Well. . . looks like I have Aspergers.

[Aegrus]

My new psychiatrist has decided that my other psychiatrist was incorrect in his diagnosis of OCD. The new-ish guy diagnosed me with Aspergers, which is a mild form of autism. Completely unrelated, five other members of my extended family have all-out, paranoid Scizophrenia, and several more probably do, but have never been diagnosed. (Older generations.) At least I don't have that. Hearing voices in my head would make atheism difficult to maintain.

The symptoms of Aspergers that I have include:

Muted emotions.

A wide array of incessant twitches and odd postures, none of which are attractive in the least.

A tendency to wander and pace aimlessly for no reason.

An inability to keep anywhere that I live clean for any length of time. (Though this one might just be laziness.)

Extreme social anxiety. As in, I feign illness and otherwise lie to avoid talking to people just because I'm certain they'll hate me/ view me as a freak if I have time to open my mouth. (Fortunately, this fear isn't present on the internet, for whatever reason.)

Complete lack of ability to pick up subtle social/vocal cues. (Again, kind of a non-factor on the internet.)

Hatred of making eye contact with people. It makes me VERY uncomfortable.

Very rigid, set-in stone routines. If they're broken even in the slightest, I feel like I'm about to die for half of the day.

Hyperlexia. (This symptom is actually rather nice.)

An obsession with writing, both random lists and fiction. It's to a point where I feel like I wasted a day if I didn't spend half of it writing something. This obsession comes at the expense of everything else. Literally nothing is interesting to me but writing. If I write for 5+ hours, I'm happy, and most of my other symptoms actually abate. If I don't write at all, I'm utterly miserable and want to die.

While half of my family has wasted no time in calling me a variety of colorful names (including but not limited to "retard, psychopath, and ass-burger"--yes, these people are adults, not children), at least I now know that there's a reason beyond personal inferiority why I've never been able to have a close relationship with anyone.

I'm really not sure how to feel about this news. But then, maybe that's just the "muted emotions" bit.

[Polaris]

That fear is not present because you can't detect body language on the internet. The nervousness comes from trying to determine body language, namely how people silently react to your presence.

Are you adverse to change? Say a road is closed and you have to take a new route, how does that affect your mood? Say your favorite bar closed, how would you react? etc.

For the social queues, it just takes observation. You have to see how people react and then incorporate those response into your repertoire.

[Rev. Rye]

Um, Asperger's isn't a mild form of Schizophrenia; it's a mild form of Autism. Some say that it's so similar to the other, milder forms that it doesn't deserve to have its own separate diagnosis, and the DSM-V will be adjusted accordingly.

I've heard Bipolar disorder being referred to as a mild form of Schizophrenia, and I kind of see it, but not Asperger's.

[Rayaan]

Wow. That's a lot of symptoms.

[Aegrus]

Removed for being somewhat superfluous.

---

Um, Asperger's isn't a mild form of Schizophrenia; it's a mild form of Autism. Some say that it's so similar that it doesn't deserve to have its own separate diagnosis, and the DSM-V will be adjusted accordingly.

I've heard Bipolar disorder being referred to as a mild form of Schizophrenia, and I kind of see it, but not Asperger's.

Right, edited my post a bit to reflect your info. I'm going off of memory here, and my memory is fallible.

[Polaris]

Um, Asperger's isn't a mild form of Schizophrenia; it's a mild form of Autism. Some say that it's so similar that it doesn't deserve to have its own separate diagnosis, and the DSM-V will be adjusted accordingly.

I've heard Bipolar disorder being referred to as a mild form of Schizophrenia, and I kind of see it, but not Asperger's.

Some do refer to AS as high-function autism, but many now want to see it grouped with similar behavioral disorders given the great difference between low-function autism (often mistaken for mental retardation) and AS.

[Rev. Rye]

Wow. That's a lot of symptoms.

Well, the DSM-IV has 12 symptoms for Autism, and I meet 11 to some extent (the sole exception being a lack of imagination). I recently wrote a piece on it for my prose forms class, using it as a jumping-off point to discuss my own experiences and, well some of my interests.

[Aegrus]

Wow. That's a lot of symptoms.

I'm trying to decide whether or not I should take any medication. As it is, I'm on nothing. I'm dealing with my depression and have gradually reduced the severity of my symptoms on my own. I just don't know how far I can expect to get. I don't want to be in almost the same position I am now come 2020, but I also don't mind some of my symptoms. Specifically, hyperlexia and my passion/obsession for writing. It makes me miserable sometimes, but I also view it as a positive part of who I am. I sort of don't want to lose that.

[Minimalist]

Congratulations.....

http://video.today.msnbc.msn.com/today/5...1#50055301


Asperger's has just been removed from the psych diagnostic manual. I guess you are cured!

[Polaris]

Wow. That's a lot of symptoms.

I'm trying to decide whether or not I should take any medication. As it is, I'm on nothing. I'm dealing with my depression and have gradually reduced the severity of my symptoms on my own. I just don't know how far I can expect to get. I don't want to be in almost the same position I am now come 2020, but I also don't mind some of my symptoms. Specifically, hyperlexia and my passion/obsession for writing. It makes me miserable sometimes, but I also view it as a positive part of who I am. I sort of don't want to lose that.

The medication they prescribe is kind of useless as they are usually meant for other disorders.