Depression

Hi my name is David [edited by mod to remove personal information].

I'm a 21 year old university of salford student currently living in manchester

as the subject says I am suffering from major depression and thought this might be the best place to talk about it as I feel like people don't understand what its like to be autistic and depressed.

I feel rather alone because despite the fact I have friends I have never romantically connected with anyone.

I also feel like im playing a balancing act between what I want and what other people expect of me

for example I got into a massive arguement with someone when I was in college because they said I moaned too much I was not aware I was doing in and as such I repress a lot of my bad emotions

It seems to be causing me problems however such as problems getting to sleep and bursting out into tears at the drop of a hat

I thank you for taking the time to read this and was wondering if anyone had any advice whether its direct of someone who I could talk to

Parents
  • Hi David. Smile You're not alone in dealing with depression and autism simultaneously, and there are lots of places you can look for help...have you spoken to your GP? They might be able to offer you some support and even medication to help you through this tough time. There are also confidential helplines such as the Samaritans, and I believe there's an NAS one as well (?). I've talked to these services on and off for years and they've always been brilliant; supportive and non-judgemental.

    I really do urge you to ask for help, because sometimes people on the spectrum are met with, "Oh yes, but you're bound to be depressed, you've had to deal with the difficulties with building relationships all your life". Of course tricky life circumstances don't help, but depression is the result of a chemical imbalance of neurotransmitters in the brain (or something like that, I'm a terrible scientist!) and it's manageable and treatable as long as you ask for help so you know what you're dealing with. Nobody should have to suffer "just" because they're from a population who have a difficult time of it anyway. Am I making sense? I'm really eager for people to get to know this as retrospectively, I've suffered from extremes of mood (depression and hypomania; I have suspected bipolar disorder as well as Asperger's and bouts of OCD) for years and these have gone ignored because everyone was so keen to diagnose me with autism. Whenever I told my parents that I was feeling so bad I was in physical pain due to my depression, they'd tell me, "Oh yes, that's Asperger's," and we'd say no more about it, more or less. However, now I have an awesome psychiatrist who refused to just leave it at that. Professionals willing to listen to you are out there in spite of what the cynics say. Don't feel like you have to suffer in silence.

    Lots of love, and I really hope things pick up soon. Keep in touch. xx

Reply
  • Hi David. Smile You're not alone in dealing with depression and autism simultaneously, and there are lots of places you can look for help...have you spoken to your GP? They might be able to offer you some support and even medication to help you through this tough time. There are also confidential helplines such as the Samaritans, and I believe there's an NAS one as well (?). I've talked to these services on and off for years and they've always been brilliant; supportive and non-judgemental.

    I really do urge you to ask for help, because sometimes people on the spectrum are met with, "Oh yes, but you're bound to be depressed, you've had to deal with the difficulties with building relationships all your life". Of course tricky life circumstances don't help, but depression is the result of a chemical imbalance of neurotransmitters in the brain (or something like that, I'm a terrible scientist!) and it's manageable and treatable as long as you ask for help so you know what you're dealing with. Nobody should have to suffer "just" because they're from a population who have a difficult time of it anyway. Am I making sense? I'm really eager for people to get to know this as retrospectively, I've suffered from extremes of mood (depression and hypomania; I have suspected bipolar disorder as well as Asperger's and bouts of OCD) for years and these have gone ignored because everyone was so keen to diagnose me with autism. Whenever I told my parents that I was feeling so bad I was in physical pain due to my depression, they'd tell me, "Oh yes, that's Asperger's," and we'd say no more about it, more or less. However, now I have an awesome psychiatrist who refused to just leave it at that. Professionals willing to listen to you are out there in spite of what the cynics say. Don't feel like you have to suffer in silence.

    Lots of love, and I really hope things pick up soon. Keep in touch. xx

Children
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