Diagnosis, Family Won't Accept It.

Hi to all,
I haven't been on these forums in several months. Anyway, I have an update:

I am a 17-yr-old female who was finally diagnosed with GAD (severe), OCD, clinical depression, and several other related disorders by a clinical psychologist about 1 1/2 year ago after begging my parents for professional help for over a year.

Anyway, I went to regular weekly sessions for nearly one year until my mother just abruptly stopped the appointments before my Cognitive Behavioral Therapy was actually done. Also, my parents refused to allow me to be medicated after my psychologist and family doctor kept repeatedly telling them that they seriously needed to consider putting me on a low dose of Lexapro.

Of course, the CBT sessions didn't "cure" or make my mental/anxiety/depression issues magically disappear, and my entire immediate household (my mom, dad, and 14-yr-old brother) act as if it's my fault that I have the problems that I do. My brother tells me that "anxiety isn't real" and that "my problems are all made up in my head", my mom tells me to "choose" to be happy, "get a grip on it", "mind over matter", and "don't claim your problems". My dad pretty much says the same thing as my mom.
Also, my mom is one of those organic food and supplement freaks so she's gone out and bought me "organic nerve blend" supplements and valerian root supplements to take for my problems. She's even got me on this special organic, anti-anxiety diet. Honestly, all of that has very little effect. She acts as if that's also my fault.

I'm in a constant state of emergency, have severe nervous stomach issues, hate going in stores due to people moving, have obsessive and negative thoughts, have obsessive habits, cannot tolerate any noise, cannot tolerate being in a car with more than 2 people for even very short distances, avoid hugging or touching people, am sensitive to smell, have to wear earplugs at school, cannot tolerate people spending the night at my house or spending the night with others, have extreme anxiety when many people are around me (even family), cannot tolerate people moving around me, cannot stand to be around people while they eat, self-injure through hitting and biting myself and head-banging to relieve tension and anxiety, and the list goes on. I guess you can say that I have pretty severe neurosis.

I try to control my issues but there's only so much one person can do. Everyone has a limit. My family doesn't seem to understand that. They don't believe in "naming or claiming problems" (in other words everyone has their own personality and mental disorders are just unique differences that docs want to make $$$ off of by calling it a "disorder"), that with will power you can control your mind, they think that brain medication of any kind is harmful and addictive and doesn't allow people to learn to cope with life, and that there's a natural way to treat everything.

Anyway, I've about had all I can take from my family. I'm sick of getting screamed yet and jerked around during panic attacks. I'm tired of very time I get slightly upset my mom starts b****ing about how "You just love being miserable". In 7 months I'll be 18 but it's gonna be hell waiting in misery to do something. My questions are: how can I get help without having to wait 7 months?
Are my parents doing the right thing?
What do treatments do you recommend for me?
How do I tell my family doctor?

Hi,

I am with you on this and I sense your deep anger and frustration. It took me a while to get my family to accept that I have problems and am just 'different from everyon else. However, it's so strange in your case that you were already seeing a doctor and therapist before your family decided to 'pull the plug' on it all. Firstly, a person CANNOT just snap out of a mental illness. If they could, they would do it in an instant, right? Your mother is certainly wrong on this. Your family just don't understand what it feels like to be depressed, that's all.

Anyway, the things that you have been diagnosed with might give you information on some aspects of your overall problem, but, then, what IS the overall problem? I received the same diagnoses as you have, but I later determined that I have Asperger's Syndrome, which explains everything about me. Look this up, because you sound like you have it too.

Kevin

Chucky wrote:Hi,

I am with you on this and I sense your deep anger and frustration. It took me a while to get my family to accept that I have problems and am just 'different from everyon else. However, it's so strange in your case that you were already seeing a doctor and therapist before your family decided to 'pull the plug' on it all. Firstly, a person CANNOT just snap out of a mental illness. If they could, they would do it in an instant, right? Your mother is certainly wrong on this. Your family just don't understand what it feels like to be depressed, that's all.

Anyway, the things that you have been diagnosed with might give you information on some aspects of your overall problem, but, then, what IS the overall problem? I received the same diagnoses as you have, but I later determined that I have Asperger's Syndrome, which explains everything about me. Look this up, because you sound like you have it too.

Kevin

Hi,

Thanks for the advice.

