is it possible to mistake depression for AS?

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is that possible? are many of the symptoms similar?
what about mistaking it with social anxiety disorder?

is there anything else AS is commonly mistaked with? apart from ADHD.

I had actual depression. I got rid of it with antidepressants.

I believe depression can be caused by circumstances stemming from AS.

I think this is a great question as I've also kind of wondered along those same lines. When is depression or another mood disorder just depression, or when is it more so a result of having something like Asperger's or ADD. Same with anxiety, does it exist in a vacuum or does it actually stem from Asperger's?

I wish I knew the answer to this. I'm sure it probably truly is a case by case basis. You mentioned 4 different things, and I'm fairly certain that all 4 would apply to me haha. But maybe that's not so uncommon, perhaps overlap is likely.

I'm trying to form a reply but I can't make sense of which one you mean in your topic title, lol.

Depression definitely makes socializing more difficult. There's no way I can act outgoing or participate in small-talk when I'm depressed. Sometimes even answering a simple question takes every ounce of energy out of me. I just feel flat, flat, flat... like nothing in the world will ever move me. And I feel so removed and isolated from all the ordinary happy gregarious people that I just want to hate them for being happy.

I found that I get easily depressed when I suffer from long-term sleep deprivation, and I have pretty bad sleep issues. I finally put my foot down over treating the depression. my body can't handle those drugs and they made me horribly sick for about 3 years as I tried one after another. I won't take any more of them.

for now benadryl and valium are allowing me enough sleep to scrape by, so I haven't suffered from more than brief periods of situational depression (less than a few hours) for at least a month.

Depression and AS are two totally separate things; however, depression can be (and usually is) a symptom of AS. Proof: Suppose one is depressed all of his/her life but able to notice social gestures cue, and body language. They take meds, and they are treated.

Example: My grandmother had clinical depression but very verbal, social, and easily recognized all body gestures, cues, and easily maintained eye contact. (Strangely, she did well without antidepressants. If I knew the secret of how she successfully did that, I would share it; alas, I don't know)

Now me: I have AS, major depression and anxiety; however, once I got treated with anti-depressants, socially I still couldn't maintain eye contact well, couldn't recognize some body gestures and verbal expressions; I still can not tell when a woman or if a woman is flirting with me or not; and socially, I still screw things up often.

All it takes is one counter example to show that a claim is false; I think, therefore, I have succeeded in that.

Is it possible, given "cyberchondria"? Absolutely.

But most professionals don't know anything about autism, so unless it's a child in question, chances are depression will have already been addressed by the time anybody ever considers AS. Most of the adults here seem to be like me in having been through treatment for everything imaginable before ever coming across AS. So it's more likely that AS is being mistaken for depression, or AS causing depression, than depression being mistaken for AS.

i've had depression, had it because i didnt know why i was differnt to everyone else
why i could function the same way, etc
then i got my diagnosis of AS
all of a sudden the sky is blue insted of dull and lifeless
was like being blind, then given working eyes for me
so id say if u are undiagnosed and dont know why u are the way u r then u can end up very depressed
and also asking yourself all the "whys?what ifs?" dont help none to much

They seem to share a lot of characteristics. When I first started looking for reasons to explain my behaviours and attitudes I meshed with depression fairly well, then I started learning about AS and it fits like a glove (though I am sure I have depression as well). So, to summerize, yes I think it is fairly easy to mistake depression for AS initially, but when you learn more about the two, it becomes easier to distinguish.

i was diagnosed depressed because of my meltdowns at age of 10 and got hospitalized after 2 years they chanced my diagnosis to as

The depression and anxiety were identified in me first, but the doctors were never able to understand or explain their roots. It wasn't until the discussion about ASDs that begun to unravel the situation... the self-loathing, the diminished self-image, the uncertainty and inability to cope with seemingly minor things, all began to have a sense of context. I don't think it is a misdiagnosis, but these things tend to co-exist and even spawn from the spectrum experience.


M.

well, i fit social anxiety and depression like a glove. AS...there are some symptoms i dont have. like the socializing thing....if i'm in the mood, and am with the right people, i can be pretty outgoing, but i'm a bit hyper and crazy, and may say wierd things or become very impatient. but if im out of my comfort zone, i'm screwed. my body doesnt move like other people when i talk, sometimes if someone says something, if im caught off guard and i go speechless for a bit...and in big social areas...my mind just goes fuzzy, like it's plugged, and my mind sort of retreats into it's self. so could that be the social anxiety mistaken as AS or the other way around?

I borrow your words because I cannot find my own ... and those feel like they fit me well. I do not believe AS accounts for all of my struggles, but neither could anything else. Depression is definitely a big part of the picture here, but not because of AS. Rather, the depression comes from my believing there is no way to reconcile my comfortable world with that crazy one all around us.

I think the biggest thing that distinguishes clinical depression from just plain difficulty coping with life is the way depression saps my emotional energy and makes it impossible to enjoy anything to the degree I could if I weren't depressed. Even when life gets better and I'm not struggling day-to-day with any major issues I still lack the energy and enthusiasm for life that others seem to possess. Things just feel flat and uninspiring for no particular reason. Then when things do go wrong it just feels like life isn't even worth the trouble and I instantly want to give up. It's horrible.

I don't think it is.