Aspies and suicide (not a cry for help)

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justjelliot
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28 Jun 2011, 10:12 am

I'm ok, I'm fine, don't worry. I am just wondering, does anyone know statistics for Aspies and suicide, or suspected Aspies and suicide? About a year ago I tried it, thinking I was just so f'd up with no possible hope for being normal, the normal I always desired yet could never reach. I did a stint in a psyc ward, and see a psychiatrist now. I got diagnosed with Aspies about six months later after I thought I had it. Life's been great since then, I no longer blame myself, the locus of control has changed, and I know now that I'm not to blame for it all, it's just how I'm wired. I was wondering though if people with Aspies are suicidal more than NT's, which I would assume so, simply based on the way we often ruminate our thinking. Thoughts?


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Last edited by justjelliot on 28 Jun 2011, 1:55 pm, edited 1 time in total.

aspie48
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28 Jun 2011, 11:08 am

you could start a poll on this thats probably the best way either that or google it. ive attemped before.



wavefreak58
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28 Jun 2011, 11:34 am

I don't recall where I read it, but if I recall, there is a higher incidence of suicide for autistics. This is mostly because of comorbid depression, not autistic traits themselves.


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joestenr
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28 Jun 2011, 11:44 am

my own iclination is that the rate would be higher in undiagnosed aspies.
for many of us learning that there was a reason behind the painful experinces heals so much


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guywithAS
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wavefreak58
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28 Jun 2011, 12:25 pm

joestenr wrote:
my own iclination is that the rate would be higher in undiagnosed aspies.
for many of us learning that there was a reason behind the painful experinces heals so much


The quandary here is that if the ASD is undiagnosed, you have no way of establishing the correlation. Though I must admit my own feelings of despair have lessened since my DX.


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Verdandi
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28 Jun 2011, 12:45 pm

wavefreak58 wrote:
joestenr wrote:
my own iclination is that the rate would be higher in undiagnosed aspies.
for many of us learning that there was a reason behind the painful experinces heals so much


The quandary here is that if the ASD is undiagnosed, you have no way of establishing the correlation. Though I must admit my own feelings of despair have lessened since my DX.


My depression stopped the moment I knew for sure I was autistic. It came back recently, but there's a lot of stuff there that needs to be dealt with even knowing why it all happened.



wavefreak58
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28 Jun 2011, 1:36 pm

Verdandi wrote:
wavefreak58 wrote:
joestenr wrote:
my own iclination is that the rate would be higher in undiagnosed aspies.
for many of us learning that there was a reason behind the painful experinces heals so much


The quandary here is that if the ASD is undiagnosed, you have no way of establishing the correlation. Though I must admit my own feelings of despair have lessened since my DX.


My depression stopped the moment I knew for sure I was autistic. It came back recently, but there's a lot of stuff there that needs to be dealt with even knowing why it all happened.



I can't say that my depression stopped. But the dynamics of it changed radically. Instead of a sense of NEVER getting out of the hole I was in, now I see a real potential for change. I still get depressed when I get overwhelmed by the enormity of it all.


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28 Jun 2011, 1:44 pm

I tend to find that most Aspies with Depression are more likely to attempt/commit suicide.

Personally, I "cried for help" once and never looked back. I think of it as more as a cry for help, because the overdose I took was not enough to be classed as an attempted suicide. :!:



Callista
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28 Jun 2011, 2:05 pm

We're more prone to depression, and thus more prone to suicide. But AS is not directly linked to suicide.

The stats I found is that we're about twice as likely to commit suicide as NTs. But this may be skewed: Males are much more likely than females to commit suicide. And autism has a larger population of males. The true increased risk is probably more like 1.2-1.5 times as likely.

Regarding suicidality in autistics, I do think that this is a problem that should be handled slightly differently from suicidality in NTs. The increase in introversion, problems with communication, and tendency toward high stress levels in the autistic population means that doctors who treat suicidal patients need to be aware of how being autistic changes diagnosis and treatment.


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arko5
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28 Jun 2011, 4:56 pm

I think loneliness/social isolation is directly linked to depression and suicidal tendencies, so it's probably not aspergers=depression but rather aspergers may be more likely to put you in a situation that induces depression.


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justjelliot
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28 Jun 2011, 5:58 pm

joestenr wrote:
my own iclination is that the rate would be higher in undiagnosed aspies.
for many of us learning that there was a reason behind the painful experinces heals so much


That's what I was. Once I had a reason for why I was so different, I got a lot better. It was a cathartic feeling to quit blaming myself.


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http://aspiespy.blogspot.com/


Verdandi
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28 Jun 2011, 6:55 pm

wavefreak58 wrote:
I can't say that my depression stopped. But the dynamics of it changed radically. Instead of a sense of NEVER getting out of the hole I was in, now I see a real potential for change. I still get depressed when I get overwhelmed by the enormity of it all.


From December 8th until June 12th, I was pretty much not depressed at all. None of the symptoms that I identify as depression.

Then I got bad news and it jumped back in. It's not the same as it was, but it can still get fairly intense. When it gets intense, it's almost like it trips a neural circuit breaker and I go through a series of shutdowns for a few days, which may be related to autism, depression, or sunspots for all I know.