Does anyone have any tips or advice on how to cope with depression/ burn out while also having Aspergers (autism) , anxiety disorder, chronic insomnia and schizophrenia?
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Pick the most troublesome issue first. Therapy is indicated, but I suspect you’re already receiving some, otherwise, you wouldn’t be able to write about the diagnoses.
If I had a vote, I’d address the chronic insomnia first. Sleep loss contributes greatly to all the other symptoms. There are feedback loops in these symptoms. For example, sleep loss leading to depression/anxiety, and depression/anxiety contributing to sleep loss. Often these issues include repeating patterns of thought that don’t lead to answers or relief. That’s why talking to someone qualified can be very helpful.
When feeling well rested, it becomes easier to work on the other issues. If you’re not receiving therapy, ask your doctor for a referral, or do an internet search for services available in your area.
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Yes, I have a therapist.
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Have they been working with you on coping skills? And strategies to manage your emotions and thought
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No, not yet unfortunately.
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From: Who.is
glad to hear you have a therapist onside, everyone deals with coping differently, so hopefully working together you’ll be able to both figure out together what is the best approach for you! Sometimes all we can do in our own power is to make sure we are looking after ourselves and giving ourselves the space to enjoy the little things
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From: eloquentpetrichor
Welcome to the community and thank you for sharing with us 
That sounds like a lot you are going through. I’m glad that you have a therapist who can help you with your struggles. I definitely recommend trying some of the coping techniques it sounds like they are already talking about with you. And also doing research on your own and googling ways to cope with each thing separately and finding something that feels like it can work for multiple things at once. Good luck and I hope you continue to share with us as you continue your journey
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From: Mamadien
Welcome to the Heart Support community. My thoughts on what you can do is to do really good self care. Find things you can do that you enjoy, are relaxing, and are meaningful to you. Have good sleep habits and eat as healthy as possible. Take care of you. I see that you are seeing a therapist so stick with what you are working on there and learn as much as you can about each of your diagnoses. I wish you well friend.
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From: ᏒᎧᏕᎥᏋ
Hi Friend, I’m glad you have a therapist, that’s a good way to learn coping skills to manage your symptoms. I have schizoaffective disorder (schizophrenia with a mood disorder) and I’ve done a lot of research to learn about my symptoms and how to cope with them. You could try YouTube, there are a bunch of good mental health sites for example. Hope this helps ~Mystrose
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Hey @SadSchizophrenic1 ,
Sorry to hear you’re going through this. I totally suffer from depression, burnout, anxiety disorder, chronic insomnia as well. Haven’t myself been able to get tested for autism, but having severe ADHD myself I understand the physical/mental exhaustion. As my old therapist said, “emotions are exhausting”.
As Wings put it, lack of sleep does cause, it not intensifies a lot of mental health and physical health issues. A lack of certain vitamins (especially vitamin D) are the same way. Vitamin D also makes you groggy and exhausted. I’d look into talking with your doctor about vitamins, medications, or even a diet/routine change suggestion.
For Coping Skills
Here’s some good resources:
Coping Worksheet: Healthy Coping: 24 Mechanisms & Skills For Positive Coping
Another Coping Worksheet: Healthy vs. Unhealthy Coping Strategies (Worksheet) | Therapist Aid
One specifically for anxiety: https://www.therapistaid.com/worksheets/coping-skills-anxiety
One specifically for depression: Coping Skills: Depression (Worksheet) | Therapist Aid
Here’s a whole section on relaxation techniques: Relaxation Worksheets | Therapist Aid
I would suggest that possibly keeping a mental health journal may help benefit you, and writing everything down before bed could help ease your mind and help you sleep. A good reference for that is this: How to keep a mental health journal - MHA Screening
Hope these help some.
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From: twixremix
hi friend,
burn out and depression is such a tough thing to deal with especially when it’s wrapped in the other things you listed. i’m so sorry you’re enduring this but i hope the encouragement and tips shared in the replies here have helped you in any capacity! i especially love sita’s idea to bring up coping skills with your therapist, that’s such a valuable conversation to have and i hope your therapist provides you with the answers you need!
personally, i am also struggling with finding the best ways to help my own depression, burnout, and anxiety. i think the most helpful thing i do is to take each thing that needs to get done to stay physically and mentally healthy (chores, human contact, outdoor time, hygiene, etc.) and making them into a list. crossing out each one is rewarding and seeing them all on one corkboard or sticky note, i take things at a more manageable pace. that also translates into not thinking i have to get everything done in one day which helps keep things digestible. sending you comfort and love always, hope you can do something special for yourself soon, you deserve it.
love,
twix
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Awww thanks glad to be here.
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Thank U for the resources, I will definitely have to check these out 
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of course! Hope they help! <3
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I have a therapy appointment on Wednesday, so hopefully my therapist and I will be able to come up with some suggestions that I could implement and try, so I hope it works out. I’ll try and keep everyone updated if I remember to do so.
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