# Autism and Managing Moods & Depression

**By Daniel M. Jones aka The Aspie World**

Lots of Autistic adults are at a higher risk of having co-occurring mental health issues.

It is stated that over 70% of autistic individuals will experience mental health problems including depression and other motivation issues.

This comes as no surprise as more than 30% of autistic people have co-occurring conditions like dyspraxia, dyslexia, and ADHD among other health conditions.

What is interesting is the relationship between autism and depression.

Not depression is quite a scary word when you hear it; it allows you to think about things that are dark and scary and also quite upsetting because depression can lead to some quite difficult life challenges and other difficulties and this is not so positive.

I would hazard a guess that most people I’ve spoken to who are on the autism spectrum have come close to having a depression episode or have had depression and been treated for it in the past.

I have been treated for depression many times and it is part of my autism diagnosis that I have depression in my diagnostic report; I also have had medication for this in the past.

However, medication can help take the edge off; there are still some inherent deep meaningful things that you can do to help overcome depression because depression can start eating away at your everyday life things and make things quite difficult.

I am sharing with you some of the tips that I have used to help overcome some motivational mood tips that are related to depression because of being on the autism spectrum.

## Exercise

Okay, hear me out; this may seem like the most obvious one that everybody tells you, but exercise is outstanding. I’m not saying that you need to go to the gym or bench press cars for 12 hours a day; simple exercise can do a world of good.

When I first started getting into trying to overcome my depression state, I realized that walking, even if it was a short distance, would help increase the flow of oxygen to your body and this creates a feeling of euphoria.

This small feeling or exposure to euphoric mood change allows you to take a break from depression and tells your brain that everything is okay, and you can carry on.

Heck, I love running, and I tried running when I was in a depressive episode; whilst I was running, I felt like my feet were filled with concrete. I couldn’t take them off the ground; it was so difficult to wrap my head around.

I was thinking, well, if exercise is so good for mental health, how come I can’t physically move? Well, I’ve got to tell you, I stopped running and started walking, and it helped.

## Hydration

Okay, so let’s talk about it. Hydration is one of the key ways your body uses to keep your mind in a state of active focus and alertness.

Your brain is 70% water, which means you need to drink water daily to make sure that your body and brain are hydrated to the maximum it needs to be.

Any dip in this intake of water can drastically dehydrate you and cause a lot more negative symptoms of mental health that will just feed into depression and make you feel worse.

I never used to be a huge water drinker; I still drink soda all the time because I love soda pop, and it used to help me feel focused and energized. But I realized quickly that this is no good for my body. When I switched to drinking water, my mental health switched; I was less depressed and more focused on reality when I was drinking just water.

So why not try it? If it’s the one thing you take away from this, switch whatever you drink to water because water is what your body needs and what your brain needs, and your mind and mental health will reward you for this.

## Good Foods

Lots are known about the effect of food on your body, but none can prepare you for how different it is to feel eating good healthy foods versus fatty junk foods on your mental health.

You know, I was a massive junk food fan because I loved it; it was so tasty and full of sugar and made me hyperactive and matched the speed my brain was going. But all of this was no good for my mental health, as these foods actually make you feel bad and also impact your mental health, which makes them feel a bit more lethargic and feeds into the depression.

So overnight, I switched my foods to good healthy whole foods which were high in fiber, fats, carbohydrates, proteins, leafy greens, vegetables, and fruit; you name it.

This was amazing, and I can tell you now, this change changed my life.

## Mind Vacations

The last thing I want to talk about here is mind vacations.

I read a book by a mentalist about how you can ease and calm your mind whenever you want to by trying to imagine that you are going on a vacation. So, you close your eyes and imagine that vacation.

Now, I did this, and at first, I didn’t fully understand the process, but now I do. You have to think about every single step of the way: preparing for your holiday, packing your bag, getting your flights ready, sitting at the airport, getting on the plane, landing at your dream destination, going to the beach, and putting your feet in the sand and feeling the warmth of the sun on your back and head.

When I did this, a funny sensation of actually feeling on holiday hit me; your brain doesn’t know the difference between your imagination and real life. The sensation you provide to your brain is stimulated the same way as if you were there.

So once or twice a week, you can even do this daily; I try and practice doing a small mind vacation to help reset my mind and give me a little bit of grounding. This is especially helpful when filling in a depressive episode or a lack of motivation episode, and it’s amazing.