap most people my age can.


_________________
We won't go back.