increased depression and suicide rates in autistic adults

Depression is even more likely to affect those in the autism community than it affects neurotypicals and the non-disabled, because of the lifelong torture that people with autism go through on a daily basis. And people on the autism spectrum also have a high suicide risk, according to medical research and proven psychology articles. Which is why as someone with Asperger syndrome I find myself wondering if I will continue to suffer from depression and have thoughts of suicide for the rest of my life.

There was this group of ASD and Asperger Syndrome adults who had either contemplated suicide or considered doing so after being diagnosed at a clinic, because they ended up suffering from depression. I also heard about one autistic man who eventually committed suicide. I don't want to end up amongst those people - even though I won't be able to break free from my severe depression.

  • Longevity runs in my family - still have all 4 grandparents and they are all in their 90's. Both my grandfathers I would say have autistic traits, I wouldn't know them well enough to say definitively if they are autistic though. Both managed to keep good jobs and raise a family. Both also have dementia. What I would be interested to find out is if being on the spectrum raises your risk of developing dementia. 

  • It certainly seems to be largely genetic in my family.  There have also been problems with severe depression and withdrawal from the world.  But given that we didn't realise that we were autistic we probably weren't in a good position to help ourselves.  A vital piece of knowledge was missing! 

    What I'm hoping is that, with increased knowledge, awareness and self acceptance, we can go forward with our lives on different terms.  I look at the past and want to weep because it seems that we were almost set up for failure, setbacks and disillusionment.  There were bound to have a negative impact on our mental health. 

    I agree that having the option of suicide can provide some comfort and perhaps a kind of safety valve.  But as a parent it frightens me so I'm wondering whether, with greater awareness and wiser decisions, we can navigate well away from situations that make us feel that way.  
     

  • I think you're right, Jenny.  I'm almost 60 now - diagnosed at 56 - and I have constant suicide ideation.  I've recently started counselling, and have discussed this with my counsellor.  I don't actively want to die... but I think that if I didn't wake up tomorrow, I wouldn't be missing much.  I've told my counsellor that I feel comforted by the idea that suicide is there as an option - and that if the time ever came when I chose to take it, it would be a rational decision.  The balance of my mind certainly wouldn't be disturbed.

    Longevity is a feature in my family on both sides.  My father smoked and drank heavily for most of his life, but made it to 78.  My mother had multiple health issues for the last third of her life, but still made it almost to 90.  If the autism was inherited genetically, I think it most likely came from her.

  • Plus the suicide rates are scary but i wonder how they can possibly include a representative number of older autistics who go through life undiagnosed or only find out much later in life (like me at 55).  i'm not saying there are no issues (i've certainly been through a lot myself) but I think the actual rates would be diluted by those, like my dad, who died at nearly 90 and who I can only retrospectively identify as autistic.  

    As a family we've certainly had our struggles but we are also quite long lived.  To me this suggests that there is also great hope for coping strategies and finding meaning and happiness in life.   

  • This sounds dire and i suspect the real reason is ignorance and lack of funding for autism awareness in your locality.  It's fairly poor here too and I've complained both to the local autism service and the CCG.  Nonetheless, awareness is growing and i thought most areas were supposed to be increasing awareness and provision.  https://www.tewv.nhs.uk/referrers-professionals/strategies/autism-strategy/

    Sorry to hear about the CBT therapist.  Was this via the NHS?  I personally have not been very impressed with the IAPT service and their one-size-fits-all approach.  As far as I know CBT should be adapted in the light of an autism diagnosis.  https://network.autism.org.uk/good-practice/case-studies/autism-and-cbt

    Plus formulations within CBT, or indeed any counselling modality, should be individualised.  https://www.amazon.co.uk/Cognitive-Behavioral-Asperger-Individualized-Evidence-Based-Treatment/dp/1462537685/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=CBT+autism&qid=1555167174&s=gateway&sr=8-3

    So i guess i'm saying I'm none too impressed with this "therapist".

     

  • I live in Thurrock where the autism specific services for autistic adults are non existent apart from supported living accommodation specifically for young adults.  I am 55 years of age and I have struggled with mental health issues which are undiagnosed due to the way mental health assessments are done by my GP practise where they won't adapt the assessment for the way depression appears in those with autism.  The last time I received any mental health support was with a CBT therapist who had no training or experience in working with autistic people.  He told me that the reason he and the other therapists had not any autism training was because there is not a call for it.

  • A difficult pericipice to be sat on then

  • yeah same, or just too much stressful stuff, whether its good or not. i am also really bad at the min so if left alone with out distraction i will try to hurt myself.

  • Borderline.

    Too much bad news in any short space of time can send me over the edge.

  • And.. how are you now?

  • I've never been on a proper psych ward.

