Asperger's and Mental Health

Hello all,

I was diagnosed with aspergers syndrome around 2 months ago, after a history of severe social impairments. I was instructed to identify an online community of people with autism by my therapist. Can I ask, what's the policy on discussing mental health issues occurring with autism on this forum? Is it prohibited? As my condition makes me severely depressed, and my therapist recommends talking this out with other sufferers.

Thanks.

Parents
  • Welcome Aralez,

    Repeated episodes of acute depression over several decades were what led me to my autism diagnosis. On pretty much any autism community forum, you'll find plenty of people talking about depression and how it relates to the traits of autism and difficulties fitting into the non-autistic world. The rates of anxiety and depression in autistic people have repeatedly been shown to be significantly higher than in the general population, and both the things which cause it and the way it shows itself can be significantly different.

    It's encouraging to hear that your therapist recommended getting in touch with other autistic people. Many people working in mental health seem to have a very poor understanding of autism, yet stubbornly follow practices which have been developed primarily for non-autistic people.  Having experienced both "autism friendly" and "not so much" therapists myself in the past, I've seen that a therapist who just tries to blunder through can do more harm than good, and the ones who are open minded about the differences of autistic people are much more capable of helping.

    Communities like this one have been extremely helpful to me in the three years since I was diagnosed, including helping me to manage my anxiety and depression better.  I hope you find the same.

Reply
  • Welcome Aralez,

    Repeated episodes of acute depression over several decades were what led me to my autism diagnosis. On pretty much any autism community forum, you'll find plenty of people talking about depression and how it relates to the traits of autism and difficulties fitting into the non-autistic world. The rates of anxiety and depression in autistic people have repeatedly been shown to be significantly higher than in the general population, and both the things which cause it and the way it shows itself can be significantly different.

    It's encouraging to hear that your therapist recommended getting in touch with other autistic people. Many people working in mental health seem to have a very poor understanding of autism, yet stubbornly follow practices which have been developed primarily for non-autistic people.  Having experienced both "autism friendly" and "not so much" therapists myself in the past, I've seen that a therapist who just tries to blunder through can do more harm than good, and the ones who are open minded about the differences of autistic people are much more capable of helping.

    Communities like this one have been extremely helpful to me in the three years since I was diagnosed, including helping me to manage my anxiety and depression better.  I hope you find the same.

Children
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