Antidepressants and their alternatives
Katy Harrison
Hi Donna, what are your thoughts on antidepressants and the dosage for people with Aspergers? I have read that a lower dose is best. Really would love to hear what you think about it.
Donna Williams
Hi Katy, that a Q for the shrink! But I will say some folks work fine on tiny doses, others need higher ones, so if you don’t know which type of ‘responder’ you are its always worth at least trying the tiniest dose first. Also, remember all the other things that treat depression. Here’s a few:
sunlight,
exercise,
yoga,
meditation,
a structure,
making plans and seeing them through,
a counselor/social worker to support your rehabilitation into being a non-depressed person,
bonding with nature or animals
volunteering so you have a purpose/structure/new people/new skills,
giving up old mindsets,
getting good boundaries and self parenting skills with yourself,
self affirmations and building self love so you can healthily love others,
accepting yourself for what you are but always challenging yourself to grow,
ridding your life of toxic people and collecting grounded ones,
getting balance between mind-body-soul,
finding an interest or series of them,
exercising ridding yourself of negative mental loops and self defeating behaviors a day at a time,
Omega 3s,
L-Glutamine,
low salicylate diet,
cleaning up the diet,
looking after yourself AND having tough love with yourself,
learning what healthy/empowering love is and applying it to yourself and others
de-clutter your space, de-clutter your life… time and space are the most precious things and lack of them will feed depression.
Gandhi said it best as a good way to change your life and outlook:
“You must be the change you wish to see in the world.”
— Mahatma Gandhi
warmly,
Donna Williams, BA Hons, Dip Ed.
Author, artist, singer-songwriter, screenwriter.
Autism consultant and public speaker.
http://www.myspace.com/nobodynowherethefilm
http://www.donnawilliams.net
http://www.aspinauts.com
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I guess I am showing my age, with the following recollection:
Many years ago — roughly the time when “Nobody Nowhere” first was published in North America — the only Internet autism resource was the Autism listserv hosted at St. John’s University in New York City — known back then and since as “the St. John’s List”. In its early years it was a true /convivencia/ of autistic adults and parents of autistic children respectful of them. But as more parents in search of cure-or-bust hit the Internet and discovered the SJU listserv, and expressed little patience for the autistic adult list-members wasting their precious time as they searched for a cure for their kids, it very quickly became a nasty, contentious place quite hostile to autistic adults. During those years I joked about an autistic adult grappling with depression who was advised to try St. John’s Wort, but alas made the mistake of trying St. John’s *List* instead — worsening her symptoms considerably…