    When I was nine  ( in 1972) I spent a year in a special needs school which was on hospital grounds.  That was the first school I really felt relaxed in.  Mostly because of the lack of physical violence and the other kids were as emotionally damaged as me.

    I first started to get suicidal when I was around eight and I was being dragged off to a Saturday morning ethnic/religious school.  Every time I went I was considering walking out into the street and hoping I would get run over by a bus.

    Unfortunately I didn't scream.  I was almost totally mute until around eight.  I just cried when I was in too much pain.

  • yeah that's what happened with me. and like i tried screaming for about 2 years but then everything just got too much and i like was shut down for 6 months straight. so yeah they didn't really realise that i was still really bad, until i went missing and the police found me, shut the motorway, put on a drip ect. and then tried to run away during my MHA assessment, bad idea!

    so yeah everyone around me was pretty shocked but yeah at least im diagnosed now. even though i have stuck on a psych ward.

  • I like your advice about screaming loud.

    One of my mistakes in life is not complaining or asking for help until it's too late.

  • I think poor mental health is common across all ages of people with autism. trigger warning for suicide, self harm and ED.

    Personally i have Asperger's and am currently under section 3 of the Mental health act in a adolescent psychiatric unit. I have attempted to kill myself 15 times in just over a year. i have been self harming (as in cutting and scratching)  for over 2 years. I have also struggled loads with my eating and it got to the point where they were seriously thinking about tubing me. I was first suicidal when i was 6, and i am now 16. So i have majorly struggled and hide my mental health problems for at least 10 years if not 13 (because of trauma when i was three). I was only officially diagnosed on the 27th of November, so 12 days ago. i also have multiple physical health problems, including chronic pain. this means that i am even more suicidal. at least i'm off 1-1 at nights now though!

    I'm gradually learning how to stand up for myself, and that self care and preservation is not selfish. you cant help others when your so ill you aren't eating, drinking, sleeping or functioning at all. 

    i think that depression is something i will always struggling with but i believe you have to learn that you have to do stuff on your timeline, when you are ready, do what's best for you. not try and conform to boxes we will never fit.

    my best advice is scream as loud and for as long as you can until you get the help and support you need. just don't stop bugging them. get multiple people to bug the people who need to get their buts moving. this is what we had to do/ my parents/ other professionals.

    please just never give up.

    i can't promise things will get better, but i can promise that through this pain you will grow and learn so much, that you can use for good. to help and heal.

    hope this helps

  • Aah, thankyou, And some hugs for you too. () () () () ().

    Sorry it took me a while to get back to you. Despite my programming etc. I struggle a bit with the software on this site: the notifications thing where it only shows bits of the thread does my head in, so I do it the old-fashioned way, and then lose my place. It doesn't help that my insomnia leaves me in a different time-zone every day (central USA at the moment!)

    Thank you so very much for seeing my words and putting across what I think so many also feel.

    One of the best things about these sites is the way that we do that for each other, just as your post kicked my brain into gear. I'm terrible at seeing the blindingly obvious very often, and I love it when someone gives me an "aha" moment and a bunch of pieces I've had for years fall into line.

    Best wishes. ()

  • Thank you Trogluddite for saying exactly what I feel, 

    your words speak volumes, when I first joined the forum over a year ago, I tried so hard to give support to anyone I could, I wasn’t any good at posting links, and quite often all I could offer was my words to say “ I am here and I am listening, please stick around and hopefully someone will see your post and know best how to advise you. I always gave virtual hugs, some were gratefully accepted, 

    That was a huge thing for me as I do not hug, it was my way of saying I care.

    At times I and others would burn ourselves out trying to help new members, I felt compelled to DO something, When things got to much we would start up a new thread, somewhere we could PLAY, be ourselves, act like big kids, but even then I felt guilty knowing there were many threads unanswered, people so desperate, no help was forth coming, 

    We do stick together, we do our absolute best, but as I said we are not always in a position to be capable.

    Life has it’s difficulties, I am no exception,,,

    I rarely post now, only when something incenses me,,,

    We are very caring and compassionate people.

    Thank you so very much for seeing my words and putting across what I think so many also feel.

     Have a hug,,,or many from me, () () () () () () ().

  • On occassion this leads to deep depression as trying to give support in such a way leads in itself to very extreme pressure, Yes we all want to try and help,,but to do so when life isn’t good for ourselves is a recipe for depressed feelings.

    I'm so glad you said that, thankyou.

    These communities are wonderful; I don't know where I'd be without them, and I instinctively want to help others in return. However, I do find it very easy to get so sucked in that I don't realise how much I'm draining myself emotionally, until I find myself crying over my keyboard or realising that I'm exhausted and need to avoid the forums for a little while. I often reach a point where I read a post and think "I've experienced that, there must be something useful I can add here", then feel I'm letting myself and other people down when I end up staring at the page unable to put anything into words. I don't feel that there's any obligation at all for people to respond to me, yet I put myself under so much pressure sometimes to try to respond to others when I sympathise with their posts - maybe be it's the only thing that gives my life a sense of purpose any more.

