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Are we depressed?

Crumble

Statistically autistic people are more likely to suffer with depression than neurotypical people. Myself being one, it got me thinking are we depressed or is it that what looks like depression is us not being able to regulate our emotions? I don’t mean it is not serious, it is and I am often suicidal. It’s just a different angle not that it would help me as knowing I can’t regulate my emotions doesn’t help me to do it. I have been on countless anti depressants, none of them work. I don’t mean to cause offence to anyone I apologise in advance I’m not great with communication. I came on here to get the opinion of other autistic and depressed individuals. It is a constant battle, I reach out but there are no services, I’ve been on a emdr waiting list for a year, I feel my mental health is due to the autism and knowing there’s no cure for autism spears on the suicidal thoughts it’s a lonely place to be

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  • I have clinical depression (as of my teens) and to be honest, I don't bother taking antidepressants anymore as it doesn't really help me. I don't judge anyone who uses them; for myself personally it is a waste to continuously pay £9.90 each for a prescription which doesn't work. As I am of Carribean ancestry, depression aswell as autism isn't received well - unfortunately in my culture you are told something is wrong with you and if you live in a 3rd world country (such as Jamaica), the family often sticks you in a mental institution to avoid dealing with you. 

    I think in the case of mental health services, they are very ill-equipped when it comes to the subject of autism let alone other mental health issues. Waiting lists are long and at times, you have no idea when you'll self destruct. What doesn't help is that many healthcare professionals simply have little empathy/sympathy and dismiss your concerns; of course healthcare (if I am not wrong?) is an underfunded industry and I know from experience as I used to be an admin assistant for a care provider. 

    For me personally, I try to manage each day one step at a time. Even if I don't want to get up (for example I've had autistic burnout lately/depression due to the monotony of office work and am actively working on changing my job), I try to and that counts as an achievement. Even if I feel like breaking down at work, I do so alone and get back up, that is an achievement as I am trying the best I can with my tasks, letting my team know that even if I'm not 100%, I will attempt something as to not give up. I don't know if this works for other people but little things I do count as an achievement in a sense.

    Also, I have recently started studying an art therapy course and am in the process to see what options are available in the council (as I have a council job); I have always been a creative person and have recently been interested in the subject as I want to try and use my experiences to help people with autism and depression get the support they need. Also, I do have a podcast where I talk about autism from my experience and other topics so that (and doing YouTube keeps me going).

  • in reply to lina-chan

    Hi  Is art therapy good for autistic adults? I haven’t heard of this before and like the thought of not having to try to put words to my feelings as I find this very difficult to do. How does it work? Sorry I know you have only just started so may not have all the answers yet

  • in reply to Crumble

    The way I was taught art therapy, is that the client draws an expression of how they're feeling, it can just be splashes of colour or a big black page and then the therapist asks what it means to them, not what it means to the therapist an example of what shouldn't happen was given to me as a picture of a sunny day, a garden full of flowers and a typical childs drawing of a house. Lot's of people said it was a happy picture, what a lovely sunny day, they didn't see the tiny crying face in an upstairs window, the picture was a hayfever sufferers nightmare, being shut in alone with no one to play with, whilst everyone else went out and had fun.

  • in reply to TheCatWoman

    Thats really interesting and insightful, Catwoman

  • in reply to Deleted User

    Speaking as someone who's done art therapy with clients, I'd find a blank page interesting. I'd ask you if you wanted to put anything in it, or is that a state of happiness for you and then move on to explore those. If you didn't want to put anything on it, then I'd be asking what happens when something is put on it, does it cause you stress, do the things put on your page belong to you or are they thigs put there by others and which others? What stops you from being able to put the things on it that you want? All that sort of thing. It would be a way of looking at your issues sideways as it were, from a different and hopefully less emotionally fraught angle.

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  • in reply to Deleted User

    Speaking as someone who's done art therapy with clients, I'd find a blank page interesting. I'd ask you if you wanted to put anything in it, or is that a state of happiness for you and then move on to explore those. If you didn't want to put anything on it, then I'd be asking what happens when something is put on it, does it cause you stress, do the things put on your page belong to you or are they thigs put there by others and which others? What stops you from being able to put the things on it that you want? All that sort of thing. It would be a way of looking at your issues sideways as it were, from a different and hopefully less emotionally fraught angle.

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