Asperger's vs Depression

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I can't get my head around that - for example 6 years ago I worked in a call centre and had a car, boyfriend etc, used to get a lot of things done.

Now I have been out of work for 2 years, although I have just got a casual job, but I have not much energy for anything else, such as just doing things around the house for example.

I just find it really frustrating. I don't feel particularly depressed but I am being treated for Depression, and my current Psychiatrist seems to overlook my Asperger's diagnosis.

I think that many psychiatrists, psychologists, doctors, lawyers, etc (so-called "professionals") do not actually know what they are doing. Some are good, some are clueless, some are just average. A person has to do their best to evaluate whether a "professional" is really helping them or not, and avoid falling into the trap of automatically assuming that the professional knows what he/she is doing because not all of them do.

It is a case of, I am seeing a Psychiatrist who is bulk billing me. This means it doesn't cost me anything to see them.

I can't complain, as that it is a good health system in Australia here that we do at least have that.

I think that I am overloaded and have a bit of Depression going on as well. In the past 18 months I've had a relationship break up, moved house, started a new job..woe is me (having general whine.)

I can't get through to the Psychiatrist the anti-depressants I am on are working somewhat (she thinks they are not working), and that there are Aspie factors thrown into the mix as well.

Does anyone want to put what happens when they get overloaded..?

Sounds like you are getting what you are paying for.


Depression can certainly be a symptom of being overloaded, overworked, or stressed for an excessively long period of time. In a way, it is a natural defense system of the body.

i too have major depression......i have been in a funk for bout 3 months .....i have aspergers also newly diagnosed last summer

at first lifewas great i was relieved to have answers

now i realize all my problems in life have been cuz of the aspergers
not fitting in anywhere......problems with jobs and maintainin relationships

now i isolate so badly im afraid to try anymore......so tired of struggling and gettin no where.....i give my all and end up right back here all the time

just get so sick of this life i want to change it but i dont do anything i have no energy or drive for life anymore

well wanted you to know your not alone.....feel free to PM anytime maybe we can ease each others dilemmas

Thanks Pepsiprincess, it's nice to know I'm struggling but not alone in these struggles! I will get around to PM'ing you, I have just finished work tonight it's 1.40am here..

Commical emp. Is everyone bad? is it all black and white?

Not every psychiatrist understands AS and its workings on the mind. So if he really ignores your AS you should go to a better psychiatrist. In the Netherlands we have a pretty good health system ourselves. This does not mean that they can ignore something as important as AS. I have a psychiatrist whose main concern is autism. He told me that depression is rather common among those who have Asperger. Stress and AS does not really go together. If i where you, i would look for help with someone who understands your specific problems and can guide you through these difficult times.

I've been depressed most of my life (since 2nd grade, but it got really bad in my second time in fourth). The last 6.5 years (which was about half a year before the numbing effects of the depression subsided enough for me to realize I even needed medication) were extremely bad, as I basically wasn't ever talking to anyone and not leaving the house for anything other than classes or shopping.


I guess the only reason why I've been able to be productive through it is because of the level of focus I've been able to put into my interests due to aspergers (and my interests happened to lie in areas in which I could get degrees in)

However, aspergers was also in may ways the root of it, as the depression that started in 2nd grade (and was magnified in 4th, due to bullying) was due to aspie-ness (which basically made me too strange to fit in anywhere, until I found a "losers club" in middle school), and magnified further by chronic episodes of long-term illness.

i am 15 and was put on prozac about 15weeks ago for depression, i never told anyone how hard i was taking life and not being able to make close friends i would let it bottle up. i remember fighting with my older brother when i was 13 the bursting in to tears begging my mum to let me see a psyciatist-she didnt because she said that i would have to tell future employers that i was still deeling with my post tramatic stress dissorder(i got it when i was 5 after a friend of my dads tryed to rape me) so it wasnt until i saw a doctor to get 7stiches in a cut i had made on myself (not usualy a cutter but well..it was a bad day) that i got a referal to this place called the tamrind center... its a mental heath facility and afer they gave me prozac they started slowly to assess what was wrong with me... they put me on sleeping pills to help with my insomnia and have only just diagnosed me with aspergers. i dont know what to do...i am not usualy a ryer-especialy if people can see/hear me but after the first day and a bit of finding out whats wrong with me i have been crying practicly nonstop. i feel my life is over and my mum isnt much help either... she has never been able to deel with me now she is evn more clueless because she was told she has to reprogram her way of thinking and how she interacts with me.... i want my old future back.

Getting a professional diagnosis can have much more of an impact and shock. It's now about 2 and a 1/2 years since mine, which I got at the age of 30.

