• Replies 6 replies
  • Subscribers 83 subscribers
  • Views 1777 views
  • Users 0 members are here
Options
Related
Hints and tips
  • To quote someone's message, first select/highlight the relevant text, and then use the Quote button that appears
  • To "mention" someone, type @ followed by the start of the forum name, and choose from the list; that person will get a notification of being mentioned

Late autism diagnosis/ depression

Jd

Hi. 
just wondered about others views on autism and depression. 
struggling to find someone who understands my views and thoughts on life.

Recently had a rough spell where my wife’s been quite ill and at one point was touch and go as to whether she would make it,  She’s slowly recovering now but is looking like she’s gonna struggle to walk properly again amongst other things.  
I’ve had many a dark day especially recently and she’s telling me it’s all pointing towards depression and think she doesn’t believe I am autistic. 
I am basing my autism diagnosis on my whole life not just recent events and the assessment team views me as a strong enough case to asses me and my gp said I would be very surprised if I’m not on spectrum. 
depression could be a factor as juggling a 7yr old showing similar traits to myself as well as work, HomeLife and my wife’s illness on top of autism it’s been a very hard period.

But it’s not being helped by the fact people constantly doubt me and putting pressure on me for their own needs. Have agreed to speak to my gp about depression and autism but it’s very difficult to talk about it when you think nobody believes you and your looking for a get out clause/excuse. 

I know I am on the spectrum somewhere and it doesn’t bother me really. A lot of my life makes sense since discovering about autism and myself and it’s helping me understand me. Just wish others would understand me too...

Parents

  • Can autistic people suffer from depression? Yes, they certainly can.

    Are there autistic behaviours and states of mind which might be mistaken for depression? Yes, certainly that, too.

    Before I go any further, take a look through this list to see if there's anything that you recognise...

    • A growing lethargy
    • An increase in irritability
    • An increase in anxiety
    • An increase in over-sensitivity to sensory information
    • A dramatic decrease in sensitivity to sensory information
    • Heightened Auditory processing disorder
    • A decrease in verbal language
    • A decrease in text language
    • An increase in Shutdowns and heightened withdrawn state
    • An increase in the frequency and severity of Meltdowns
    • A diminished ability for the person to self-regulate their emotional state
    • The slowing down of the thought processes
    • Brain fog
    • Memory loss 
    • A decrease in your ability to effectively communicate what you want 
    • A decrease in motivation
    • An inability to generate momentum of body and of action
    • An increase of rigidity, narrowing of thinking
    • A feeling like your vision is tighter or narrower
    • Extreme forgetfulness
    • Extreme overwhelm
    • A massive increase in guilt
    • An increase in Executive Dysfunction
    • An increase in Demand Avoidance

    I'm sure that anyone who has ever suffered from depression will recognise quite a few of those. So will any autistic person who has ever experienced "autistic burnout" - though many of them will have had no idea that such thing even existed, as it is almost entirely unrecognised in orthodox mental health practice, and is so often mistaken for depression that many of us come to believe that this must be what it is. It is not uncommon to have experienced it many times - a repeated cycle of achievement, followed by collapse, followed by an often painfully slow recovery - and it can have a devastating impact on our mental well-being, relationships, and careers.

    Despite the superficial similarities, it is important to recognise the difference between them, as this is key to successfully tackling the problem. Burnout is caused by the mental load of the masking and other coping strategies which keep us ticking along in mainstream society; possibly strategies that we're not even aware that we use. Sooner or later, our brains simply can't sustain this, and burnout is the result. The typical treatments for depression may be beneficial; but they can also be inappropriate or even counter-productive (for example, intensive talking therapy may be exactly the opposite of what is required when one's expressive abilities are desperately in need of recharging).

    The list is taken from this blog article: The Autistic Advocate: An Autistic Burnout (content warning: there is explicit mention of suicide). I strongly recommend that any autistic person, relative, or professional read it - it's the best description of it that I have come across over the years. It's an issue which needs far greater recognition, as it's a problem which is very likely recur again and again if not identified and treated correctly.

  • in reply to Trogluddite

    Being honest I can relate a lot to that list. Emotional control is non existent and my memory has the capacity of a amoeba of late and stumbling over my words and loosing my train of thought.  
    My colleges at work were taking the pee outta me today as I was fussing over the 2 high level brake lights on my van. One was dimmer than the other and although working wasn’t right... I stripped the whole thing down and found a bulb had been replaced with the wrong type. Was straight in to parts and getting them to order right bulb. It doesn’t have any effect on the van... but it’s not right!!!  Much to the amusement of my colleagues. And was getting rather wound up that they thought I was being silly. 

Reply
  • in reply to Trogluddite

    Being honest I can relate a lot to that list. Emotional control is non existent and my memory has the capacity of a amoeba of late and stumbling over my words and loosing my train of thought.  
    My colleges at work were taking the pee outta me today as I was fussing over the 2 high level brake lights on my van. One was dimmer than the other and although working wasn’t right... I stripped the whole thing down and found a bulb had been replaced with the wrong type. Was straight in to parts and getting them to order right bulb. It doesn’t have any effect on the van... but it’s not right!!!  Much to the amusement of my colleagues. And was getting rather wound up that they thought I was being silly. 

Children
No Data