High anxiety, depression & Autism questions

Hello and welcome @Tommy87

Firstly, good on you for making your first post. I've just moved the post to a spot where it will hopefully get the most engagement from the community, I hope that's okay

I'm wondering if you have any strategies or tools you might already be using, or might have tried in regards to managing your anxiety and stress?

While you're waiting to hear back from others with their experiences regarding autism, you might like to check out this thread and have a read through to see if there's anything helpful in there

Thanks very much, I really appreciate your response & that’s fine, cheers for that. To be honest, I haven’t been doing anything but foolishly smoking & drinking coffee which just makes it worse. I have been looking into grounding techniques though & really want to give them a good try, but I feel like it would almost be impossible for me to get out of my own head, I’m also going to buy some chamomile tea when I next get paid & am really trying hard to quit smoking, but I’m struggling even though I have patches & the nicotine gum. Thanks too & I’ll have a look now, I really appreciate it. Was also going to say if I take a bit to respond to anyone that I’m not being rude, I currently have an infection where a broken crown in my gum is hurting me to the point that I have a constant migraine, waiting till the 6th of March to get proper oral surgery to have it removed. Cheers again & sorry for rambling.

Yeah, caffeine and tobacco probably don't help too much @Tommy87 though I understand that they can bring some short-term relief sometimes. If you're able to even start to reduce them both that could be helpful

Grounding exercises are good, but yeah I understand not being able to get out of your head. I think that's a bit of a misconception about mindfulness and meditative exercises - it's not about your mind going blank or not thinking, it's more about being more aware of your thoughts and the activity in your mind. Over time it can start to give you a bit more control over which thoughts you follow and which you just let pass by, but it takes practice and really there's no wrong or right way to do those things

Some of the things that I feel help me the most when my anxiety is high is breathing exercises like this one, doing something active that requires a bit of my focus, and trying to be on top of my sleep routine and avoiding or limiting caffeine

Oh ouch, sorry to hear about your tooth! There's no pressure to respond by a certain time, you just engage when you're able. I hope the tooth extraction goes smoothly!

Hey @Tommy87 , Welcome to the forums. Great to have you with us.

I do not have lived experience of autism, but I've worked with a lot of youth who are autistic. I have to say, many are medicated for their anxiety as they feel they need to 'conform' to society.

And yes, medication helps to some extent, but the idea of positive self-talk can be helpful as well as grounding exercises (deep breathing).

I wonder if finding like minded people is also helpful?

Cheers for taking the time to respond & for going in to such detail. So today I actually started to cut back on the smoking & drank a bit less coffee/iced coffee, I’ve just been thinking if I can just do nothing for the next few days & just chuck on a patch when I wake up, hopefully I can just quit cold turkey as that’s the only way that I’ve been able to do it in the past & when I’ve given up smoking for a few months/few weeks, I find I only need one coffee in the morning & then it just doesn’t appeal to me & feel much better, plus sleep a lot better. Cheers as well for explaining the grounding techniques a lot better than I thought I had understood them, even when I’ve been depressed & forced myself to go for a walk, I’ve always felt better once I’ve gotten back. When I was younger & in a rehab they got us to try yoga, but it just didn’t appeal to me & so I didn’t even give it a chance, looking back I think I can see how stuff like that would help. Thanks as well for sharing that breathing video, I’ve just saved it & will watch it a few times over so it soaks in, funny thing is I naturally hold my breath & exhale at times without doing it purposely. Thanks as well, never thought I’d ever say that I’m actually looking forward to seeing an oral surgeon, haha. Thanks again & I really appreciate it, hope you had a good one & cheers again.

Another thing I've found helpful if guided mindfulness using the Smiling Mind app @Tommy87

Otherwise my mind gets side tracked and I lose concentration altogether.

Honestly, I love your proactive attitude. It's sorta contagious lol

Love it.

All the best and catch you soon!

Cheers & thanks for the welcome & for all the work you do. Just yesterday I did a mental health care plan with a GP & so will be getting to talk to a psychologist for ten times in a year which I’m looking forward to as well as doing the 16 counselling sessions through SANE which I’m really appreciative of. Even though I would have to look right into any of the medications one might recommend, & weigh up the pros & cons with any of the possible side effects, I wouldn’t be completely against maybe trying a medication, I just wish there was an anxiety/insomnia type of drug that didn’t cause weight gain or fertility issues. I’m also a bit worried about being diagnosed with autism & if it would cause any issues with my driver’s license, plus the potential stigma when trying to get back into the workforce, even though it’s something that shouldn’t be stigmatised at all. I’m also not sure if I actually would feel comfortable talking to others with autism, & struggle in group settings, possibly though it could help. I also think that you’re spot on with the positive self-talk (as I speak terribly of myself) & grounding exercises, & want to try everything possible before turning to medication. Sorry for rambling on & being a bit over the place. Cheers again & hope you had a good day. Cheers.

I am probably on the spectrum @Tommy87 but not had spare money for a diagnosis… my son was , and they said it probably was the parents…no current therapists have been interested in it, though one suggested I had cPTSD.

it shouldn’t impact your license to drive

you are also spot on that many so called symptoms are probably true for most people

getting a diagnosis can help or hinder depending on how it unfolds. Some people are relieved and may receive better access to help

welcome to the community

Thanks very much for your response, I really appreciate it. Sorry to hear that you haven’t found the right therapist that’s interested to help yet & I hope you do soon, but glad there’s groups like this to help in the mean time. On the one hand I’m glad that society is starting to try help people that might be on the spectrum & on the other hand I’ve been a bit shocked just realising that I most likely showed all the signs when growing up & at times was punished, & I don’t even blame them because that’s just how things were & they wouldn’t have even known, plus at times I deserved it. Even though I’ve never been in a warzone, I’ve had a few different people tell me that I would have PTSD too, but it’s another one of those labels that I feel most people would have had at times. Sorry for the ramble & being a bit over the place. Thanks very much again for your message, I really appreciate it & hope you’re having a good one. Cheers.

All the best with getting the support you deserve @Tommy87 .

How are you today?

Thinking of you