Depression?

Post Reply New Topic

Hey all, I am wondering how you all manage depression for yourself as an aspie? Since we're pretty prone to getting it anyway... I just realized I've been dealing with it again for a year now, it comes and goes for me, but this time I just completely lost interest in people and it's only getting worse and worse, and I don't know how to deal with it. Part of me feels this is so unhealthy to want everyone to just shut up all day, everyday, but then thinking about fixing it isn't very motivating either. I also feel super out of place every where I go and I just got a job and moved cities, so it's only gotten worse. I've been focusing myself on the logistics of the city and my job and ignoring (with anxiety) the strong social portion of my job, which is volunteer outreach, but I get so so tired after talking to anymore, and I've been having random meltdowns more than ever.
Sorry for the rant, it's just all kind of hitting me

For me, I know that my depressive experiences are precipitated by a period of heightened stress, or repeated overstimulation that I can't recover from in time for the next onslaught. So my coping strategy is to cocoon for a little while, and spend as much time as I can watching the TV shows I like, drawing, and doing other low-stimulus things until I feel like I'm starting to feel clearer again. I was often told this was the wrong thing to do, and I had to push myself to "get out there," but I've found that my technique works for me, because it responds to the trigger of the problem.

Do you have any particular things that tend to trigger depression for you? Perhaps you can devise some strategies that address the triggers, or that can help to ameliorate the situation if the stressor isn't likely to go away soon.

I've struggled with depression on and off since 2005. I have tried 11 different antidepressants, only 3 of which worked slightly, 2 of those only worked for 2 to 3 momths before they stopped. The 3rd med Paxil only helped maybe 30% with anxiety and depression but it sexually castrated me maybe it impossible to orgasm.

I also had a bout of severe depression caused by really low levels of testosterone caused by chronic opioid use. After that was fixed my depressiom lifted.

These days I find 4000 IU of vitamin D a day everyday to give my mood more of a mood boost than any other anti depressant I've ever been on. I have a consistently good mood despite having an extremely sh***y life and health, so I'd say it works great. No side effects at all as long as I take it with food, otherwise Vitamin D gives me heartburn.

CBT while it worked wonders for my anxiety, it has historically done very little for my depression.

Definitely change is a trigger. And stress in general, but big changes seem to just make me feel a lot worse, like near catatonic states. But my life seems so full of change because I can't get financially stable. i just moved to a new state and got a nice job with super low pay and graduated college.... so obviously lots of change on a lot of fronts, but I dont know how to manage or mitigate the depression

Sorry to hear you've been struggling.

I've been living with depression since 2010. I didn't seek help for most of that period; I was busy with school, and under the impression that I could just "push through" it, even though I was experiencing intense anxiety, meltdowns, occasional dissociation, etc. These days I'm on antidepressants and see a psychiatrist semi-regularly, which helps, although I certainly still struggle.

Avoiding things that trigger depression is ideal, but that's not always possible, as you mentioned. Especially if your AS interacts with your depression in a negative way (for example I get overwhelmed when my schedule changes/when I don't have a schedule, and being idle makes my depression worse, so it's a double whammy). As previously mentioned it may be a matter of developing a strategy or "plan" to help you deal with these triggers when they come.

I hope things get better for you.

Another then medications, ECT and other invasive procedures your only option is behavioral and thought changes. If you have any thoughts that come or are associated with your bouts of depression chances are they are making it worse. So you need to write them down and find ways to address those thoughts. Many times you and/or a therapist/other people can find fault logic in these negative thoughts and find ways to change them.

I've been battling depression and anxiety for about 25 years. Disclaimer: I am not recommending any of these drugs - just relating my personal experience. Trigger warning: Long post.

I self-medicate with low doses of opioids when I can (less than 10 mg a day). If you have an addictive personality (or drink, use other drugs, or take other drugs with acetaminophen) then steer clear of opioids. I'm extremely careful about what I ingest (and I also seem to have an extremely low tolerance to meds) so I've never become dependent on this medication. Please take this info as being purely anecdotal and unscientific. I'm just being honest about what works for me.

I've had no luck with SSRI's. I didn't really like the ambience of Zoloft. I was still anxious and depressed on it although everyone kept telling me that I seemed happier. However, I hear this does work for many people with AS.

I did have luck with Alprazolam (Xanax) as it helped me be more social and less afraid of things. It also helped me sleep. It's an anti-anxiety drug but alleviating all that anxiety definitely helped with my depression.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) helped me learn to be a bit less dogmatic about things which helped me relax. It cut into that black and white thinking that often took me down a dark path. I also learned to cope with debilitating panic attacks that sent me to the emergency room. It's not a cure-all but it helps (especially in conjunction with meds).

Marijuana helped me when I was younger but now it makes me really anxious. Although, I know there are many WP members who say it still helps them tremendously.

Mindfulness helped me tremendously but I had trouble sticking with it.

Beyond that the best therapy I have is trying to get outside and away from TV, electronics, social media, politics, and modern life as much as is realistically possible.

Well, it seems as if I have depression. I don't know how long for, I've denied it for a long time until I got too upset recently and couldn't fully explain it.

The other day I got prescribed a tablet, I'm hoping it will help. But before that, I usually cope by listening to music, watching shows that I like...I'm not the sort of person who would self-harm or drink loads. And I don't want to give in to that. I usually go on the internet or watch stuff as a way of escaping. Especially if it has a lot of funny things (You know the saying "Laughter is the best medicine"), just to make me happy for a while.

I feel a bit better already. I think my personality has changed a bit. Well, not changed, it's just become slightly less hidden.