I'm very confused!

[Bell]

I did 3 tests, 2 Aspie quizes and one empathy quotient (EQ) test. I had very high Aspie scores on the first 2 (over 170 and over 44) and scored low on an empathy test (less than 20 on the EQ test ).

Despite the very low EQ test, I do experience empathy. I was told that I may have a very high "emotional empathy" score but lack "cognitive empathy". I don't know how useful these tests are but I know my life is in a mess. While I haven't been officially diagnosed with an autism-type condition, I suspect I may have been misdiagnosed/under-diagnosed first with performance anxiety and more recently with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) by my psychiatrists. My major problem is I have been very unsuccesful career wise despite some academic achievements. I've read everything on Asperger's and while I have some similarities I also have some characteristics that don't seem to fit with Asperger's. The 2 most prominent are the following:

1. I do have some empathy. Is that common among Aspies? Is it possible to have "emotional empathy" but not "cognitive empathy"? What about the "Intense World Syndome for autism? I'm asking because I can see myself having these tendencies but not the more classical characteristics/symptoms seen in other Asperger's articles. Links are below:

http://www.frontiersin.org/neuroscience/10.3389/neuro.01.1.1.006.2007/abstract
http://cogprints.org/6799/1/TPRVol59No3-SMITH.pdf

2. People with autism typically have narrow or unusual interests but I'm a big-time generalist. I enjoy most fields except the arts and social "sciences". I finished a degree in neuroscience and pharmacy. Among the few programs I was in: dentistry, law/mba, medicine, pharmacy, radiation sciences, geology, etc. but with the exception of the 2 university programs above, I quit all of the others after a brief time (1-2 years) due to performance anxiety issues. Is it possible to be this much of a generalist and still have Asperger's?

Thanks.

 

[IContainMultitudes]

Actually, some will argue that aspies actually experience so much empathy that it kind of blows out their circuits a little bit. I think there's probably some truth to that.

http://www.healthzone.ca/health/article/633688

BTW, neat Lee Van Cleef avatar you've got there!

 

[Bell]

Actually, some will argue that aspies actually experience so much empathy that it kind of blows out their circuits a little bit. I think there's probably some truth to that.

http://www.healthzone.ca/health/article/633688

BTW, neat Lee Van Cleef avatar you've got there!

Thanks. I've only had 3 people that I kinda idolized. Him, Clint Eastwood and Richard Tyson from "Two-Moon Junction". I seen each of their movies over 100 times. That link you provided is actually talking about the pdf article I linked above. What's weird with me is that I thought I also scored high on the highly sensitive person test. There seems to be major overlaps between: Social Anxiety Disorder, Asperger's and Highly Sensitive Person. I have characterics of all three and my psychiatrists can't seem to agree with any diagnoses. I was diagnosed with Social Anxiety Disorder, then Avoidance Personality Disorder (although this was due to drug abuse/withdrawal) and more recently with GAD.

But I've met people with all these 3 conditions and while I have similarities, I have many differences. Same with Asperger's. My psychiatriest ruled out Asperger's because of empathy and because he said I talk "with" him not "at" him. I'm not convinced though because maybe I've just become a lot better at hiding it, because I really didn't agree with him about his diagnosis.

 

[jaws]

Bell,

I think you might find one of my hypothesis interesting. I saw that you mentioned drug abuse. I have been acquainted with many addicts and users throughout my life, long before I knew about Asperger's. Recently my significant other has had some issues in this area, and I have been learning about my Asperger's about the same time...I started to notice MANY similarities between addicts and aspies...I thought, basically if you substitute the substance for the obsession they are very similar in appearance. I wondered if there was a similarity in neurological damage from use that mimicked AS or if a higher percentage of those with AS were classified as addicts? If I were to describe differences, it would be in areas involved in lying and shame associated with addicts, that I think may be alien for many aspies.

I would be considered extremely high functioning by most...you really have to know me for a while to notice any aspie traits. I also feel strong emotions at times...but have determined it based more on intellectual/cognitive empathy than on intuitive/emotional empathy. For example: If I asked someone to go the cinema and they told me their parent died...I'd want to know is that a yes or no to going to the cinema (I can usually ask that in my head, evaluate it as less important than a death)...once I processed an answer to my question (no, in my head without asking again), then I would ask myself what loosing a parent would feel like, and what would I want someone to say or do, then try to do that, or get sad from the emotion of imagining loosing my parent.

