That's very true. If I wasn't on my meds, I wouldn't have put me and my brothers album on iTunes and neither would I be bold enough to put my short stories on kindle. Without the meds I probably would never finish writing stories/music. Good point!

Uncomfortable? Extremely so, but that has more to do with my issues than with the topic.

I suffer both from chronic depression and social phobia. The social phobia, however, is, in my opinion, my biggest problem. Being among people scares me. Having to interact with people terrifies me. Even posting on forums is often too much for me.

I tried medication and therapy before. The former didn't help at all, while the later had both it's ups and downs. My last therapy was three years ago, and... well, it made matters even worse. By the end of it, I was pretty close to suicide. After that, I gave up any hope that my life could get better.

A short while ago, I began looking for a new therapy place again, and started with the first sessions last month. The trigger for this was, strangely enough, a game. The Cat Lady, to be precise. It's rather dark subject matter made me unsure, if it was for me. After reading some recommendations, however, (thanks to Novotnus, again) I played it, and it got me thinking again. Maybe there is some hope for me left? I'm still not entirely sure about this, but it was enough for me to give therapy another try.

Usually, though, I wouldn't say gaming is much of a help. At least not all by itself.

I hope you try more of that. If it works go for it. I find that Gaming is an escape but others might not. Hey, if its legal and you can do it go ahead. I hope things turn out for the better for you and everyone. Im starting to be able to actually do things now with Latuda so I guess there's some hope.

The only thing about medicine you cant change is how your family members/friends feel about it. Some people in my dad's family think Im a nut if I admitted to them I used meds. I have to cope with the fact that I cant talk to them at certain times. Do yourself a favor-avoid people who cant take you for who you are. I had to ban a few phone numbers but it needed to be done.

You should know Aspergers is hotly debated, and is not part of the autistic spectrum some people in the field just place it there because they don't know what it is or how to handle it. Another interesting bit, people with aspergers have bigger brains and seem to be more socially adapt. Many of the richest most successful people in the world have aspergers. Really it should not be called a syndrome or a disorder, especially since people with aspergers tend to be very orderly.

Honestly though no matter who you are or what people diagnose you with there is a lot and I mean a lot of corruption in the psychology system. Do not take their word for it think about how you feel, but don't ignore others concerns either. When it comes to things like OCD and ADD I don't think it is you have it or you don't but that everyone has it to a degree and it is about what triggers it. Poor diet and environmental toxins I know trigger such behaviors. Stay away from that stuff they call "food", eat real food instead.

Also an important note is that around the U.S. and in my state psychology and psychiatric facilities are under investigation for abuses to produce higher profit rather than help patients.

I don't seek video games for comfort I like the puzzles and learning new things, video games are the fastest way to learn. Though my main pull to video games is that I love to fight, if I were addicted to something it is not video games it is combat and knowledge. Video games are a saving grace really I can totally let loose and nobody gets hurt, I am terrified of hurting people.

I realize you may not have been referring to my post. I do still want to point out that the study I mentioned did find that people with autistic spectrum disorders are twice as likely to become addicted to video games. The study shows nothing else though. It does not say that video games contribute to these disorders, nor does it say that these disorders make people more predisposed to playing video games. I don't personally vouch for the accuracy of this study. I have National Public Radio liked of Facebook, and they posted an article about this study. I read it, and its breif summery of the findings are all I know about it.

I also want to say again that I don't like how they throw around the word addiction. Its just something non-gamers say out of ignorance. There have been many times in my life were I had to quit video games cold turkey, and be without them for a month or two because of hardware failure. I had no withdraw symptoms, or any other discomfort at all. I just did other things. The one thing about it I will say is that the closer it got to the time I would be able to start playing video games again, the more exited about it I got. This is no different to an approaching vacation, or movie release date though, and its not a sign of addiction with those.
The part about it being debated over weather its autistic spectrum or not is true. The rest of what you say isn't. Especially the part where you say people with Asperger's are more socially adapt. That is the opposite of Asperger's. Lack of social skills is one of the main symtoms. I really don't mean to be rude here, but I get told this sort of stuff all the time. Its really annoying when people tell me im not dealing the the issues that I am dealing with. You don't know what your talking about. Your just repeating things you have heard. Im living it though. I have been living it my entire life.

