Is childhood depression, normal amongst aspies?

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i_wanna_blue
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08 Jan 2009, 4:07 am

I ask this because looking back, I certainly had traits of depression when younger. Did anyone else have this aswell? I am not sure what the exact cause of it was back then. Possibly feeling alienated amongst others, and not being able to tolerate certain social and sensory stimuli. Any feed back would be appreciated.



poopylungstuffing
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08 Jan 2009, 4:09 am

I had depression as a child that seemed to be linked to similar reasons.
My (very AS-ish) mom always assumed that I inherited it from her.



iceb
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08 Jan 2009, 4:16 am

I would say depression is quite normal in anyone who finds them selves in childhood to be an object of ridicule and general punch bag among there peers.


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08 Jan 2009, 5:04 am

Ditto for me as a child too. Life just seemed so damned pointless during most of my childhood. I never self harmed, but suicidal thoughts often crept in.


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pensieve
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08 Jan 2009, 5:39 am

I was in my early teens, that count?
That depression was a built up from years of feeling rejected by my family, teachers and other students.



BelindatheNobody
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08 Jan 2009, 6:27 am

I've had depression from the age of 7.


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i_wanna_blue
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08 Jan 2009, 7:31 am

pensieve wrote:
I was in my early teens, that count?
That depression was a built up from years of feeling rejected by my family, teachers and other students.


I suppose. Seeing that most adults (20's +) seem to view depression only as an adult thing.



Magicfly
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08 Jan 2009, 7:41 am

Yes, looking back I was depressed from I think 10/11 years old. It came from the fact that I just didn't fit in with my peers. The other kids were perfectly polite to me (until I went to High School) but no-one ever wanted to play with me after school or invite me around as much as the other kids, if they did they soon stopped speaking to me and would 'dump' me for someone else. Strangely enough I was fine to hang about with when there was no-one else for them to go to. :(

I can remember feeling so left out, and different to everyone else, plus I was always the 'weird' one. I also think it may have unsettled my peers because while I was weird, I was also one of the brightest kids in my class.

I could never understand what it was about me that just turned people off, and that made me feel lonely, confused, and sad.



sao
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08 Jan 2009, 10:06 am

I think it's pretty easy to get depressed when we're basically wired differently than almost everyone else.



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08 Jan 2009, 10:28 am

I had major depression at age 24-25 but it was situational.

My mom always claimed I was depressed when I was a child, but I think she was confusing meltdowns with depression. I cry when I get angry, so when I broke out in tears every time something really upset me (putting my clean laundry in the same basket as the dirty clothes, missing the school bus, having a new recipe turn out poorly) she would confuse it with depression.



Jael
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08 Jan 2009, 10:30 am

I had my first episode of major depression at age 10. In my case, the depression had nothing to do with bullying or ridicule - I just felt a deep sense of alienation from being so very different and not understanding why.



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08 Jan 2009, 10:31 am

I have had moments of depression since I was in the third grade. Last year, there was a two-week period where things like getting out of bed was mentally challenging.


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ngonz
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08 Jan 2009, 10:56 am

I have found that depression and anxiety are both very common with ASD's. I had both as a child and now my son, who has Asperger's, is also dealing with both problems.


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Sora
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08 Jan 2009, 11:17 am

I was exceptionally un-depressed in childhood. There's no word for it and it wasn't mania. I was just not connected enough to the world to get such a thing as depression (or fears, anxiety, worries and such). I was too... somewhere else, untouched.


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08 Jan 2009, 11:36 am

very depressed, from 8 or so onward. lifted briefly when i got into and attended an art school, then was abused at 14 and i would say that much of my life has been like moving through molasses. sometimes it was like i was cheerful on the outside but couldn't move on the inside.

"deep sense of alienation" is at the root of it, imo.

but how many of us got labelled with depression and/or anxiety and it just stopped there?

an AS clinician my SO spoke to recently said it well (we're looking for some resources):

with these (neurological) difficulties/differences, how could she *not* have depression/anxiety?



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08 Jan 2009, 12:05 pm

I got diagnosed with depression ehh about 2-3 years ago. I also have anxiety problems. I would say ti goes hand in hand.


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