|
INSIDE PERSPECTIVES of AS & Neurodiversity |
DEPRESSION
Alarmingly many Aspies are or have been depressed. Having at one time or another been suicidal is more of a rule than an exception. Common reasons for depression in Aspies (listed in order of frequency among those I have asked):
· Feelings of hopelessness or frustration due to involuntary loneliness (lack of friends and/or partner) or inability to find a suitable job. (Most common reason.)
· Being misunderstood/mistreated/outcast by family and/or peers. Many may have developed PTSD or social phobia from having been more or less severely bullied or abused.
· Feelings of inadequacy due to lack of encouragement, being put down, or not having found a life situation where one's particular skills and personality traits are considered an asset.
· Emotional hypersensitivity. Innate tendency to take things personally that aren't meant to be, and being totally devastated when they are.
· Sensory hypersensitivity. Extreme stress due to noise, clutter, bustle, bright light, smells, ugly surroundings, pressure to hurry, perform or conform; for example at home, work or school.
· Extreme fatigue. Having gotten more responsibility than one is designed to handle (for some, just having children or an unsuitable job, may be way too much). Lack of sleep due to atypical sleeping patterns; malnutrition; chronic infections; toxic overload in the body; stress etc.
Other possible causes:
· Mitochondrial dysfunction. Dr Ann Gardner, Swedish M.D., has found mitochondrial dysfunction in people with depression and specific somatic complaints such as auditory & visual symptoms (hyperacusis, hearing impairment, tinnitus, photosensitivity), muscle pains and chronic fatigue.
· Sugar blues. Probably a more common reason for depression than most people realize. Especially among those of us who are more physically sensitive in general and sugar sensitive in particular.
· Seasonal Affective Disorder. Lack of sunlight in the winter-time for those who live far north. Though some are light sensitive and actually prefer the dark season; they may get more depressed during spring or summer instead and find light therapy intolerable.
· Bipolar personality type, or genetic tendency for pervasive Dysthymia that persists irrespective of diet, environment & life circumstances, and which may require life-long medication.
· Other reason.
Medication may help some. In other cases it may just mask the underlying problem rather than solving it.
links
|