Self diagnosis

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Interesting ideas. If an autistic co-morbid on which an autism diagnosis is made were to be reduced (by counseling or medication) to the point of being no longer a deficit within the autism diagnostic criteria, would the overall diagnosis be rendered no longer valid? Or, would the diagnosis be sustained despite the lack of a deficit because the absence of the deficit is such that the deficit would recur if not for the counseling or medication?

Depression can be caused by so many things. It's only a symptom. It's like intellectual disability, or dwarfism. There are many causes of both of those conditions. I think there are hundreds of types of dwarfism, in fact.

So in the case where depression is caused by only environmental factors, it can go away. It can be caused by other types of illnesses, too. Not necessarily mental ones. Depression can be the result of chemical imbalances in the brain. Depression can be temporary, or chronic. It can be treated successfully with medications, or therapy, or other treatments. Or it can be resistant to all treatments.

I think it can be hard for clinicians to determine what is causing a person's depression. As far as I know, it's not usually thought of as lifelong unless a person has had it for years.

Autism is a biological difference in the "wiring" of the brain, from what I have read. It's usually genetic. I don't think there is a cure. Even if symptoms no longer interfere with functioning, that difference is still there. The person has just learned to adapt.

The DSM-5 states that symptoms must be manifested "currently or by history," and that they may be "masked by learned strategies later in life." I think they intend that to mean that autism is a lifelong diagnosis, and that improvement in symptoms is a result of learned techniques. The underlying state of the brain is still "autistic."

I think autistic people can be depressed only because of lack of understanding from others in their life, trying to live a normal life but they are struggling because of the stress from trying to be normal and trying to make it through life, and also dealing with the bullying and rejections as a child and being put down and belittled and being told how selfish you are or how stupid you are, etc so of course you will be depressed. But now the debate is should they still get diagnosed with depression or just be given antidepressants so they can be less depressed about it but not be given the label? What happens when things do get better because they finally find a job that suits them and they find an understanding partner and they find people who get them? They would no longer be depressed. But if they had been diagnosed with depression, that label will still be there in their medical history and it will pop up in the computer at doctor visits like mine has.

At 59 and being a self admitted pessimist, I can't see what great practical advantage would come from an official diagnosis. Most of the damage has been done.
However intellectually I would like something to hang my cluster of symptoms on. A history of difficulty making friends and according to my pdoc very poor social skills, fine and gross motor problems, poor balance ,uneven cognitive profile ie much higher verbal than spatial,abstract/diagrammatic ie non verbal, poor manual skills, poor sense of direction. I am not saying it is necessarily ASD.
It would also help explain why I have not come near to recovery in terms of occupational(never worked) and social functioning as markers of recovery from mental illness, and might make the professionals more understanding.
At my last appointment my nurse practitioner did use the word autistic to things that I said but quickly followed up with
"Not that there's much we can do."
Maybe she thinks at my age it's not worth following through in terms of what practical benefits it would bring about.

As I understand, if you have something that can't be treated with drugs, there is no reason at all for the drug companies to study your condition. For instance, there is a lot of support of MS funded by the drug companies. Ever since Ronald Regan came to power, there has been a heavy push to reduce taxes in the USA and not fund research using public funds. Like most Americans, I have no idea what the research situation is like in the UK. But, for me, it made a big difference in my career goals--I went to a private school and was arguably the best science student of my class--but I didn't choose science as a career because I realized that there would be no jobs available.

And, because studies are disease oriented--researchers aren't interested in studying you unless everyone agrees on what disease you have!

To those who deal with depression. It is very difficult.