Mental probs, dyslexia, ADHD, and how they affected you.

[Juan J. Sánchez]

my brother and sister have epilepsy(does that count as mental or physical?)

Neither. Mental diseases all have physiological backgrounds, so they're no longer divided as mental or physical illnesses.

 

[Venetia]

protip to everyone on this forum:

if you are currently a member of this forum, and are browsing this topic, you have a 100% chance for meeting many--if not all--qualifications for Asperger's Syndrome.

Which are:

* Engaging in one-sided, long-winded conversations, without noticing if the listener is listening or trying to change the subject

* Displaying unusual nonverbal communication, such as lack of eye contact, few facial expressions, or awkward body postures and gestures

* Showing an intense obsession with one or two specific, narrow subjects, such as baseball statistics, train schedules, weather or snakes

* Appearing not to understand, empathize with or be sensitive to others' feelings

* Having a hard time "reading" other people or understanding humor

* Speaking in a voice that is monotonous, rigid or unusually fast

* Moving clumsily, with poor coordination

* Not pick up on social cues and may lack inborn social skills, such as being able to read others' body language, start or maintain a conversation, and take turns talking.

* Dislike any changes in routines.

* Appear to lack empathy.

* Be unable to recognize subtle differences in speech tone, pitch, and accent that alter the meaning of others’ speech. Thus, your child may not understand a joke or may take a sarcastic comment literally. Likewise, his or her speech may be flat and difficult to understand because it lacks tone, pitch, and accent.

* Have a formal style of speaking that is advanced for his or her age. For example, the child may use the word "beckon" instead of "call" or the word "return" instead of "come back."

* Avoid eye contact or stare at others.

* Have unusual facial expressions or postures.

* Be preoccupied with only one or few interests, which he or she may be very knowledgeable about. Many children with Asperger's syndrome are overly interested in parts of a whole or in unusual activities, such as designing houses, drawing highly detailed scenes, or studying astronomy. They may show an unusual interest in certain topics such as snakes, names of stars, or dinosaurs.2

* Talk a lot, usually about a favorite subject. One-sided conversations are common. Internal thoughts are often verbalized.

* Have delayed motor development. Your child may be late in learning to use a fork or spoon, ride a bike, or catch a ball. He or she may have an awkward walk. Handwriting is often poor.

* Have heightened sensitivity and become overstimulated by loud noises, lights, or strong tastes or textures.

For more information on your ailment, please see:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human


Being smart and lacking coordination or social skills isn't necessarily autism. It's not necessarily jack shit. Could just be that you are smart, are interested in certain things, and are not particularly dexterous or outgoing. Taking a pill will not make you better at sports (er, unless it's illegal, heh) or make people friendlier toward you!

Only reason to ever seek treatment for this shit is if it's making an obvious and huge impact on your (or, your child's) life.


Examples:

- You can't get a job because every time you look anyone in the eyes, you feel like you're about to wet your pants with anxiety.

- You can't hold or start a relationship/friendship (even though you really want to) because you have a complete and utter lack of the ability to listen to others or show/emote any appropriate feelings (e.g., you get angry at loved ones for crying over real tragedies).

- You're about to lose your house because instead of paying the mortgage, you've been carefully assembling a statue of Daniel Radcliffe out of Lincoln Logs for the past 3 months.

etc.



It's hard to find treatment for anxiety probs when you have anxiety probs--because treatment involves putting yourself in a situation that would likely spur your anxiety!

But you're not going to cure social anxiety or clumsiness by slapping a bandage on it and limping along the same way you always do :/

 

[Venetia]

(and yes i am well aware that i, myself, can be classified as someone with an anxiety disorder. and it kind of sucks but it doesn't make a huge impact on my life b/c i force myself to overcome it, and wind up feeling just a hell of a lot better about it 99% of the time, even if i wind up giving myself the "eugh, why did i say that, no, it doesn't matter, stop it, stop questioning it, you're fine, everyone does stupid shit sometimes, no one cares, stop thinking about it, shut up" mantra every so often.)

 

[Ellie]

My pills have made me incredibly fidgety and I remember the most vivid dreams. I've started getting cinfused between what really haopened and what was just in a dream. Oh god I've turned into drama plot #472

 

[Juan J. Sánchez]

I'm happier in my dreams. I wouldn't worry too much about that.

 

[Ellie]

Yes, that's definately true!

I also find I often start dreaming the minute I close my eyes to go to sleep, especially if I'm woken up in the night. They're mainly semi-lucid, in that I know I'm dreaming but can't really influence the dream.

 

[Venetia]

My pills have made me incredibly fidgety and I remember the most vivid dreams. I've started getting cinfused between what really haopened and what was just in a dream. Oh god I've turned into drama plot #472

dude yeah i get something similar b/c of sleep meds. i keep confusing my memories. sometimes it's hard for me to differentiate between a memory of a dream or if i'm recalling something that actually happened. and i get a lot of amnesiac events where i do shit and don't even remember it at all. makes for some interesting conversations sometimes!!

 

[Juan J. Sánchez]

If you're having trouble with your sleeping medications, may I suggest you switch for zopiclone. You take one pill a night, it works almost immediately, and has virtually no side effects. Also, it's not addictive.

 

[Ellie]

My pills have made me incredibly fidgety and I remember the most vivid dreams. I've started getting cinfused between what really haopened and what was just in a dream. Oh god I've turned into drama plot #472

dude yeah i get something similar b/c of sleep meds. i keep confusing my memories. sometimes it's hard for me to differentiate between a memory of a dream or if i'm recalling something that actually happened. and i get a lot of amnesiac events where i do shit and don't even remember it at all. makes for some interesting conversations sometimes!!

God yes

And sometimes I have a conversation with someone, mean to say something, then wonder afterwards whether I said it or not. Completely utterly unable to remember.

My pills are antidepressants but they are also supposed to help me sleep (and have been). Citalopram 40mg a day.

 

[Juan J. Sánchez]

My pills are antidepressants but they are also supposed to help me sleep (and have been). Citalopram 40mg a day.

Forget what I said then. I thought you were taking sleeping pills, like Valium or whatnot.

 

[Venetia]

im the one taking sleep meds ... narcoleptic. i have uppers in the day and downers at night :/

If you're having trouble with your sleeping medications, may I suggest you switch for zopiclone. You take one pill a night, it works almost immediately, and has virtually no side effects. Also, it's not addictive.

zopiclone isn't available in the US unfortunately

lunesta is BASED off it, but isn't entirely the same. and it sucks massive ass loogies. makes me feel heavy like a brick, depressed as shit, and it makes everything taste horridly bitter for like 2 days afterward :/

my sleep doc had me try silenor (doxepin) but that also makes me super depressed/angry/lethargic for days.
(and this sounds weird but silenor makes me intensely aware of my teeth? sounds crazy and is hard to imagine but it feels like my teeth are vibrating and that is not pleasant)

@wyatt: are you switching TO celexa FROM a diff drug? b/c anti-depressants generally suppress your REM cycle, so for the first month or so after switching or discontinuing, you may experience abnormally heavy REM cycles.
and thats a really strong antidepressant there with a pretty serious dosage ... try to avoid tryptophan-heavy foods like dates, don't take aspirin or acid reflux meds, and definitely don't just quit it cold turkey b/c you will be in a world of hurt there :/

(imo that is just really not a good drug to be prescribed b/c of multiple factors, including your age, but ... well i'm not your doctor i guess :/ ... i would def recommend getting a second opinion or to bring up all your symptoms w/ your doc though!)