Posted by IsoM on October 7, 2002, at 3:46:47
In reply to Serious Anxiety Disorder, Please Help, posted by Mr. Cushing on September 29, 2002, at 23:54:35
Mr. Cushing, it may be a good idea to further explore the thought of whether you do have Asperger. I think it will make a difference in how to treat your anxiety.
My 27 year old son has Asperger (fairly mild too). Because of it, he has difficulty interacting with people comfortably, especially in unstructured social situations. It's in these situations that he'll experience panic attacks too, but not when he's at home nor at work where everything's thoroughly familiar & comfortable.
He found that tricyclics were still the best AD to treat his anxiety & depression. Clonazepam was taken daily & helped a great deal too. Because he chooses not to go out much (in social situations) & because he now feels quite at ease in his workplace, he no longer takes clonazepam at all.
If Asperger is the cause of your anxiety, it may prove helpful for you to have coaching in learning to read people by body language & facial expressions. Because that's a major problem with Asperger, not really knowing or understanding what others are thinking or meaning, it's much more likely to trigger anxiety and/or panic when you're among people. Being able to 'read' people & their emotions better will enable you to respond appropriately & feel more at ease in groups. It can do a lot to reducing your anxiety & increasing your self-confidence socially.
poster:IsoM
thread:121613
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20021006/msgs/122611.html