Published on 12, July, 2020
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.
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. ( ) ( ) ( )
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) ( said: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!)
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, () () () () () () ().
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!)
) ( said: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. ()