[angelic-bry]

Ever since I was little, I've had these constant thoughts mostly about dying/being murdered and being under surveillance by hidden cameras.

Sometimes they're distressing; they stop me sleeping at night and really scare me. Most of the time I just accept them as true though, and do what my thoughts tell me to.

However when I talked to my counsellor about this, she said these thoughts were just part of my autism.

I know OCD is quite common in autistic people, so that's probably also worth looking into. I think I might also be filling out a preliminary questionnaire to see if I might have OCD soon (though to be honest, the reasons why they thought I had OCD were just autistic traits).

What I don't believe is that having such distressing thoughts is just part of autism. So I guess the reason I'm posting here is to see whether other people think I'm right with that assumption. There's got to be something else, surely? Or at least, there's a possibility that it's something else?

[The_little_didgee]

Apparently autism predisposes one to psychotic disorders. There is a slightly higher risk of developing schizophrenia. A psychiatrist who specializes in ASD told me this.

Do you have any other psychotic symptoms?

OCD and anxiety can cause worries like the ones you have described. It is possible that your autism may be the reason behind them, since recurrent thoughts are very common in this cognitive style. Could the thoughts be related to heightened senses, such as hearing?

[Miktis25]

Autism used to be frequently misdiagnosed as Schizophrenia. As a coping mechanism I have hallucinations, and have had delusions as well. It's my brain's way of dealing with things. Hallucinations are really common for me though; there isn't a day now when there isn't something. I have dissociative amnesia, and recently memories are coming back, so my hallucinations happen much more often than they have done in the past. For me it is because of autism, psychosis and mental disorders have been ruled out

[-jimi-]

For some people with autism they have two things at the same time. They are extreme "S" on the Myers-Briggs scale, they take in the world detail by detail and they are not fantastic at drawing conclusions, so their interpretation of the world might be a little off. Also they have anxiety levels that high that their brains starts to ask for the reason of anxiety, and the reasoning parts, since they are not very good at putting things together, cannot "answer" anxiety what is really wrong, and since the human mind thirsts for explanations, the mind comes up with the wrong reasons for the anxiety, for example someone wants to hurt them.

I'm not saying this is the case with the OP, but I have seen actually quite a bit of autistic people like that.

I only get like that in one case, that is with heights, because I am so fearful of them, I actually get "psychotic" when I'm way up high. I am CONVINCED other people will push me over the rails.

[Miktis25]

Originally Posted by -jimi-

For some people with autism they have two things at the same time. They are extreme "S" on the Myers-Briggs scale, they take in the world detail by detail and they are not fantastic at drawing conclusions, so their interpretation of the world might be a little off. Also they have anxiety levels that high that their brains starts to ask for the reason of anxiety, and the reasoning parts, since they are not very good at putting things together, cannot "answer" anxiety what is really wrong, and since the human mind thirsts for explanations, the mind comes up with the wrong reasons for the anxiety, for example someone wants to hurt them.

I'm not saying this is the case with the OP, but I have seen actually quite a bit of autistic people like that.

I only get like that in one case, that is with heights, because I am so fearful of them, I actually get "psychotic" when I'm way up high. I am CONVINCED other people will push me over the rails.

Described it perfectly, Jimi

[Mariselle]

I too suffer OCD behaviors but don't have what you call "delusions". I have unusual dreams when I take sleeping pills however.

[Nike007]

Hello. Though I am currently not dx'ed with autism, I am waiting results from an assessment where they looked at autism spectrum disorder in me, along with social communication disorder, which I found out is a very new type of disorder. It used to be called pragmatic disorder, or something like that.

Anyways, I have been diagnosed with OCD. You should look into the Y-BOCS test (Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive scale). Here is a link to this test:
http://www.stlocd.org/handouts/YBOC-...-Checklist.pdf

I filled this out, and handed it to my pdoc, and was then dx'ed with OCD. I have severe handwashing when super stresses, which is when it's most noticeable in me. But I have thoughts that are quite abnormal, that probably isn't something you want to know. I believe I will be diagnosed with ASD - support level 1 though.

My view: some of it can be explained by autism (for example order and wanting to have the same routine), but other things aren't quite part of autism (like my handwashing). I wish you can talk to someone about it .

Note: Like a thing that I do is my greeting ritual, which would be part of autism, and not OCD, though it may appear as OCD. I have to say hello when greeting someone. That's more autism than OCD, though it's a routine and if not followed through, it makes me anxious. This is where the line kinda is.

[Icare dixit]

Originally Posted by -jimi-

For some people with autism they have two things at the same time. They are extreme "S" on the Myers-Briggs scale, they take in the world detail by detail and they are not fantastic at drawing conclusions, so their interpretation of the world might be a little off. Also they have anxiety levels that high that their brains starts to ask for the reason of anxiety, and the reasoning parts, since they are not very good at putting things together, cannot "answer" anxiety what is really wrong, and since the human mind thirsts for explanations, the mind comes up with the wrong reasons for the anxiety, for example someone wants to hurt them.

I'm not saying this is the case with the OP, but I have seen actually quite a bit of autistic people like that.

I only get like that in one case, that is with heights, because I am so fearful of them, I actually get "psychotic" when I'm way up high. I am CONVINCED other people will push me over the rails.

What you are describing as your brain "automatically" coming up with rationalisations given anxiety is purely (possibly brief) psychosis. There is no autism in any of that.

You being afraid someone pushes you probably is due to autism, but doesn't sound like a (strong/actual) delusion.

I am SZA/BP, schizomanic, so you know my point of view. I also do scientific research into psychotic disorders in relation to ASD (and perception and rationalisation in general and particularly in relation to psychotic disorders and ASD).

[Icare dixit]

Originally Posted by angelic-bry

Ever since I was little, I've had these constant thoughts mostly about dying/being murdered and being under surveillance by hidden cameras.

Sometimes they're distressing; they stop me sleeping at night and really scare me. Most of the time I just accept them as true though, and do what my thoughts tell me to.

However when I talked to my counsellor about this, she said these thoughts were just part of my autism.

I know OCD is quite common in autistic people, so that's probably also worth looking into. I think I might also be filling out a preliminary questionnaire to see if I might have OCD soon (though to be honest, the reasons why they thought I had OCD were just autistic traits).

What I don't believe is that having such distressing thoughts is just part of autism. So I guess the reason I'm posting here is to see whether other people think I'm right with that assumption. There's got to be something else, surely? Or at least, there's a possibility that it's something else?

Frankly, I think you are right and your counsellor is very wrong and might I say even probably be endangering you by finding ways to explain things away using your ASD diagnosis.

I would suggest you find help from a psychiatrist. Particularly delusions can (but don't have to) endanger you.

Purely based on what you write (but it seems very clear), your problem might be schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder. It's not a risk you wanna take, trust me. Treatment can almost instantly relieve you from those symptoms. I am schizomanic (schizoaffective, bipolar type).

The chance of you having both, based on the genetic basis of both disorders and random sexual selection, is about 0.001–0.01%.