Depression and medication

I’ve got aspergers and think I’m depressed but I’m not keen on taking tablets and was hoping if people could tell me if they are taking them and if they help at all?

I’d rather address and fix the route cause but as I believe it’s the autism that ain’t gonna happen. 

Parents
  • I took various types of mood stabilising medication on and off for 20 years before being diagnosed as autistic but they didn't really make much difference. The things that have the greatest impact for me are:

    • Excercise - this is the most important
    • A healthy diet
    • Making sure I don't stay in the house for long periods of time e.g if I'm on annual leave and don't do anything for a few days I'll be thoroughly miserable by the end of it
    • A good nights sleep and practising sleep hygiene inc going to bed at the same time each night, even if I'm on holiday and in a different time zone

    Feeling upset when certain things happen in your life is often a natural reaction rather than a sign that you're clinically depressed. Could this be what's happening instead? I often feel suicidal when having a 'meltdown' but will feel ok within a matter of hours or days.

  • What works better for me, rather than medication is acceptance. Due to their neurotype, 99% of the country have different needs and expectation in regards to communicating and socialising. It's also in their NT nature to stick to the pack and to marginalise minorities. As such, sometimes I'm going to have crappy experiences that will really upset me. I can't change this but I can change my attitude and approach to it.  I used to get in bed and cry for days on end, whilst eating junk. This led to me feeling worse, so now I go for a run and looking after my nutritional needs.

    I also try and focus on the positives and the people who embrace diversity and also put in place strategies in place for the things that upset me. For example, my husband is NT and loves group socialising, I hate it as I never know when I can make a contribution to the conversation and I find large number makes me feel like an outsider and anxious. Due to this, we don't have large parties at our house and normally only invite two people round at a time.

Reply
  • What works better for me, rather than medication is acceptance. Due to their neurotype, 99% of the country have different needs and expectation in regards to communicating and socialising. It's also in their NT nature to stick to the pack and to marginalise minorities. As such, sometimes I'm going to have crappy experiences that will really upset me. I can't change this but I can change my attitude and approach to it.  I used to get in bed and cry for days on end, whilst eating junk. This led to me feeling worse, so now I go for a run and looking after my nutritional needs.

    I also try and focus on the positives and the people who embrace diversity and also put in place strategies in place for the things that upset me. For example, my husband is NT and loves group socialising, I hate it as I never know when I can make a contribution to the conversation and I find large number makes me feel like an outsider and anxious. Due to this, we don't have large parties at our house and normally only invite two people round at a time.

Children