Anxiety and Autism

It occurred to me the other day, that for me the worst thing about being on the autistic spectrum, is the anxiety. We worry about almost everything, and trap ourselves in a never ending downward spiral of negativity and self doubt.

It’s little wonder we are so prone to depression and low self esteem. Lately, I’ve been able to notice when I’ve been worrying about something and actually been able to stop myself from doing it. In an inexplicable moment of self awareness, I followed my thoughts and was surprised at how many things were causing me to feel ‘bad’.

Part of the problem is that we obsess about things. A situation, memory or thought will pop into our minds and cause us to think that something bad is going to happen. Sometimes we feel that we said the wrong thing to someone, or sometimes we’re plagued by an endless stream of random situations that play out in our thoughts causing us to feel bad about ourselves.

Last year I attempted to stop taking my long term medication, the one that takes the edge off my anxiety and depression. I thought perhaps I could learn to get by without it. Well I certainly felt less tired and more mentally alert, but pretty soon my anxiety took control and my ability to function decreased to worrying levels.

So I gave up and started taking my meds again.

I guess that taking medication for anxiety and depression is not the perfect solution, but it helps me get through the day without crying all the time, getting into a fight or falling into a deep depression.

So for now I’ll stick with the devil I know.

Thanks for reading

Steve www.adultswithautism.org.uk