Published on 12, July, 2020
I have struggled with depression for at least 5 years and only more recently diagnosed as autistic. I’ve been on two different antidepressants- Sertraline and citalopram- and I’m not sure if I can even tell anymore if I feel any better.
I’ve been told that I’ve most likely been in a state of burnout for a long time so i now don’t know if autism is the root cause of all the depression I’ve felt ( I know it has definitely contributed) so would antidepressants just not work in this situation? Or am I just finding it harder to tell if I’m doing better because I can’t identify may own emotions as easily? I know that I don’t feel ‘happy’ or stable yet but I can tell if my mood has improved at all because I feel like my depression has caused so much brain fog.
has anyone had similar experience ?
I have very strong views on the use of antidepressants.
I have been prescribed different ones over the past 40 years, and still struggled, and i didnt know i was autustic. I now realise that some of those visits to the doctor, saying i cant cope, where in fact melt downs. Antidepressants didnt help me my melt downs.
I suffer with terrible brain fog and have done for the past approx 25 years.
I wish i had known all those years ago that i was autistic. I feel sad for the young me who didnt know what was going on.
Most antidepressants come with side effects and it can be very difficult to come off them
I would start by asking myself why am i depressed? Am i depressed or tired? I am begining to think that depression has a cause. For example lifestyle, relationships, loss, bereavement etc.
There is no scientific evidence to support the low serotonin theory.
My conclusion, and it is still early days, and im still learning, is that i am not depressed im autistic x
Like Tulip I feel that being autistic and the problems I had growing up (in various complex ways) lie behind the reason I went to the GP years ago and was prescribed anti-depression (years before I was diagnosed as autistic). I had really terrible side effects with anti-depressants so I had to stop taking them. Looking back I now view this as a good thing as I had to find other ways to approach my mental health issues (mainly anxiety with depression caused sometimes by being so worn out dealing with such severe anxiety). The causes of my mental health issues were complex and I’m glad that I had to work to understand them because I think that’s helped me long term.
everyone is different though - so what works for one person won’t work for another. I always recommend a book called ‘how to be your own therapist’ by Owen O’Kane because it’s a straightforward first approach to working out how your life story has impacted on your mental health. But there is so much to read and so much to learn. I think autistic people deal with a lot and it’s bound to take its toll in one way or another. We just need to be forgiving of ourselves and take care of our mental health as best we can, and find the things that work for us. There is so much you can do. GPs often immediately just prescribe SSRIs because it’s an easy and cheap option, but I think there are many other ways to approach this. Good luck!
I wish I knew I was autistic sooner too..
yes I agree it’s hard to separate the autism from depression. I think I can still be quite sure I’ve experienced depression but it’s difficult to separate the symptoms.