Depression/anxiety ??

Question

If a person is depressed/anxious/OCD and always feeling guilty/depressed/worried, can these be symptoms of autism or another illness besides mainstream "depression"? I'm currently homeschooled, hoping to become a nurse, and studying up on current mental health issues.

Answer 1

Oh, there are so many diagnoses and misdiagnoses for those symptons. When I was growning up, I exibited all of those symptoms and was diagnosed with...none other than...clinical depression. I have a hard time in school because I couldnt stay focused, I was anxious all the time, suicidal and was overwhelmed by every day life. But there was one thing that didnt fir into the puzzle: I was hypersensitive to touch and sound as well. I would instantly gag at the sound of cardboard ot foam and would go as far as to vomit when I touched wool or got my hands wet and wrinkly. WEird, huh? WEll with all the doctors doing there "Half-*** jobs" and me being hospitalized time after time- no one could figure it out or even took the time to figure it out. People thought- oh its all in your mind- you are fine!
WEll, when I was 21, I did some research on my own and came across this diagnosis of "Sensory integration dysfunction". Now, Autism runs in my family and sensory integration dysfunction and autism goes hand in hand but I was clearly not autistic. So I called up some doctors who had experience in this and discovered more about the disorder. WE discovered that the reason why I used to have such a hard time in school was because i was dyslexic (which has to do with sensory integration)
and the reason why I was so hyper sensitive to feelings and sounds was because I was tactile defensive (which has to so with sensory intergration as well.) And it was also why I had problems with depression and anxiety in the past. It was almost as if 21 years of my life were in "sensory overload". Now I take a couple of medications to treat the symptoms and basically had to teach my brain not to look at certain sound or sensations as threatening but a normal part of life. But the bottom line is that because I did my research myself- I came up with a better diagnosis then those doctors were giving me.
I hope this is help to you

Answer 2

It's actually amazing how in depth this subject goes. You listed initially depression, anxiety, and OCD. All of these are very, very different. Clinical depression is the most common and most simple. It is simply the brain reuptaking more seritonin than it is supposed/is producing. Simple, an SSRI is typically perscribed, and that's that. Anxiety can be helped in a similar way, but that can also be more extreme as seen in panic disorder, etc.

Anxiety virtually always accompanying something else, and is typically looked at as a symptom.

You mentioned autism. Something that may interest you going into nursing is that Autism Spectrum Disorder can only be diagnosed during childhood. If a 19 year old comes in and shows symptoms, it simply will not be diagnosed that way.

A big problem is also overusing terms and actual disorders such as that, or OCD, or ADHD. I've even heard things like "it's my ADD" when ADD is absolutely not recognized by the DSM IV (the bible of mental disorders). A psychologist or psychiatrist could diagnose someone with ADHD without hyperactivity, but there's a lot of self diagnosis, or doctors saying it could be a sign of ADHD, but probably not, and people taking that as a fact.

Honestly, if a person is feeling depressed or anxious, most of the time, it's not a disorder at all. People get stressed out, people get down sometimes, and it's completely natural and normal. If a loved one dies, one gets sad, it's not a disorder. And the times that it is reasonless seemingly, it is often a rooted psychological problem that can be worked out.

I'm a strong believer in psychiatry and medicine, but only when there's actually a problem. I think it should be a last resort, not a way to take care of a person and not promote looking deeper.

My advice, if you want to learn, pick up a DSM IV and read up on all of the disorders, you won't regret that you did.

Answer 3

I don't think it's a sign of autism. I suffer from anxiety and OCD, and the depression for me is a result of not having things in order, not having things clean enough, constantly worrying about death, thinking me and my children will die, and how I am going to die. It's a really upsetting thing, because I'm always worrying or cleaning. Not to mention I don't sleep at night either because I'm either cleaning, or thinking too much. everything just becomes overwhelming when you lack sleep. I think if anything, insomnia depression are effects of OCD and anxiety. The guilt is from the anxiety and OCD for me, I feel guilty about everything because my days are consumed bye cleaning and worrying. If you are on the right meds though it can help a lot.

Answer 4

I've lived with depression all of my life how do I cope? get involved in the comunity, crafts I currently see a psychologist and a doctor for meds. And I never losesight of the word hope. Ther is always someone out there who is worse off than you are the cheapest way to go is a minister or periest get involved in a twelve step program BELEIVE that you will get better, sounds like you have a handle on yourself already.

Answer 5

Depression and anxiety go hand in hand at times.OCD is Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.Feeling guilty adds to your depression.You need to find out what it is that you feeling guilty about .and then set out to resolve the problem.Worry is a common factor to anxiety...worry about the unknown.If you can break it down as to what you are worried about ,then perhaps you can resolve that problem.There are many different facets to Mental Health..study the normal behaviour ,and then the abnormal

Answer 6

No, autism is completely different. It has nothing to do with serotonin or brain chemistry, as the other illnesses do.

Answer 7

go 2 peekvid and watch the movie the secret

Answer 8

no does are not sign of autism. i know people that have autism and does are not symptom of it. if you want more information of autism go here
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autism

Answer 9

if you wrote all that, youre not autistic.