Have I ever had depression?

Thank you. I don't think I will ever really know what was Autism and what was depression. Also I can never go back and change the past. However it will be something to take into account as I slowly reduce my medication. Something I would never do suddenly or without medical supervision. I just rejoice in the real benefits my Autism has given me and will continue to do so.

It's hard to tell. I suffered long periods of treatment-resistant depression from age sixteen to thirty-seven. Then I was diagnosed autistic and suddenly felt a lot better! In retrospect, I wonder how much was autistic burnout, but I think some of it was "real" depression: going on clomipramine in late 2017 saw a sudden and significant improvement in my mood from near-suicidal to "merely" somewhat depressed, which wouldn't happen with burnout. (You can, of course, be depressed and burnt out at the same time.) I am still on medication; I'm trying to come off it, or at least reduce it, with psychiatric guidance. I think I probably do need to be on a maintenance dose of something, but probably not as much as I'm currently on.

I have very low moods and Anti Depressants have never worked for me.  I figure it's because it is environmental depression rather than a chemical imbalance.  The efficacy of Anti Depressants is up in the the air these days anyway.  People seem split on what the causes of Depression are.

I thought I had depression about 8 years ago but can now see it was actually part of a melt down. I was actually just exhausted by autism  rather than depressed. It is much easier for a GP to deal with depression that look at ASD. Your depression could be more linked to your masking making you tired and ASD maybe causing you to withcraw from doing things and loosing interest in stuff. Thats how I felt.

VLD said:

The problem is that natural remedies tend to be thought if as being more  inocuous.

Yes true and also they get treated like pharmaceutical alternatives which they are not. 

VLD said:

I think what I am trying towirk out is that, if reducing my antidepressants will have any effect on my Autism?

There are probably others on here who can give you better advice about that as i've never taken anti-depressants 

Not knowing your circumstances in detail, it’s pretty hard to say. I was diagnosed later in life and before diagnosis I went through cycles of depression which I now know was me experiencing autistic burn out. Burn out often comes with depression so you could well have been experiencing similar.

The problem is that natural remedies tend to be thought if as being more  inocuous. I  now know differently. I was actually recommended to take St John's Wort by a GP as I wanted something mild to get me through a short but difficult time. Once hooked I then had to take other antidepressants. 

This takes me away fro my original question which is that I am trying to distinguish between my Autism and my depression. I know distinguishing the two is difficult. I think what I am trying towirk out is that, if reducing my antidepressants will have any effect on my Autism?

Was it just over the counter stuff? If i were to see a herbalist in the future i would only go to one registered with NIMH (National Institute of Medical Herbalists). There are so many dodgy healers out there that do more harm than good 

Sadly, my problems started when I took St John's Wort thinking it was a mild alternative to other antidepressants. Big mistakes!

I was depressed in my late teens but now i know it's because i was autistic without knowing it and felt disconnected from those around me. I felt isolated, confused, and had very low self-esteem and self-confidence. I didn't know what was up with me basically. I never went down the anti-depressant route....my mother went to see a well respected medical herbalist on my behalf and the prescription was so effective i went on to study herbal medicine at Lincoln University. 

So in my case i firmly believe i was depressed because my autism was missed (both by me and healthcare professionals). I've never felt depressed since then despite some horrible life events. I often feel numb and have trouble labelling my emotions however 

As a 50 year I have suffered with depression on and off since I was a young teenager, more on than off. The way I see it, the depression was caused for me due to the difficulties I have with life because I am autistic. I gave up on antidepressants a long time ago because they never really helped me unfortunately.