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Depression v Autism, the chicken or the egg?

Sioux

Hi people I'm new here and would like to ask your opinion on this. I was diagnosed last week as having a depressive personality disorder with autistic traits and I'm not sure I agree with that. There's probably not much I can do now as that diagnosis is now on my file but it isn't really me.

My autistic traits play a much bigger role in the disaster that is my life, yes I have periods of depression but it does sometimes go away, the autistic traits don't go away ever. I live with them everyday. 

So really what does come first? The autism or the depression? I personally think the anxiety over my autistic traits is what brings on the depression but I just don't know. 

The reason I'm asking is the doctor wants me on a long term anti depressant, okay so that could help my bad periods of depression but what effect would that have me taking it forever even when I'm not depressed? 

I've never been good with decisions and can't now decide whether to argue my diagnosis, just take the meds and run or one of numerous other scenarios running through my mind?

Cheers

  • Sioux, if your doctor wants to put you on long term anti-depressants there must be a good reason for it. You ask what came first, the depression or the autism, but it probably isn't as simple as that.

    It's impossible to know whether you are the kind of person who would have suffered a degree of depression even without having autistic traits, so it might not be a question of one thing causing the other but of these conditions co-existing and aggravating one another.

    Your doctor knows this so to be on the safe side has prescribed AD and will monitor your progress. It's possible that things will improve to the point of being able to come off them, it all depends. I think what would definately help, as Tom, had mentioned, is to try to come to terms with your autistic tendencies and look for the positives, rather than the negatives, because concentrating on the negative aspects will just maintain your depression. 

    I think you have to put a certain amount of trust in your doctor because he/she can't know for sure how your condition will develop since there are all sorts of factors that can affect it and it isn't like having a physical condition, such as a broken leg for instance, which is relatively straightforward to treat. The mind is a subtle thing so medics have to take things one step at a time and watch what happens.