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Any experience or advice on medication for negative rumination?

NAS90609

I would like to hear people's experiences of using prescription medications to deal with negative rumination either directly or as a symptom of depression and/or anxiety so that I can start thinking about whether medication is an option for me.

I know these things are not autism - but it seems like they're often travelling partners and I'm not yet at a point in my own post-diagnosis journey where I can tell where one set of symptoms starts and others end.

I was diagnosed as autistic just over a year ago after a few years of noticeable decline in my mental health - particularly in my ability to deal with people - and as part of trying to unpick all that - it turns out I rate pretty highly on the depression scale.

I don't necessarily feel depressed in a literal sense - I feel like I have a reasonable grasp of what is and isn't working in my life - but I'm definitely showing many of the standard symptoms and constant negative rumination is by far the worst of them.

The things that trigger my rumination are basic everyday life things that I can't get away from or stop - so removing the source or removing myself from the source are not options.

I'm working hard to do all the right things - I've done some CBT counselling, I'm practicing cognitive diffusion, I'm meditating, I'm getting out of the house for walks, I'm drinking less and I'm trying to be easier on myself and more proactive about autistic things that feed into the problem like my sensitivity to noise and my general distrust and dislike of people.

Despite all this I'm now at a point where it's having a more severe impact on my daily life and I'm feeling like it's getting worse and maybe I'm at a point where I need to consider medication - which I assume will be some sort of SSRI or SNRI.

I'd appreciate any insights from your own experience.

Thanks.

Parents

  • I tried an anti-depressant once and it was an incredibly scary experience. The only description I have is that they seemed to lock me out of most of the brain I use. I wonder if this is not a problem for non-autistic individuals as their brains are wired different. Perhaps this is the part of the brain which is used for problem-solving. 

    There were a LOT of things in my life at one time I didn't consider fixable. Most of them were either caused from financial hardship or the wrong perspective. I changed so many perspectives and that actually helped with finances. We all need relationships, but not the wrong ones. And while I do work hard to maintain a better life and am nearing 50 still saving to buy a house, my life is incredibly different than 30 years ago. 

    Now anti-anxiety medication, when taken with a bit of discipline and in very small doses as a way to take off some of the pressure so I can actually make sound changes to my life, though slow, has been really helpful.

    All this to say, if there's more to the story and specifics perhaps there's some group wisdom here and ideas to try and troubleshoot problems with.

  • in reply to JuniperFromGallifrey

    Thanks for replying to this - it's appreciated.

    I was concerned about becoming some chemically-numbed zombie or losing my 'spark' and thankfully I have a couple of people close to me with relevant experience on the medical side and the consensus seems to be that while that was definitely a problem in the 80s/90s it's much less of an issue now where SSRIs/SNRIs have improved so much, doses are much more carefully controlled and GPs and patients are much better educated about the risk/reward balance. 

    Having said that there does still seem to be risks and potentially major side effects and an element of hit/miss uncertainty.

    Thanks.

Reply
  • in reply to JuniperFromGallifrey

    Thanks for replying to this - it's appreciated.

    I was concerned about becoming some chemically-numbed zombie or losing my 'spark' and thankfully I have a couple of people close to me with relevant experience on the medical side and the consensus seems to be that while that was definitely a problem in the 80s/90s it's much less of an issue now where SSRIs/SNRIs have improved so much, doses are much more carefully controlled and GPs and patients are much better educated about the risk/reward balance. 

    Having said that there does still seem to be risks and potentially major side effects and an element of hit/miss uncertainty.

    Thanks.

Children
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