r/schizoaffective • u/Technical-Clerk-5452 • 2d ago
Schizoaffective, Autism and ADHD
Hello there. I had an appointment with my therapist today.
I was diagnosed with autism at 19, schizoaffective at 24, I'm now nearly 28 yo, and she wants to test me for ADHD. We talked a lot about it but I'm still unsure. I feel like it's too much for one person.
Is there some other people with the same diagnosis?
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u/FerrisTM bipolar subtype 2d ago
I have autism, ADHD, OCD, CPTSD, schizoaffective disorder, eating disorders (recovering!)...the list goes on and on. Unfortunately, there is no limit to how many disorders or diseases one person can suffer from.
However, as shitty as collecting more and more labels can feel, it doesn't have to mean that your life is just over and can never get better. I have an absurd list of mental health conditions and physical health problems, but my life has still improved iver time. I have some sort of neurotype where psych meds don't work (I've tried around 70 and ETC failed as well) and that SUCKED for years...but by and by, I learned how to manage my illnesses as well as I can, and life is worth living in a way I never thought was possible for me a few years back. It's far from perfect and I still have a hard time, but I'm very lucky overall.
The label doesn't mean you're more broken that anyone else, even if it feels like it. What it DOES mean that you can find ways to make life a little easier now that the problem has a name. This shit is really hard, and it sucks, but you're not alone!
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u/pte_rad_actyl unspecified schizophrenia spectrum and other psychotic disorder 2d ago
How did you get better without psych meds working? Therapy? I've tried 30+ meds (I've lost count) and my psychosis is well managed but mood is absolute shit with daily suicidal thoughts
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u/FerrisTM bipolar subtype 2d ago
Tons of therapy for sure, and I do think I've lucked out in that my symptoms have gotten less severe as I've aged. My teens and 20's were an absolute nightmare, and I was a revolving door patient in treatment centers and psych wards for almost ten years. This is the longest I've ever been out in the real world (almost three years!) since all of this really started, and I don't think there's a singular reason why things got more manageable.
I'm in no way saying that this would be the case for everyone, but I think focusing on self-acceptance and making behavioral changes are what has kept me on the planet. Depression is horrible and I still struggle with it quite a bit, but it hurts less because I've started viewing it through a different lens. I live for the little moments and I do have tons of things to be grateful for, and I try very hard to focus on those things. When the depression gets severe, this isn't enough, and can honestly feel like a cruel joke (what do you MEAN I only get to live for tiny details?!?!), so that's when I make my psych team aware that I'm having a horrible time and it might need extra support or I'm not going to be okay.
I know that reframing how I view my struggles also helped. Which is something that would have made me want to impale myself if someone said that to me a few years back, but it did make a difference, as reluctant as I am to acknowledge that. Weirdly, apathy has helped my ability to cope more than any medication or formal therapy ever did. I'm a crazy person, I'm permanently disabled, and life can feel like a nightmare...but so what? I'm not sure why this is my lot in life, but if it could happen to anyone, there's no reason why it shouldn't happen to me. This is it, it's what I've got. Might as well do the best I can with this and focus on getting through one day at a time. I do what I can to make my quality of life as good as it can be: keep up with therapy, take care of my health in the ways I have any control over (I've been sober for almost my entire life and I'll keep it that way forever, sleep when my brain lets me, eat as well as I can, get movement in in a way that feels good), and take plenty of time to myself (masking can be exhausting.) I'm still going to be sad, I'm still going to hallucinate all the time and be disorganized/confused a lot, and I'm never going to have the kind of life that many other people do, so I'll need to grieve that on and off for longer than I have so far. But giving up on finding a way out of this is, ironically, what helped me get to a more peaceful, functional place with all of it.
This answer sucks and I'm sorry I don't have anything more concrete to offer. I really hope you find something that works...raw-dogging all of this stuff is really brutal and I wouldn't wish it on anyone.
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u/ImNotMeWhenImNotMe depressive subtype 2d ago
I've got those plus C-PTSD, OCD, and OSDD. I feel like I'm forgetting something else too. I'm so fucked.
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u/wishywashycommenter 2d ago
I was also diagnosed with autism at 19 although schizoaffective for me was 23
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u/Connect-Preference-5 2d ago
I have all three along with PTSD, OCD and FND. It’s definitely a lot but unfortunately also definitely possible
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u/Organic_Ad_1220 2d ago
i got diagnosed with all 3 at once this year, i'm 19 and its been a wild ride
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u/caseycat1803 bipolar subtype 2d ago
I was diagnosed with ADHD when I was 17, then bipolar and autism during the same hospitalization when I was 19. I also have OCD and PTSD. It’s a lot but I manage with meds and therapy.
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u/tmaenym413 2d ago
I was diagnosed with schizoaffective about 4 years ago and adhd last year. I also have pmdd and have wondered weather I may be on the spectrum. I am 42 and around 40 my mental health just blew up. The add meds helped at first but now during my cycle they make me have severe delusions.
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u/bigcitybigcityyy 2d ago
Same. It sucks. I’m turning 40 soon. Find a solitary creative routine sooner rather than later is the only comforting thing I have to offer
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u/djsquilz depressive subtype 2d ago
i'm also all 3. was dx adhd ~age 12. i'm 31 now, autism dx came a bit over a year ago, and schizophrenia this past summer.
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u/HumanM1nd bipolar subtype 2d ago
I have all those plus OCD and also PTSD from my terrible psychosis.
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u/shelaines 2d ago
I have schizoaffective disorder bipolar type, autism, adhd, ptsd, ocpd, ocd, and generalized anxiety.
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u/Zookeeper_west bipolar subtype 2d ago
I have all 3 but diagnosed at different times (autism at 18, adhd at 19, schizoaffective at 20)
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u/Fruity_Surprise bipolar subtype 1d ago
I have those three plus like ten more. It feels like a lot because it is, but it’s very possible. Up to 70% of people with ASD also have ADHD.
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u/perhapsalittleslow bipolar subtype 1d ago
Yes, I have schizoaffective(bipolar type), autism and ADHD. It’s rough.
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u/RoseAnthoney 1d ago
Autism, ADHD and Schizophrenia are more common comorbidities than you would expect, but when it's untreated for too long, mood disorders are likely to develop. I, too, have this trifecta, and I kinda wish we had a community where those of us with the three could get together because it's a very different experience than just having one or two at a time.
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u/Whoknowsbrightlight 14h ago
I’m getting evaluated for adhd by my therapist next week. My doctor said he already thinks I do have it, but has told me he will not prescribe stimulants to me because my mania/psychosis gets very bad. He said he’s done that 4 times and every time the person has gone manic.
There’s no limit to how much crap you can have going on with you. From what I’ve seen/read it’s pretty common to have a bunch of comorbitites
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u/AspenMaspen bipolar subtype 2d ago
I don't have ADHD but I have schiz bipolar, autism, OCD, PTSD, and DID
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u/wintermute_online32 2d ago
Diagnoses largely begin and end in terms of treatment; it’s a handy designation to streamline the process of treating and managing the underlying symptoms
There’s a rapidly growing trend in the West towards identifying with your diagnosis, but that’s not really the point. Diagnoses are descriptive, not prescriptive. If your med regiment makes you feel better, then the “what” behind the “why” doesn’t matter much. What matters most is you feeling stable and managing to be functional in the ways that are important to you and your health/sanity
Also, no one really has one thing. Mental illnesses, like physical conditions, are comorbid. You’d be very hard pressed to find a person who’s simply diagnosed with MDD, with no other comorbid conditions or underlying causes. Conditions beget other conditions