Does your family know you have SPD?

I was diagnosed while in rehab at age 21, and I never bothered to mention it to my family. It wouldn't have mattered. To show why, when I was 12 my father had my IQ tested because I failed algebra (although I had been tested a few years before & had a high IQ). It wasn't until after both my parents died that I came across the report from that test, in which the psychologist ended the test early because my anxiety was so great. He had indicated that I should be treated for anxiety, but my father, in particular, never mentioned it & I doubt believed it. I was drinking a quart of vodka a day & had a hard time convincing him I was an alcoholic. Some of my brothers have the same willfull ignorance probably because they don't want to admit their own problems.

I mentioned to my wife once ghat I was diagnosed with SPD butbalso said I wasn't sure I believed the diagnosis (at the time I wasn't so sure if I believed it because I can function fine sociallynif I make the effort). I should bringnit up again.

-- Fri Nov 04, 2016 1:14 pm --

I was diagnosed while in rehab at age 21, and I never bothered to mention it to my family. It wouldn't have mattered. To show why, when I was 12 my father had my IQ tested because I failed algebra (although I had been tested a few years before & had a high IQ). It wasn't until after both my parents died that I came across the report from that test, in which the psychologist ended the test early because my anxiety was so great. He had indicated that I should be treated for anxiety, but my father, in particular, never mentioned it & I doubt believed it. I was drinking a quart of vodka a day & had a hard time convincing him I was an alcoholic. Some of my brothers have the same willfull ignorance probably because they don't want to admit their own problems.

I mentioned to my wife once ghat I was diagnosed with SPD butbalso said I wasn't sure I believed the diagnosis (at the time I wasn't so sure if I believed it because I can function fine sociallynif I make the effort). I should bringnit up again.

Having an asperger's diagnosis i think helped by mum only slightly because she always knew some things were different in me but my mum is very loving and while i am not spd diagnosed, i feel it fits me a good a bit more than aspergers does but i doubt it would change anything. My mum supported me in bad times and my dad tries but i think he knows he can't connect to me properly and is kind of apathetic to it all but we interact as normally as i think we can.

I might tell my mum if spd related things ever come up but i don't think they will because she will just think they are signs of my depression or me being my usual self which i think she is secretly glad about as she read about the bad cases of aspergers where violence comes into play and i think it freaked her out. I do kind of insult my family a lot if i see them sometimes but i usually hardly interact with them much anyways.

My 3 older brothers don't care and i usually ignore them completely anyway, my dad can't take my insults even my minor insults as he gets annoyed unless i desensitise him to them like i did with my nicknames for him and my mother i think understands me as best as i allow her to and rips my dad apart if he gets annoyed with my treatment of him. I kind of dislike thinking my dad weak willed but he really is sometimes, my pride doesn't allow me to be a softy like him and i feel like its going to get me in trouble in society one day He is a hard worker though so that was a nice factor that allowed for my lazy self to admire him a bit and he comes from a family where he was kind of neglected emotionally but he still shows love to my mum even though our family finances are crap.

My family knows but they do not understand it one bit. I have tried to explain it to them many times but always failed. They have this idea that I dont know what im saying since i have a mental disorder. i am very close to my parents but i detest spending time with any other relative. They cannot understand that i am happy with their presence but not while interacting with them.

I suppose. I've explained it to them, at first to reassure them that I was not schizophrenic. Then I printed out a dossier of papers I'd collected over the years to avoid having multiple conversations. Some read it, others I know did not.

The general consensus among them is that I am "impaired" in some way, but I don't get the sense they're interested in the particulars. Just that I take my medication and avoid unnecessary stress. It's the best I could ask for... under the circumstances.

No. They just think i'm quiet and shy.

My family is aware of my diagnosis but I don't think they understand it. I am glad I disclosed however because now when I don't feel like being social they leave me be.

chili052 wrote:…do your parents and/or family members know or understand that you have this disorder?

No, because

• it wouldn't bring any benefit to me,
• whilst I then would have to explain a lot.
• Plus there would be the "See? I always told you, that that's a weirdo, didn't I?" fraction, I'd like to avoid

chili052 wrote:Would that then mean that you would then have what could be considered a "normal" relationship with your family?

I did well with them, but never shed a single tear, after some of them died, some the hard way too. Is that normal?

PS Is answering to old threads (aka the so called "thread-necromancy") a problem here? If that's the case, please tell and I will stop.

2ost wrote:S Is answering to old threads (aka the so called "thread-necromancy") a problem here?

Yes and no- a thread like this there's no harm in reviving it, it is asking everyone a question, after all.

When we get people who latch onto a old old old thread just to make about it about themselves anyway, when it was about the OP's problem and they're long absent then we might move it into its own thread or gently suggest they start a fresh thread of their own. But I know what you mean some venues are more enthusiastic about leaving threads alone, than others.