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Autism, depression, and other conditions
Autism Spectrum Disorder, or ASD
ASD is classified as, by the National Institute of Mental Health, "a neurological and developmental disorder that affects how people interact with others, communicate, learn, and behave. Although autism can be diagnosed at any age, it is described as a “developmental disorder” because symptoms generally appear in the first two years of life."
Autism often presents with issues communicating, abnormal reactions to social cues, and different thought-patterns. Lots of symptoms lay on a scale, with one side being "lacking in the quality" and one side being "exceeding in the quality," and there is a normal range, with symptoms considered autism-aligning being on both extremes.
For example, how talkative a person is. A normal range that the majority of people are on goes from "quiet but able to speak, generally shy," to "talkive, a bit excessively so." An autistic person might be on the extremes, outside the average range, including being nonverbal, someone who has verbal shutdowns, and hyperverbal people.
Another thing to note is that not all people with ASD are high-support-needs. Some are diagnosed later in life, or have coped with the symptoms long enough to appear neurotypical. That doesn't mean these people should be babied or treated negatively, nor does it mean they need no assistance or accomodations. This just means that, to be inclusive and kind, you should listen and try and understand when they cannot meet expectations or have issues due to overworking.
Depression
As Mayo Clinic (mayoclinic.org) states on deression, "Depression is a mood disorder that causes a persistent feeling of sadness and loss of interest. Also called major depressive disorder or clinical depression, it affects how you feel, think and behave and can lead to a variety of emotional and physical problems. You may have trouble doing normal day-to-day activities, and sometimes you may feel as if life isn't worth living."
Depression can happen to people in any age range, gender, religion, race, country, or otherwise. Men can feel depression, as can women and people of other identities. Religion, while it can bring satisfaction in life and happiness and community, can still have people with depression.
Depression can have a plethora of causes, or none at all. For some, personality disorders (such as bipolar, bpd, etc.) can be more vulnerable to depression due to the chemical processes of the brain. Others may have depression caused by or increased by circumstances--a horrible job, physical health issues, lack of community, etc.. Some have depression as a result of traumatic experiences, whether recent or not, like abuse, sexual assault, neglect, and many more.
Despite the (often severe) effects of depression, it is possible to recover from. Some find solace in religion, some with community, some with antidepressants, and many other ways, some of which you can see on our Blog Page! For some, depression is a life-long experience, and for those afflicted, coping is a very important part of life, along with needed support.
Anxiety Disorders
"Experiencing occasional anxiety is a normal part of life. However, people with anxiety disorders frequently have intense, excessive and persistent worry and fear about everyday situations. Often, anxiety disorders involve repeated episodes of sudden feelings of intense anxiety and fear or terror that reach a peak within minutes (panic attacks)," Mayo Clinic (mayoclinic.org) states.
Everyday anxiety can be caused by anything, from a stressful job interview to a meetup with someone you forgot to text for a bit too long. But, anxiety disorders don't have one known cause, and most experience anxiety disorders due to a multitude of reasons. It can be genetic, caused by traumatic life events, or many other things.
Reach out to a doctor if you experience: You think your anxiety could be related to a physical health problem, your worrying is interfering with your everyday life or relatioships, or if you feel depressed.
ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder)
"Adult attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a mental health disorder that includes a combination of persistent problems, such as difficulty paying attention, hyperactivity and impulsive behavior. Adult ADHD can lead to unstable relationships, poor work or school performance, low self-esteem, and other problems," Mayo Clinic (mayoclinic.org) explains.
"Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, also called ADHD, is a long-term condition that affects millions of children. It often continues into adulthood. ADHD includes a mix of ongoing problems. These can include having a hard time paying attention, being hyperactive and being impulsive.
"Children with ADHD also may have low self-esteem and troubled relationships and do poorly in school. Symptoms sometimes lessen with age. Some people never completely outgrow their ADHD symptoms but they can learn strategies to be successful," Mayo Clinic.
To assume that everyone with ADHD is the same, or that only children can have ADHD, is simply untrue and harmful. Men and women can have adhd; young children, teenagers, adults, and elders can all have ADHD.
Most people with ADHD find that medications help them function in everyday life without much trouble, though getting the right meds can take a lot of trial and error.