I deal with severe depression since childhood (27 years nowadays).
I can´t say that games rightly help me about this, but they are a good and funny way to keep my mind busy, since when it isn´t, I tend to fall at melancholy/suicidal divagation.

I did not say you had no issues everyone has issues. And I don't think you know what I mean by more socially adapt. It would take a long time to explain but people with aspergers tend to be better at recognizing none verbal ques and may not talk but do other things. People with aspergers do things differently that does not mean it is wrong.

I am not just repeating thing I have heard or read.

I got to use one of those weighted vests before when I was in a program with other people that had Aspergers. It was a basically a class that was meant to teach us how to interact with other people. Things like eye contact, and picking up on body language. Anyway, they also had those vests, and it was very comforting. They also had these plastic brushes that they would go down your arms and legs with. It would calm me right down during an anxiety attack. Both were ridiculously expensive though, so I only got to try them. My mom made me a weighted vest after that, but it didn't seem to distribute the weight correctly, and therefore didn't work.

Gaming doesn't always works for me. Most of the times, I don't have the drive or will for it, due to my depression. Other times, I just can't handle it. For example, last year I tried to play BG1 again. At first, it was okay. After a while, I became uneasy. Once I reached Baldur's Gate, I broke down. I just couldn't handle all of those choices. Which is weird, considering I played that game before. The same thing also happened once I reached the first chapter in Witcher 1. In other words, I can't play most RPGs anymore. Which is a pity, because I really love those games. Well, at least there are enough other games I can still play.

I don't have any friends, so I don't have any troubles there. My father on the other hand... He is not only one of the main sources of my problems, he also doesn't understand what is "wrong" with me. Same goes for his side of the family.

I already avoid people in general, due to my phobia. Trouble-makers, however, often don't avoid me. I seem to draw them to me like a magnet.

Okay, your not trying to be rude. I get that now. You are still wrong through. People with Asperger's have trouble with recognizing verbal cues. That's why I had to go to the class I just mentioned.

Edit:
But yes. It does not mean that something is wrong with us, just different. The trouble is that we are not always allowed to do things differently.

Further Edit:
You're also correct about a lot of people with Aspergers becoming very successful. There are a lost of aspie traits that lend themselves very well to a lot of careers. One I hear about a lot is writers. Its not a gift I have, but a lot of people with Apsergers Syndrom do very well in that field. They tend to be especially good with puns for some reason. I don't have the talent to write, but I have always enjoyed puns way more than anyone else that I know, so it didn't surprise me when I learned that.

Oh man you hit the nail on the head there. A lot of the time I think biggest problem is that people are being squeezed into the wrong place and not being taken seriously or given the chance when they want to try something different.

About the eye contact thing. It has always stunned me that no body ever asks the person in question why they make so little or no eye contact.

Heavily depressed, tried to kill myself last week, antidepressants don't do shit, various other issues eating at me too, Going into therapy.

Yea, its something that I didn't even realize until those classes I took. If you were to ask the person why they never made eye contact, Im not sure what sort of answer you would get. I may have even told you that I do make eye contact, fully believing that I was actually making eye contact. I know I had similar responses with other things. Its not an issue anymore. Now I always look people in the eye. Its not really natural for me. Im totally aware of the fact that I'm purposely making eye contact. I frequently wonder if I should be looking at their right or left eye, but I don't actually think it makes a difference. I have done it so long now, that while its doesn't exactly feel natural, it does feel normal. That probably sounds contradictory, but its the best I can explain it.