    I think it's important that we're honest about these kind of feelings, and about the limitations of online and peer-based support. Wonderful as they are, so many of us need real-world interventions that those just cannot offer. It seems to be a common thing for autistic people to find doing things for others easier than doing things for their own benefit; when someone thanks me for some tid-bit of advice, I quite often find myself wondering why I find the same advice so hard to take myself. We do need to look after ourselves as well as each other, and we shouldn't feel ashamed to say that we're taking a breather for a while whenever we need to, nor be offended if others feel unable to participate. (of course, I don't suppose I will take this advice, either!)

  • It seems thier are many on here currently talking about ending it all.

    There is little support from anywhere.

    We seem to be the only ones left to try and help and support each other as best we can. 

    On occassion this leads to deep depression as trying to give support in such a way leads in itself to very extreme pressure, Yes we all want to try and help,,but to do so when life isn’t good for ourselves is a recipe for depressed feelings.

    Even NAS don’t seem to bother, they sometimes come on and tell us off for using profanity, And on occasion post up links to the Samaritans or mind or suggest seeing your GP.

    It appears they don’t pick up on words like “suicide” or ending my life, maybe we should hit the report as abusive button just to draw thier attention to each one?

    Please look after yourselves. Virtual hugs to anyone who needs one right now, they come from deep within my heart. ( )  (  )  (  )

    views=560.

  • It’s a serious injustice that simply is unacceptable. We live in a world where being atypical presents real challenges in terms of finding a suitable framework to live life peacefully. I hope this will change.

  • "These critical times are when a person is at their most vulnerable, so even if the new generation's general ability to cope is much better, we shouldn't be complacent about the need for adult support tailored for autistic people."


    I cannot argue with that. I'm British but now live in Finland. For 20 years, I have been asking for an assessment of disability-related needs with a view to getting a disability support plan drawn up. In all that time, not once has the request - whether made orally, by post or by email - been even responded to, let alone granted. During this time, I have had to do, as a disabled person, what a non-disabled person can do on the same amount of money and support that the non-disabled get. My health has gone into decline since within two years of my move, I arrived here with three current diagnoses: autism, dyslexia and dyspraxia. Added to that lot since 1998: hypothyroidism; metabolic syndrome; heart failure; osteoarthritis; chronic blepharitis; anxiety NOS; persistent reactive mood disorder; pervasive somatic reaction to severe stress.

    Of these seven, six have a common causal variable: stress. Living for 20 years without appropriate and adequate support (because the local authority refuses to provide it) has taken its toll on me. My classification - because of medication - for the heart failure is 3A. This was seen by the local GPs as asthma, and treated as such for more than 15 years - even though I reported the meds to not be working. They told me, for 30 months that it was asthma or COPD but not heart failure so I went without a proper assessment and diagnosis. Not only did my GPs fail to listen for so long, it is also clear that my SWs in social welfare and disability services have - for the very most part - failed to listen to me as well.

    I trained up in educational psychology, having been an engineering physicist and mathematics tutor. Getting work here is very low probability: some years ago, the state broadcasters ran a poll on who should get the job - qualified foreigner or under-qualified Finn. More than seventy percent voted for the latter. As at two years ago, foreigners had a very high unemployment rate when compared with Finns: 27% v. 11% ... quite a disparity. And that was just in Helsinki. It is much worse in other regions. I have a developmental disability that involved a fairly significant language acquisition delay and a specific learning that is language-based ... but I was not given any support to learn Finnish as part of any Integration Plan that I should have been given (but wasn't). So I had to teach myself ... which was extremely hard and has me very uncomfortable speaking Finnish since I am also dyspraxic (including verbally!) and could easily get the wrong word out of my mouth. Yes - you're right - the Immigration Support Services failed to serve me with any support for an immigrant.

    Add to this lot the fact that - as will be coming clear in a statistical breakdown of the survey data we did - being on the spectrum is a risk factor for long-term unemployment, and this might surely paint a very negative picture of what Finland is like. The take-home here is this: don't believe the hyperbolic propaganda. The Finnish are master myth makers - they tell the tale, but they aren't managing to behave according to the tale.

    Here's my first instalment - telling the tale from another country and confirming the problems seen in the UK as happening in other countries. If I didn't have a kid here, I'd bid the friends I have here adieu and go elsewhere. But the effects of my treatment here make that a bad choice now. Client abuse - the gift that keeps on giving!

    David N. Andrews M. Ed., C. P: S. E.
    - psychologist (teaching, learning & development)
    - psycho-educational consultant
    - autistic adult