Aspergers and Depression

Like all mental conditions which cause people to behave differently from the norm, Aspergers is associated with depression. Depression can be caused by a number of things including;


•Social troubles because you do not seem to fit in

•Guilt or regret over past actions/outburst/meltdowns

•Overwhelming feelings and thoughts

•Anxiety and Panic Attacks

•Miscommunications / Misunderstandings

•Fatigue or Tiredness due either to the condition that all to the treatment of the condition (eg: Ritalin)


There is a lot of research into the depression and ADHD or ADD (a common condition which exists alongside Aspergers)

•About.Com

•Additude Mag

•Help for ADD


There's not nearly as much information on depression from an Aspergers only standpoint.

Recent research...

(Tantam, D. (2000). Psychological disorder in adolescents and adults with Asperger syndrome. Autism)

...suggests that depression is common in individuals with Asperger syndrome with about 1 in 15 people with Asperger syndrome experiencing such symptoms. Personally, I think this figure is much, much higher and that the differences are related to how depression is seen by others (particularly the researchers) and how it handled by those who suffer from it. Remember that Aspies aren't always easy to read.

The aim of this post is to look at depression that is directly related to the Aperger's condition only. It's obviously going to take more than one post to get through this.

There are a number of factors an which are part of aspergers which would influence the onset of depression. These include as follows;

•Very good long term memory

•Obsessive compulsion - (I wonder if this is simply be one of my conditions or if it really belongs in the core Aspergers definitions)**

•Obsession with completeness, order and patterns

•Difficulty reading of other people's body language expressions and tone (leading to misunderstandings)

•Unusual world view/Paradigm


Social Troubles related to fitting in.
This should be fairly self explanatory. Despite the appearance of being loners, Aspies often suffer from loneliness. Their poor conversational skills often make it more difficult for them to make and keep friends and to have a social life in general. This leads to loneliness and loneliness leads to depression.

Guilt or Regret over Past Actions
There is some truth to the phrase "this is going to hurt me more than it will hurt you". When an Aspie is stirred to the point of outburst and/or meltdown, they can temporarily lose control. When this happens, invariably something is broken, or something best left unsaid is said. At worst, someone may get hurt or a friendship may be damaged.

The aspie will agonize over this for a long period, often years after the event. The event does not have to be particularly nasty or even large to warrant long term Aspie guilt. often, I will continue to blame myself for conflicts which others, particularly the victims or aggressors, have long forgotten. It is quite a surprise to me that they no longer think about the event however it still usually isn't enough to make me lose the guilt. Carrying an ever increasing amount of guilt around constantly is a fast road to depression.