If you want to be more certain as to whether you have AS or not...look into the areas of executive function, central coherence, and theory of mind...along with sensory issues that may seem odd. With me, loud music is no problem, jet engines no problem, a beeping gas(petrol) pump can send me into a rage, and car passing can create a sound that gives me a headache, amongst other things.

I hope that something in my ramblings may have helped eased your confusion? or at least I hope I've not added to it.

 

[Bell]

If you want to be more certain as to whether you have AS or not...look into the areas of executive function, central coherence, and theory of mind...along with sensory issues that may seem odd. With me, loud music is no problem, jet engines no problem, a beeping gas(petrol) pump can send me into a rage, and car passing can create a sound that gives me a headache, amongst other things.

jaws, I have these sensory issues below and it drives me crazy. I have to leave the room and can't even eat with my own partner, family:

"People who have misophonia are most commonly annoyed, or even enraged, by the sound of other people eating, breathing, coughing, or other ordinary sounds. Oddly, they are not normally annoyed by sounds that they themselves make. Reactions to these sounds are not limited however to just loud eating noises, people with misophonia find themselves affected by all kinds of noises. Such reactions are also involntary. Often, people who have misophonia are also annoyed by other people's repetitive movements, such as leg-tapping, nail-biting and typing."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Misophonia

http://www.psychosomaticmedicine.org.../full/70/6/739

"Sufferers tend to start noticing a particular feature of a loved one's breathing or eating habits. They become obsessed by the sound(s), and hypersensitive to them. That sensitivity can spread to other noises made by that person (or another person) or the actions with which they make the noise, or even anticipation of it."

http://www.misophonia-uk.org/

 

[Bell]

. For example: If I asked someone to go the cinema and they told me their parent died...I'd want to know is that a yes or no to going to the cinema (I can usually ask that in my head, evaluate it as less important than a death)...once I processed an answer to my question (no, in my head without asking again), then I would ask myself what loosing a parent would feel like, and what would I want someone to say or do, then try to do that, or get sad from the emotion of imagining loosing my parent.

I'd just be ticked off that they didn't want go to the movies. But I would tell them the usual stuff because if I didn't I'd be afraid they would think I'm not a real friend. Doesn't everybody feel that way?

 

[jaws]

I'd just be ticked off that they didn't want go to the movies. But I would tell them the usual stuff because if I didn't I'd be afraid they would think I'm not a real friend. Doesn't everybody feel that way?

From what I understand, no they don't...they would forget about the movie and feel an emotional need to comfort the person..as I understand it.

As far as being confused about whether or not you have Asperger's, PDD, HFA, or just ASD as the new DSM will call it...I like to use Occam's Razor - The principle is popularly summarized as "the simplest explanation is more likely the correct one.":geek: To me that would mean, is it more likely that you have several distinct disorders from several different causes that have many different treatments, or is it more likely that you have one disorder that accounts for the various issues you are facing?

That does not mean you may not have co-morbid conditions, like depression with ASD. Keep in mind I'm not a therapist or doctor...I'm slightly versed in psychology through it effects in marketing and buyer behavior and employee motivation, but these are just my personal opinion, that I hope may help.

 

[Bell]

I think you might find one of my hypothesis interesting. I saw that you mentioned drug abuse. I have been acquainted with many addicts and users throughout my life, long before I knew about Asperger's. Recently my significant other has had some issues in this area, and I have been learning about my Asperger's about the same time...I started to notice MANY similarities between addicts and aspies....

Yes, I think this is the relationship you're talking about?

Speculations on Similarities between autism and opiate addiction:

http://www.springerlink.com/content/p380334534804n61/fulltext.pdf

 

[jaws]

Yes, I think this is the relationship you're talking about?

Speculations on Similarities between autism and opiate addiction:

http://www.springerlink.com/content/p380334534804n61/fulltext.pdf

Thanks for the article Bell, I'd not seen anything other than Asperger's Syndrome and Alcohol: Drinking to Cope by Matthew Tinsley, that had addressed both, and Tinsley was approaching it more from a co-morbid disorder than addressing the similarities.