Went to a psychiatrist today

[Tistepiste]

I went to a psychiatrist today.
She came to tell me, after 30 mins of talking, that I suffer from "autism". I never ever imagined me to have that.

Not sure what to do with this information... And I don't like the sound of it?

Anyone any experience with it? This is a whole new level than I previously thought

[Elisabeth]

I think you can safely disregard the label. I mean, don't identify with it. There is so much more to you than the diagnosis.

My psychiatric diagnosis changed like three or four times over the years. That's more the norm than an exception. My experience stayed mine.

Autism is  a developmental disorder, with a bunch (a spectrum) of different ways to manifest in a person. It says very little about you in particular. You could be like Sheldon Cooper, or you could have just a little difficulty in overly crowded, noisy or otherwise stimulating spaces, or you could be someone who barely speaks and gets tantrum where they can't control their body. For some reason, they are all called 'autism'.

Psychiatry can't cure the root cause of autism. If there is such a thing as a root cause. Personal development, maybe, can help you lead a happier life. Treat your 'symptoms' as any other part of your personality: Accept them, possibly change them gradually, or find workarounds. Remember that you have to start where you are right now. If reading about autism helps you recognize patterns in yourself, why not.

If the psychiatrist offers you medication to mitigate some of your symptoms, you can take them as a crutch. Luckily, you have the choice to work on stuff you really want to work on right now, not necessarily on everything at once. But treat medication as just that: something you take temporarily to escape some pain and maybe get some free capacity to do the actual work. If that works for you, great.

[ajasatya]

@Tistepiste i don't have autism so i don't know better. i'm going to talk a little bit about myself.

i went to several psychiatrists/psychologists in the past and all of them were completely helpless. so i decided to take care of my health by myself, like every adult should do. i started to observe the situations that made me suffer and i was able to understand the pattern. i was studying myself through the lens of direct experience, not like we study about other things.

i became conscious of the sources of my struggles and then i managed to change my daily habits in a way that the bad patterns wouldn't get fed anymore. sometimes it does require radical change. i remember that i had to suddenly decide to go out for a walk a few times that i noticed that i was starting to live in my head. i had to learn how to get out of my head and inhabit my whole body.

i started to practice lots of things. tai chi, yoga, biodance... anything that would require me to be conscious of my body while breathing and moving. this is why i highly recommend those practices for people who haven't learned how to enjoy being as a body yet. the body experience can be extremely liberating.

[Gabriel Antonio]

@ajasatya Thanks for sharing! 

 

It looks like you're identifying with this label "autism."

Could give us more information about your life? 

Edited August 15, 2018 by Gabriel Antonio

[Gabriel Antonio]

@ajasatya Thanks for sharing! 

@Tistepiste It looks like you're identifying with this label "autism."

Could give us more information about your life? 

[Toby]

"Autism" is just a label for some symptoms which you might or might not have. You can look them up in DSM-5 or ICD-10 and see for yourself if you even remotely agree. Yes, it is just a label but is has some truth to it. For example if you are unable to read emotions or facial expressions it doesn't matter if you see "Autism" or anything else just as a label, it won't improve the situation. It's really practical: you have some symptoms and then you look what you can do about it. Some psychiatrists might be able to help, "some" might not.

[Toby]

26 minutes ago, Feel Good said:

Beware the keyboard jockeys who have psychology as a hobby and come onto forums to show off their extensive inside knowledge as just another way to bolster their own sense of importance rather than actually try to help people with their issues. 

There are a few of them here. 

Watch out 

I actually have been "diagnosed" with Autism years back when I once visited a psychiatrist (who in Germany by default are psychotherapists as well). So I researched the topic, spoke with a lot people who have the symptoms and came to my own conclusions (which were that I don't really have the symptoms but others clearly do). So if I were to be diagnosed with Autism again I would do exactly the same again: "research" it if it even applies to my situation and then also research what can be done about it.

[TeamBills]

On 13/08/2018 at 5:20 PM, Tistepiste said:

I went to a psychiatrist today.
She came to tell me, after 30 mins of talking, that I suffer from "autism". I never ever imagined me to have that.

Not sure what to do with this information... And I don't like the sound of it?

Anyone any experience with it? This is a whole new level than I previously thought

Someone thought I might have it so I did research on it. What I learned with my research (only with the Internet) is that anyone on the planet could have autism because it is worded in a way that is so completely vague. I am getting a neuropsyce test this month which should answer if I have it. 

Edited August 16, 2018 by TeamBills

[Tistepiste]

Thank you all for taking time to reply to me!

However, I don't identify with the label. That's why I said that I am not sure what to do with it.

It was just another label slammed at my head and I just couldn't really grasp the idea of it.
But it did interest and confused me of course, since that's not what I thought I would've diagnosed with as a condition.

Ill read your replies soon, busy studying now. Thanks again guys

[Nahm]

@Tistepiste A psychologist told me I was manic depressive, because he was as lost in the maya of thought as I was. 

[Jack River]

1 hour ago, Nahm said:

@Tistepiste A psychologist told me I was manic depressive, because he was as lost in the maya of thought as I was. 

When I was young my parents sent me to a few psychologist. I didn’t like rules structure and all that. I was always nice to people. Never really angry or anything. Just never have been into college and career stuff. Anyway the psychologists were always in a hurry to diagnose me as somthing. Even as a youngster I was aware that they didn’t actually know what they were taking about. Instead of looking for some diagnosis they should have seen the simple fact that I just didn’t like to play by the rules

[Nahm]

@Jack River ??

[Tistepiste]

@Nahm I remember you told me. It's the same as bipolar disorder right?

I'm glad you found your way back, dear friend! Now it's up to me. 

[Nahm]

@Tistepiste You’ll be great. Seems life sized, but it’s only thought sized, and only one at a time even. Meditation really changed everything. And nothing. 

[Jack River]

19 hours ago, Feel Good said:

And that shit was probably traumatizing in and of itself! 

Nah, just crazy expensive for the parents

Edited August 18, 2018 by Jack River