Anxiety

[Lpenguin77]

Does anyone else suffer from anxiety? Most of the time I feel like something bad is going to happen. I do not know if it is because I never know what the future will bring or if it is something else. The anxiety seems to be getting worse over time. What do you do to ease your anxiety?

 

[King_Oni]

Have you been diagnosed with an anxiety disorder?

In general, I think I worry to much, and that results in somewhat of anxiety issues. If I'm out the house, say.. visiting my girlfriend, I'm fine, but at some point during the day I begin to wonder if I have any "bad news" in my mail... ranging from bills, to notes from reposession, to appointments from job centres. Yes, that to me is bad news, because that kinda means that I have to stop doing what I'm doing and I feel I have to prepare for such an appointment, even if that's 2 weeks in the future. And of course the stress doesn't end there... being prepared and hope the talk is a bit like you expect, plan ahead and all, adds up to stress.

Mostly I'm cool on sunday, cause I get no mail, nor email, nor phonecalls from anyone (except for friends or such).

So what I kinda do is at least limit the stream of "messages"... I don't give out my phone number that much, nor my mailadress. Also, while I might suffer a bit from anxiety in such situations, I'm kinda "quick" with a lot of stuff in the sense that I jump on it, and get it over with instead of eating me for days or weeks. That relieves stress in the sense that at least I did my part on those, mostly legal, matters so I can try to get on with my life without being stressed and anxious until the next few days or so.

I think that it might be comforting to try and set up your life a bit. What do you want? What do you expect? And work towards that. Again, speaking for myself... currently in the situation of filing disability and all, so that's pretty much the thing I want to focus on if needed. Make those appointments, seek help to get it sorted out... as well as currently I wrote some companies I had run ins with currently and that stress me out, to send my mail to my moms, so she's my representative for now... I found that his works (but that's hard if you don't live with your parents or don't keep in touch with them a lot).

Also, what helps me relieve anxiety? Doing things I like... that usually gets me through about at least 15 hours a day... that one hour of stress a day, I can deal with for now... not saying I can deal with that in the long run, but for now... it's manageable.

 

[2010Dolby]

Everybody's Aspergers is different. Mine is divided into the typical core Aspie traits and anxiety. I've done an amazing job and adapting, coping to, and hiding my core Aspie traits but the anxiety has (and probably always will be) a massive inhibitor to my life.

When I was in high school I always worried about serious bodily injury and death. From car accidents, to football injuries, and I was even worried I would be murdered. Later I started to worry that I would be a failure in life, both socially and financially. Now I mostly worry about the well-being of my truck and car but Im still terrified that I'll be very unsuccesfull in life.

 

[Caspar]

Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) helps if racing thoughts and obsessive compulsiveness is bothering you. For physical symptoms, the only thing that I found has helped is medication. Medication is cheap but seeing a doctor and psychologist can be expensive...

As for how I cope, I find exercise to help a lot. Lately, I have also discovered that complete silence helps (i.e., earplugs) when I need to concentrate. Of course, medication, meditation, and relaxing music helps too.

 

[y2marmar]

I get anxious because I like to know exactly how things are going to work out. What's going to happen? What do I do? What will it result in? etc. If there's uncertainty, or any doubt in how things will go, I do tend to get anxious and worry

 

[Harpuia]

I worry a lot because obsessiveness is my major trait of my Aspie's and if I'm not in total control of something, I freak out that it all falls apart. The funny part is, things often do fall apart for me, so I guess you could say experience is a factor in this too.

 

[arthurfakaya]

Does anyone else suffer from anxiety? Most of the time I feel like something bad is going to happen. I do not know if it is because I never know what the future will bring or if it is something else. The anxiety seems to be getting worse over time. What do you do to ease your anxiety?

I suffer from extreme social anxiety, especially in situations that are new to me, and for any situation in which I might be required to communicate verbally - even if it is small talk (which I also find inane). I rarely use my phone other than to send texts and emails and calendar functions. Forget about public telephones. I'm better taking calls than making them because then it's the other person's job to set the agenda. The worst situation for me would be a party, so if I couldn't get out of it I would drink heavily beforehand and during.

I do find that for each time I face my fears and anxieties it gets easier the next time, and the anxieties will decrease if I make the effort. Avoiding those anxiety-inducing situations is an easy and tempting option, but it's a bit of a cop-out. We only grow when we extend ourselves beyond our comfort zone. Another strategy I employ for easing anxieties is to excessively prepare for every eventuality. I firmly believe that there is a logical solution to every problem, even if the problem itself appears to defy logic (like many anxieties do).