It takes a long time to accept the diagnosis, well I went through a grieving process, which wasn't helped by other changes going on in my life. I went through this weird stage where I felt I lost my social skills, but posting on the local forum really helped that, being able to express myself in writing, then I got back my old communication skills.

I still feel a loss of confidence though.

I can't go through the journey for you australian-aspi-girl, but all you can do at the moment is take one hour at a time. The best advice I got was to focus on a routine, that helped me, and distraction like trying to do things you like or are pleasant.

I have been a cryer since I was 14 when I got my period. I've gotten better, but I still have periods when I can't stop crying it's horrible and embarassing. Sometimes taking paracetemol helped or more recently I have been given low doses of Valium.

To be honest I think I should have been prescribed Valium when I was younger, but things like Yoga do help as well. Possibly Prozac isn't the right anti-depressant for you either.

Although I had taken other SSRI antidepressants before like Aropax/Paxil (has a bad reputation) with no problem, I took Lexapro last year and had a bad reaction, I also had a lot of bad things happening like my boyfriend left me. I didn't do anything, but I did go to hospital, the day before my Dad had told me he also had the same prob with SSRI's so I'm now on Aurorix which is the same meds he took. Some people have no effect with Aurorix, but for some people it works well. There are also older Tricyclic antidepressants which suit some people better. Who knows the Prozac might be making things worse, not anything that you are doing.

It's really hard for me to imagine how you are feeling, I am better at giving practical advice.

The other one is have you been in contact with any local Aspie support?

How I cope is, I see in my family and friends and other people a lot of Aspie traits too, so you are not as alone as you think. Some of these people will try and use your diagnosis against you, when they have traits themselves!!

My latest one I noticed was many people don't have the greatest social skills either, not just Aspies.

Anyway, hope this helps, I will try and take a lookie at your profile to see if there's any local support groups you can get in touch with. Even if they are just other parents, it is helpful to know you're not alone, and the parents groups do have contact info for other services.

australian aspi girl and emc

If you can afford to see a psychologist who does Cognitive Behaviour Therapy, that might help you more than a psychiatrist.

My experience of psychiartrists, is they are trained to analyze how you were brought up and how you responded to various traumatic events and try to get you to see how your life decisions you made then don't necessarily apply now. And if that doesn't help or you complain about being depressed or not sleeping or anxious, they offer you drugs. I don't like drugs so I always said no. I don't like the idea of being artificially happy for extended periods of time. I've met people like that and they are a bit scary and unpleasant - nothing bothers them, even the things that should.

Psychologists, in my experience are a bit more interested in figuring out what bugs you the most, or even a little thing to work on, and then developing a strategy with you for dealing with it and how you think about it.

As for building social skills and a bit of self confidence, I feel that toastmasters.org helps a lot. I keep plugging that but I think I would have been consigned to the heap of nasty bitter always unpleasant people with no friends if I hadn't been to toastmasters and learnt how to do "spin", say what I see as the truth in a way that other people will be willing to hear it. For example, it's not "wrong", it's an "opportunity for improvement in my opinion". And not "don't do that", but "please do this".

I haven't had what my mum calls a "real job" in years. I work on and off for various people and am toying with the idea of being self employed, though the way I'm doing it isn't very lucrative - I help a lot more people than I get paid by. I call the ones that don't pay "practice". At the moment, I really like the lifestyle, although I also get mad at myself for getting up late and going to bed late, and procrastinating all day. There are things I want to do for myself that I carefully avoid doing and I totally don't get that. And that is one of the reasons I am visiting the psychologist on a regular basis.

I think in around November, that psychologists will get medicare provider numbers and you will be able to claim a proportion of their bill back, or they can bulk bill if they want. Ie psychologists will become much cheaper. It's worth asking about. I tend to see psychiatrist as more biochemists than thought managers. So unless I'm completely out of control I don't want to see a psychiatrist.

I have seen a few psychologists Wobbe, they have been great. I'm too tired to go into the full history today, but they have been uni students doing honours or about to finish their psychology degree.

I have posted a lot of the type of things which have helped on the ASSN forum in the past, and also quite recently which I would have assumed you had read them, but hey you can't remember everything and I wouldn't expect you to lol.

It's interesting to see a topic continue like this when I started it back in January. Anyway if anyone has any questions about services local to Brisbane that I've used, please PM me.

in australia you can get money back from medicare if you go to a doctor you can get a mental healt plan and medicar covers something like 80-130 for a session

I don't know what it is about medical people.

My prob is my psych can't see beyond my AS, she thinks every symptom of depression I have is AS.

Sorry... I don't have any advice.

I don't know what it is about medical people.

My prob is my psych can't see beyond my AS, she thinks every symptom of depression I have is AS.

Sorry... I don't have any advice.