10 Results in depression

Maintaining your Happy Balance

Someone once taught me a very important life lesson. They said, "always ensure you are doing more of what you like and less of what you don't like." I think I'll call this the Happy Balance.  When we are doing more of what we like and less of what we don't like, we are likely to feel happy. It might be helpful to regularly reflect on your life and assess 1) the quantity and 2) the weighting of the activities you are doing. You can consider small parts of your life (such as your job or how you spend your weekends) or you can reflect on your life in general.

5 ways to give and receive inspiration

One of the most important themes in my daily life is inspiration. One of my life philosophies is to have, maintain and provide inspiration every single day. It keeps me going and prevents me from falling into dark periods. A lot of autistic people suffer with low mood and I think one way to help tackle low mood is to ensure inspiration is part of your daily life. You can use this article in 3 ways: 1) to gain tips to inspire others, 2) to gain tips for getting inspiration from others, 3) to gain tips to inspire your autistic loved one who might be in a dark period.

How to cope when you can’t do the things you love

Nobody likes it when they have to stop doing something they love doing for a reason outside their control. For example, having to stop exercising because you have an injury or being unable to sew because you have arthritis. Or what about no longer being able to do something because you physically moved away? These experiences are upsetting and perhaps even more upsetting for people on the autistic spectrum.

Person with ASD and exercise – things to consider

Exercise, for me, has been the number one treatment for managing my depression. I have found a sport that I truly enjoy and am very good at. I believe that one of the easiest most natural ways you can help yourself or your loved one to improve their mental (and physical) well being, is to move more. It doesn't have to be a sport, or even a particular exercise - indeed, you don't even have to think of whatever it is as 'exercise' - but rather just increasing the amount of physical activity you do. Here are my thoughts on the things to consider about ASD and exercise:

Do females with ASD cope better than males?

I was once asked by a journalist whether I thought females with ASD "coped" better with their condition than males. My answer was no. I think some females cope differently and certainly many do not 'cope' at all. One interesting point that is relevant here is that, generally, males are diagnosed with ASD much younger than females. What is often the case is that lots of young boys are diagnosed, but lots of young girls are not. Indeed, I'd say 'most' females aren't diagnosed until adolescence and beyond (and it's very common for them to be diagnosed well into adulthood). If females are not diagnosed until adulthood then one conclusion you might come to is that it "means they must cope better."

What to say to a friend who is suffering

When you have ASD, it can be very hard to know what to say and how to respond to people. Even under 'normal' circumstances, such as having a coffee and a chat with a friend or speaking with colleagues at work, this can be difficult. So what happens when someone you know becomes involved in a far more unusual situation, such as when they are suffering because of a loss or an illness? How do you know what to say to them then? Mourning and suffering occur for lots of reasons. It can be the more obvious, e.g. the death of a loved one or a pet, but it can also mean a break up, an illness, moving away from your birth town, etc. All these things can cause a person to suffer and trigger grief or mourning. It is never easy to deal with, and finding the right words to help someone who is suffering can be tricky. Here are our 5 tips on how to communicate with a friend who has known loss, illness, depression…or is faced with any type of suffer or mourning.

Difficulties and triggers vs likes and needs

One of the most helpful things about knowing I am autistic, is gaining understanding of things that help me and things that hinder me. Once I understood what are my difficulties and triggers, and my likes and needs (specifically, the things that make me gain social energy), I became aware of my limitations and was able to adjust my lifestyle. There are a lot of things I can do, but I don't (or I won't) do them. This is the way I live. It enables me to live a happy life and I achieve a lot of things. For me, putting limits on my lifestyle has been very enabling. In this article, I wanted to show why limitations can actually be a good thing.

Loneliness: a part of being on the spectrum?

‘Ella (28, ASD) has promised her dad to go and watch his performance with the guitar school he takes classes with. The performance takes place in a theatre, and every seat is taken as the performance was sold out. Ella finds that a lot of people want to talk to her about the unique coat… Join The Curly Hair Project Community Today This article and our podcasts are available only to members of our community. If you would like to continue to read this article, along with receiv…

Sensory accommodations for food, exercise and sleep

The combination of good diet, good sleep and regular exercise can have enormous benefits for everyone. For people with ASD however, it might be more difficult to achieve these things - primarily due to social challenges and sensory processing difficulties. These three things though, can make the world of a difference to someone's physical and mental well being - so it's really important to take them seriously. Food Lots of people on the autism spectrum have unusual food preferences. Some of this may come down to the desire for sameness and predictability, for example insistence on eating exactly the same brand of item every time or feeling stressed when a brand changes its recipe or ingredients. 

Improving your mental health

I’ll tell you the reason for this article, it might make you chuckle or it might make you feel a little annoyed, which is how I felt! Some of you might know that, last year, I was interviewed for two magazine features. If you are interested in reading the articles, you can find them here: Gask, Marina. “The Truth About Women… Join The Curly Hair Project Community Today This article and our podcasts are available only to members of our community. If you would li…