Is depression evitable?

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When I finally noticed I was somewhat "different" at the age of 16, I didn't care so much. While others were going to parties, I spent my week-ends assembling eletronic circuits and pretending I didn't need other people. For about 5 years, that worked quite well.

Then, at 21, I didn't only notice but realize something was wrong with me. Since then, I've been working under the assumption of having AS. I told myself: if you know your deficiencies, you can work on them. That wasn't completely untrue; to other people, I think I now appear "mostly normal", but on the inside, I'm absolutely not.

While I can now hide my failures, they are still there. I'm still completely unable to actively interact with people in a social context. It's a little miracle that I do have a few friends, but I can't claim any credit for that because I'm still, after 2 years, on the passive side. Most prominently, I'm now trying to befriend a girl in the university orchestra (feel free to post-stalk me for details), and even for an Aspie, I'm doing so badly at it.

When I was working on my Bachelor's thesis half a year ago and when I had some free time afterwards, I think got an idea what depression was like. The main problem was being alone for too many hours of the day. Right now, I have quite a busy schedule, so I simply lack the time for misery, but I'm beginning to notice that my strategy of suppressing such thoughts with work and duties stops working.

So, right now, I'm absolutely not happy, but at least I still function well as a student. But if I extrapolate the progression of my mental health over time, I'll be ready for the psych ward in 2 years.


Considering stories from others, it seems almost surprising that I've been able to cope with this for so long. Is there any way to escape the "fate" of depression?

Heh just wrote a massive existential replie then accidenly whiped it.so just rock that s**t my fellow benobo.yes it royally sucks living in this ridiculous matrix . love meo.irony

I've lived with thoughts of suicide since the age of 12 or 13, so you're doing pretty well so far.

Like anything else in life, depression is cyclical, it comes and goes.

According to my personal experience, these researchers are just catching up to something hippies and shamans have known for a long time:


>>Your Brain Might be Less Depressed<<

I've been living with depression for years and I can't stand it. It's gotten to the point where I was suicidal, when all hope was completely gone. I probably have clinical depression so with me it's inevitable. Risperdal seems to help now, but I'm not so sure. I don't feel like jumping off a bridge at this time.

I've been getting more and more depressed these past couple of months even though all things considered things have been going better for me. I still haven't figured out what to do with myself so that I'm not spending so much time alone. I find people very challenging to be around but the challenge of relating to them keeps me from dwelling on more depressing thoughts. The trouble is if I spend too much time around people and never feel a close connection to any of them, that has it's own negative consequences for me. I feel like I'm in an awkward transitional phase into full adulthood.

I was still trying to work myself out at 24, and four years later I'm probably only half-way there. I got through episodes of depression so I do become very self-conscious and have self-defeating thoughts that get worse and worse. But usually I have learned to accept who I am. Maybe. It's like who I am really am and my social life is completely separate and I don't really put on an act I just sort of become hypomanic or manic or drunk.
I can say enough to appear socially competent even if I pick up on a lot of my flaws. I sometimes forget the skills I have and they sort of switch on. I've studied people a lot not just as they are conversing with each other in front of me but on TV dramas too.

I now feel like I'm setting too high standards on who will become my friends. That makes me sound horrible but I get pretty depressed over not being in with a certain group of people. I've still got so much growing up to do. It could just be something a lot of people go through but it combines with my mental health issues, i.e bipolar, OCD and whatever else I have wrong with me.