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aleister
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16 Aug 2014, 9:09 pm

I had been misdiagnosed most of my life until recently. Over the years I have been on many different medications. I'm very sensitive to medications even on the lowest of dosages. I'd be lucky if all I was getting were the common side effects but I am also getting the severe ones where they warn you to stop taking should it occur. I've never had any positive benefits from it, so there is no positive outweighing the negative, only negative. So there comes a point where one just feels traumatized from the whole psychiatric experience/experiment. My understanding is that these medications are to treat a chemical imbalance that needs correcting, but what if I don't have a chemical imbalance and these symptoms (depression, anxiety, etc) are just related to my ASD? Wouldn't it make more sense to find some form of beneficial therapy instead of being expected to go to a psychiatrist?



cathylynn
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16 Aug 2014, 9:18 pm

cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), a kind of talk therapy, can help anxiety and depression, which often occur along with ASD's, but are not symptoms of them. if you can't take meds, CBT is worth a try.



Sweetleaf
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17 Aug 2014, 12:04 pm

Well anxiety and depression are really only related to ASD in the sense they are common co-morbids but autism does not in itself cause depression and anxiety symptoms per say. I mean sensory overload and the reaction is simular to anxiety, and executive functioning difficulties could potentially resemble depression...but that is about it. Having anxiety and depressive disorders isn't directly related to autism.

But even though anxiety and depression are not due to the autism, medications don't really work for everyone, there are other treatments some people find much more effective such as meeting with a therapist, group therapy and then even wholistic health sort of stuff.....also though some people still need something to treat the symptoms but there are also herbal/plant remedies that can help and will much of the time have less side effects and be gentler on the body however herbs and plants do have their risks to.

I guess my point is you don't have to be limited to treating it with medication if that does not work for you, I myself haven't had much luck with them. I have valium for anxiety which works ok.......and my psychiatrist prescribed me something new to try for depression but I haven't picked it up yet and can't remember what it is...don't think it is an SSRI though. Honestly though what I find most helpful for depression is cannabis....but have still been seeking out professional help since supposedly self medicating is always the wrong choice and you're only doing it right if you take their drugs, :shrug: but trouble is their drugs haven't helped it so what am I to do just not seek relief and hope maybe someday a psych med will help....lol but anyways you arent the only one that has trouble with medications.


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ImeldaJace
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17 Aug 2014, 1:46 pm

It's hard to say, but I wonder if there could still be a chemical imbalance although medications may not work effectively for you? I've been on medications to treat my severe generalized anxiety disorder since I was 6. I've been on a lot of different meds/combinations of meds over the 13 years. Some of them have helped, some have done nothing, and some have caused me to get very sick. I am very lucky that I now have a psychiatrist that knows what she's doing. But regardless, meds have only ever been a part of my treatment. I work with therapists and other professionals to manage my anxiety through therapy and learning various other techniques to help. I don't ever think it is a good idea to use only medication to treat any sort of psychiatric disorder. I would encourage you to find a therapist. Also, not everyone necessarily needs medications as part of their treatment.


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