Published on 12, July, 2020
I've been wondering about this for a while...I used to be very depressed but when I looked up the diagnostic criteria, my symptoms never really matched, I used to look up different types of depression too but none of them sounded like me. I went to a professional too and they also said I probably don't have it until I talked about suicidal thoughts, then they gave me a prescription. It all made me feel like an imposter. I had many symptoms but either they fluctuated too greatly and were not as persistent as the criteria says, or I never had the right combinations of symptoms or my experience didn't match with the described experience of that type of depression.
So, was it autism that was doing this?
Autistic burnout is often wrongly identified as depression.
Maybe experiences of autistic burnout may be more relevant for you? If you search online for autistic burnout blogs/experiences I am sure you will find lots of information.
Ausomely Autistic said:Autistic burnout is often wrongly identified as depression
That's right. I've been told I was depressed more than once by health professionals when I was pretty sure I wasn't. I wasn't listened to, because they knew best, right?
I didn't have the answer, then, and neither did they.
Pegg said: I wasn't listened to, because they knew best, right?
Firstly I am sorry you had that experience.
Absolutely not!
You are the expert on your experience, this is particularly important in reference to our autistic community as often many professionals have very outdated and inaccurate perceptions about being autistic including the fact that it was only a couple of years that the first research paper on autistic burnout was published. We should really be taught to trust our own instincts, but for some reason like you mention is often the false assumption that professionals know best.
Pegg said:I didn't have the answer, then, and neither did they.
That’s a difficult situation, but this also highlights why autistic identification, understanding our neurology and setting boundaries is really important.
I hope you are able to avoid periods of burnout now by understanding your autistic needs.