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Updated Autistic's and depression poll

Question for autistic's

  • I am usually very depressed

    Votes: 14 34.1%
  • I have never been depressed

    Votes: 1 2.4%
  • I have rarely been depressed

    Votes: 7 17.1%
  • Many days I think or have thought it would be great if I died

    Votes: 17 41.5%
  • Many days I have considered suicide

    Votes: 13 31.7%
  • It has been all I could do not to kill myself on many days

    Votes: 6 14.6%
  • Many days I have had difficulty completing tasks or even getting out of bed

    Votes: 14 34.1%
  • I have been clinically depressed in the past, but don't feel that I am depressed now

    Votes: 9 22.0%
  • I have made a serious attempt to take my life in the past

    Votes: 12 29.3%
  • Is your depression controlled with medication?

    Votes: 4 9.8%

  • Total voters
    41

Ginseng

Christian
V.I.P Member
Please select from the following choices related to your most frequent level (if any) of depression in the past 2 years. I am trying to determine the prevalence of depression in autistic's. Most autistic's I know suffer from serious bouts of depression. I was wondering if there were some autistic's who did not suffer from depression.
 
Thank you tree. You always offer practical advice except when you are being humorous which also serves a very important function. I appreciate your input.
 
I have written surveys and know how having
something to look at, as a guide, can be useful.
 
Been on antibiotics the past 2 years, but before that I was pretty depressed and just waiting to die. I've dealt with chronic depression all my life.
 
Antibiotics or antidepressants?
Yes, antibiotics get rid of all the bad stuff. LOL Sometimes my fingers and my mind do not coincide. Either that or there was an autocorrect that I didn't notice. But probably my fingers.
 
I'm afraid there's no box for me to tick right now :(
I have suffered from clinically treated depression many times in the past and I am back on SSRIs now after a very traumatic year (ongoing...) but I would not say I am "usually depressed" nor has it been a rarity. I also never once contemplated suicide. No matter how down I have been, no matter how hopeless or desperate, it has never crossed my mind once. I have never, ever thought that it is my fault that society is not on our side, or that I am defective, but I've known in my rational mind that it was within my grasp to mitigate or even change the status quo. It's a sad indictment of the intolerance towards autistic people in modern society that so many have said the opposite.
 
I did tick two of the boxes about thinking about suicide even though I'm no longer depressed. Apparently because I made a serious attempt, I'm probably going to think about suicide every day for the rest of my life, at least according to my doc.

My relationship with suicidal ideation is weird. These thoughts will pop up when I'm stressed, even if I'm maintaining a positive attitude. They'll pop up when it's dark and quiet, probably for lack of distraction. I could be in a fine mood but begging God for death at the same time. So yes, I sometimes scream into the dark about how bad I want to die, but I don't have the chronically depressed mood that defines depression, not even episodically.

Not sure I understand it myself.
 
Interestingly, I took the depression quiz tree posted. It says I am a danger to myself or others. I wasn't able to answer all the questions because they seemed somewhat abstract to me. Does anyone else have difficulty with the way some of those questions were worded? Also, I do not see myself as severely depressed at the moment, certainly not a danger to myself or others. Being one who has had some serious depressive episodes I would have to say that that test does not truly understand depression. I am so much better than in my severely depressed states. In fact I have not even been positive I was depressed because I always rate it in terms of my most severe and long history of depression. I do know that autistic have a high completed suicide rate. And for the record, I have no plan to kill myself and do not believe I will ever kill myself though am shocked I survived childhood.
 
Can you think of way to word what would describe your "box" accurately? I will add it to the poll.

How about

"I am currently and have previously suffered from periodic depression."
and
"I have never considered suicide."

That would cover my two bases anyway ;)
 
How about - is your depression controlled with medication?
I added that. But I have not been able to take antidepressants for years. They turned on me about 15 years ago. They made me more severely depressed then I had ever been. Have tried a different type and much milder than before but it immediately made me even more depressed. Effexor was the only antidepressant that ever worked for me. I was really upset when it stopped working.
 
I've noticed that Americans always seem to use brand names for drugs whereas in Europe we use generic names. I would have referred to Effexor as Venlafaxine, or Cymbalta as Duloxetine. I wonder if that's because we don't allow drugs to be advertised over here?
@Momster - Venlafaxine is an SNRI (serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor) which are drugs very rarely prescribed here, mainly because people can sometimes find them very difficult to quit and they can have nasty side-effects.
Have you yet tried any SSRIs (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors) such as Fluoxetine (Prozac) or Sertraline (Zoloft)? They are more subtle than SNRIs in their effects and with less potential side-effects. I've used them for years and they work well for me. Just enough to take off the desperate edge so I can function properly.
 
I've noticed that Americans always seem to use brand names for drugs whereas in Europe we use generic names. I would have referred to Effexor as Venlafaxine, or Cymbalta as Duloxetine. I wonder if that's because we don't allow drugs to be advertised over here?
@Momster - Venlafaxine is an SNRI (serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor) which are drugs very rarely prescribed here, mainly because people can sometimes find them very difficult to quit and they can have nasty side-effects.
Have you yet tried any SSRIs (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors) such as Fluoxetine (Prozac) or Sertraline (Zoloft)? They are more subtle than SNRIs in their effects and with less potential side-effects. I've used them for years and they work well for me. Just enough to take off the desperate edge so I can function properly.
I don't know why we tend to use the brand names and then when you get the prescription filled, it's the generic and it confuses a lot of people. I use both names, mostly because here most people would only recognize it by the brand name.
 
Have you yet tried
It blew my doctor away who recently considered trying a different type of antidepressant on me... I have tried numerous antidepressants over the years before we finely tried the effexor. That was why I was so scared when I realize the Effexor was no longer working. I had taken it successfully for maybe 5 or more years. I doubt any antidepressant would help me. My doctor finally agreed after hearing all I had tried that it might be best if I didn't take any antidepressants or that perhaps I should see a psychiatrist to see if he had some thing different I could try.
 
I have rarely been depressed and never been clinically depressed. I have only experienced situational depression.
 
I don't know why we tend to use the brand names and then when you get the prescription filled, it's the generic and it confuses a lot of people. I use both names, mostly because here most people would only recognize it by the brand name.

But the brand name is under the name! And it is funny that we use brand names. The brand names become household names, such as Prozac and Adderall. I guess Fluoxetine Nation wouldn't have been as catchy a name for a book! The only drug I know that we don't seem to use the brand name for is Lithium, which apparently is a generic for Eskalith! That surprised me.
 
Apparently because I made a serious attempt, I'm probably going to think about suicide every day for the rest of my life, at least according to my doc.

What the monkey! I wonder what context that was under! What a strange thing to say. I made a serious attempt and don't think about suicide every day anymore. "Rest of my life" is long! Seems like a bold statement. And now if you do, it might be because he said you would! :eek:
 

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