 

[Bubblepig]

I used to be a lot more anxious that I am now. At school and university, for example, I was anxious being around so many people for hours on end, and this spilled over into my everyday life so I was anxious getting the bus or going to the supermarket, for example. Now that I'm able to avoid triggering situations, I'm a lot more calm. In the past I was diagnosed with anxiety but I wouldn't even say I'm that anxious anymore. I haven't had a panic attack since I left university 3 years ago.

 

[epath13]

Found it I think I have some anxiety issues. Or "what if" issues. Anxiety is also an interesting word, if you think of it. Anyway, I'm more of danger worrier, usually I start thinking stuff after watching news, some tv shows, reading "Life sucks. Life is dangerous. They are going to get you" kinds of posts. Which I believe is pretty normal for many people, especially if you've had some traumatic things happening in the past. But I also noticed 2 weird things. I should probably monitor if there's a pattern of some sort. I have a theory that certain foods do make you feel more anxious: foods containing a lot of sugar, caffeine and also chocolate, actually. Then every evening I take my Topomax and some mild sedative herb. Topomax can make you feel a little bit "on the edge" sometimes, that's why I take the herb. It works pretty well, but on occasion I forget to take the pills or suddenly decide: "maybe I should quit". I think it might have an influence as well. And one major contributor to my well being is - regardless of how stereotypical it sounds - routine. It seems that I absolutely have to have a very specific schedule to follow, it does make me feel better and even all the negative news don't seem to influence me that much. It's kind of weird, just like most of Autism therapists or books might tell you: "people on the spectrum need to have a routine" or something like that. Apparently it's true, at least for me it is. But every time there's some more or less serious change happens, I get thrown off the routine bus and feel like I have to start all over, which is only my perception, in reality I just need to make a few adjustments. But I become so confused that those minor adjustments turn into impossible tasks. Crazy! Sometimes I actually just want to sit alone and rock, just to slow down my brain. It's like my brain is one of those pendulum things. I want it to be more flexible but it would just go back and forward, back and forward. And that's where all the anxiety crap start breaking in, while reasonable parts of my brain are busy with getting back to normal. When I was a kid my mom usually get me out of this state and "prescribe" a new routine to me. I didn't like it because I wanted to be able to get out of that state by myself but it always took so damn long! And now, I guess, I just need to get my routine back, but it seems so hard! So yeah, I come to conclusion: our anxiety issues originate in our brain functioning. So routines and being prepared for change may be good solutions, but it's not easy if you don't have assistance and have to maintain it by yourself. I'm wondering how other people on Autism spectrum able to avoid going into this... Not sure how to call it... Paralyzed, anxious, confused... Mode.

 

[NeverEnder]

I have anxiety.

It seems to have gotten worse in the last 6-months or so.

It usually happens in the afternoon almost every day.

I have this weird breathing when it occurs; Deep, heavy breathing where I cannot catch my breath fully.

I take a medication for it, Klonipin, and that helps to calm me.

I live in a very noisy building and that always triggers my anxiety.

I am not sure why it seems to be getting worse and more common. I try to relax when it occurs but that does not always work.

 

[Dragon's Tooth]

I worry a lot because obsessiveness is my major trait of my Aspie's and if I'm not in total control of something, I freak out that it all falls apart. The funny part is, things often do fall apart for me, so I guess you could say experience is a factor in this too.

I know this ... my husband keeps telling me I have to give up control of things but its so bloody hard. I start freaking out on the inside it won't happen how it needs too if I give it up.

 

[alien girl]

i suffer from general anxiety, and i believe it's a symptome of asperger syndrome. as a child, i was paralyzed with fear every time i went on a feild trip with my class, always thinking the bus will fall on its side, crashing us all under it and other scenarios, none of which are very pleasant.
the thing that helps me is research on the internet and analyzing the situation. if, for example, i worry about my nieces getting in a car accident, i search the net for the future cars that will drive on their own, eliminating accidents. i analyze the situation and tell myself that my nieces are careful and good drivers, and that today's car are safter than yesterday's cars. i search the statistics of people dying from car accidents. that kind of thing helps me, but i dont know if it will help or make it worse for another person.

 

[epath13]

But do you guys notice that you react differently to exactly the same idea or circumstance sometimes? I know, when I'm in this "go with a flow" mode and don't follow a strict schedule, my anxiety gets worse. Research and good injection of common sense do work. But I've noticed one thing, when my mind is stable, and I have a routine set, I don't worry that much about anything. Maybe it's an illusion of control over my life that makes me feel better. Yeah, I guess that's what it is.