When I was visiting my psychologist, Asperger's was brought up, but my doctor thought I could communicate to well to have AS despite the fact that I speak flatly and monotone and don't make eye contact and I've never had a close friendship or any romantic relationship. I also don't have any major motor skill issues often associated with AS.

Anyway, I am so confused about what to do. The only professional I can go to at this point is my family doctor who I doubt knows anything about Asperger's. Now I'm wondering if I should seek a professional who specializes in AS.

How did your AS diagnosis come?

Hi,

I amen't actually officially diagnosed with it. The waiting lists to see a relevant professional for it here are too long (could be waiting for years). So, I am undiagnosed, but both my family and current set of doctors agree that I have Asperger's, and that's all that matters really. By the way, I am a relatively goo communicator too but still have Asperger's. The thing is that people with AS typically become less Asperger-like as they grow up - i.e. their symptoms become less pronounced. I wonder if your doctor factored this into the equation when you saw him/her?

My psychologist didn't do any in-depth Asperger's Syndrome evaluation. It was just something my symptoms matched but she said she'd dealt with lots of children suffering from severe Asperger's with co-morbid DXs like ADHD and bipolar, and she didn't think I fit the "classical Aspie profile" (as she called it).

My mom actually agreed that I had Asperger's until my psychologist ruled it out and she's pretty quick to scream "You do NOT have AS" if I ever bring it up...

Hmm, well, do you want to take an online test for Asperger's? There's one found here: http://www.rdos.net/eng/Aspie-quiz.php

If your mother originally accepted the Asperger's tag, then it might be worthwhile to pursue this line of diagnosis again. You coul also go back to your doctor and ask for a referral to a psychiatrist specialising in Autism Spectrum disorders (of which Asperger's belongs).

Your Aspie score: 161 of 200
Your neurotypical (non-autistic) score: 59 of 200
You are very likely an Aspie

Do you know if there is a certain score that pretty much determines that one does in fact have Asperger's?

You know what? - When I saw your score I actually said "wow... ...". 161 is higher than what most people who use the Asperger's Forum actually get (I think). I think my score was around 171, but I'm not sure. Anyway, this score does not say for definate that you have Asperger's, but it's a very good indication that you have it. What did you think about the result yourself?

If you have patience and time, you should take the 'quotient' test too. It can be found at either of these links:

http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/9.12/aqtest.html
http://www.okcupid.com/tests/take?testi ... 0153908026

I thought it was a pretty good indicator of being on the autism spectrum...especially after I got 2 people I know to take it. One (female) scored 11 and the other one (male) scored like a 59.

I'm familiar with AS and the autism spectrum but hardly anyone who is familiar with autism thinks I'm on the spectrum, plus there are some key autistic characteristics I don't have...like the speech delay.... I know with AS there usually isn't a speech delay, but I was saying my first few words by 5 1/2 months and that's exceptionally early even for a child without an ASD. Then I was walking at 8 1/2 months and have never had any motor skill delays, and from what I've read/heard, AS kids usually walk late and have lots of motor skill difficulty.
My half-sister's mother is a "buddy" to a college freshman male who has Asperger's. She said he seems "normal" except for the fact that he's incredibly rude, blunt, opinionated, and basically an obnoxious prick. She doesn't think I have AS because I have enough social awareness not to just bluntly tell someone, "You stink!" if I thought so, or "I wish you'd just shoo off," if someone was bugging me.

But then there are things so Aspie-ish about me like my constant anxiety, OCD, inability to hold eye contact, lack of peer relationships, social awkwardness and anxiety, monotonous voice, extensive vocabulary, obsessive interest, repetitive he behavior, etc.

Is it possible to just have tons and tons of autistic personality traits and not actually be autistic?

I just want to say, firstly, that the first reaction of most people to something like this is to deny that you have it. When I first broasched the idea that I have Asperger's to my family, they immediately denied it without even thinking about it. People just seem to naturally want to stay clear of mental health-related issues. Also, don't compare yourself to this other guy who has Asperger's, because most of us aren't like him. In fact, most of us are like you in that we have learned (all be it slowly) how to be nice to people. Many people with AS are, in fact, gentle people, if even gullible.

Are you in the UK? Asperger's has had a few bad stories attributed to it in the media over the past few monts by people with AS doing 'not so nice' things. Still, like I already said, we can be very nice people. We seem to adapt to our symptoms as we grow up too, such that our symptoms can have all but vanished in adulthood.

Kevin