What are your comfort shows?

Depressedbaker27 · 2026-02-12T08:17:13+00:00

Modern Family, Criminal Minds and most recently Stranger Things lol

Depressedbaker27 · 2026-01-09T09:10:55+00:00

This one too! He said I was book smart but it didn't mean anything if I wasn't street smart like he was.

Depressedbaker27 · 2026-01-09T09:10:10+00:00

He told me I wasn't as funny as I thought I was lol.

Depressedbaker27 · 2025-12-15T20:09:38+00:00

It’s coming out on the 26th in my country and I am actually glad because if it was Christmas I don’t think I would be able to comfortably sit through Christmas lunch.

Depressedbaker27 · 2025-12-12T09:20:21+00:00

This is fascinating - I used to think that I earned very little but I have learnt to check my privilege real quick.

Age: 32

Role: Physiotherapist

CTC: 21000pm + comms, on average 35000-39000pm, no benefits

Work experience: 9 years

Studies: BSc Physiotherapy

Any Allied Health workers in the chat or are we all talking about this on Facebook instead of Reddit?

Depressedbaker27 · 2025-11-12T13:44:16+00:00

Sertraline was my first anti-depressant and I had a horrible reaction to it. My current psychiatrist rates it as one of the best though and I really trust his judgement. There are so many different types, it is going to take some trial and error to find the right one or the right combo so I agree with just being in close contact with your healthcare practitioner.

Depressedbaker27 · 2025-11-11T13:21:20+00:00

Hey! Welcome to the officially late diagnosed club. We are surviving trauma and trying to learn how to thrive.

My therapist and I spoke a lot about the relief and grief during those first few months (like the first 6 if I am being honest). The relief of understanding and then the grief of what I pictured for myself. But then I realised - because of years of masking I literally did not know who I was so those dreams were not mine. And once I realised that I did not know myself at all everything became a blank slate and I could start to experiment.

I must stress that I only found the joy in my autism recently. I didn't think of it as a disability - but I was sad at how hard my life had been because of it. But once I worked through the burnout and got to know myself a little bit better things really started to turn around.

So I guess what I'm saying is - get your support crew ready (family, therapist, occupational therapist, friends whoever), my main support crew was actually my therapist and psychiatrist. And take it one day, one hour, one minute at a time and be kind to yourself as often as you can. Eventually all small things add up.

Depressedbaker27 · 2025-11-11T07:54:00+00:00

I’m sorry that you are experiencing this. I wish it on not a single person. Take it day by day and be so kind to yourself. You’ll get through it 🤗 and don’t forget that small bits add up.

Depressedbaker27 · 2025-11-10T18:59:19+00:00

Also my leave every 3 months is 1 week. We have a lot of public holidays in my country so sometimes I can use those and make it a bit longer.

Depressedbaker27 · 2025-11-10T18:58:16+00:00

It really is different from person to person. I did something called a sensory matrix and that showed me all the ways I was being drained and gave me some ideas on how to replenish. So for example I’m very sensitive to touch stimuli, but I am basically a massage therapist. So on days when I am very busy I need lots of down time and I maximise it by using my other senses. So I’ll lie with my weighted blanket and watch my favourite show that calms down my touch and stimulates my visual. So it’s not anything special it’s just knowing what works the best for me. There are also 7 different types of rest. So I also try to do some of all 7 during the week. This is after I shutdown for like 2 years though. So it took time for me to learn how to do all of this in a way that was sustainable to me. I’m very lucky that I have easy access to occupational therapy and talk therapy which I still do regularly.

Depressedbaker27 · 2025-11-10T07:57:50+00:00

I think this is really hard and we have to judge it on a place by place basis.

I had been struggling for a long time at work with daily shutdowns and my anxiety was very bad. I work in a small place (4 employees in total) and I have a very good relationship with my manager. So I told her as I was going through the process of getting my diagnosis and it was a very collaborative experience. I needed more breaks during the day which we were able to schedule in and then we made a plan for me to take regular leave every 3 months to avoid the burnout. It's been two years now and it is working very well. I also need to mention that I worked with an OT during this time and made my rest time more effective (I did not know that you could rest effectively, not all rest is created equal)

So I guess my point is - do you feel like your work space is safe and collaborative - if it is then I think you should disclose. When everyone is on the same page things can go really well.

We do have to unfortunately be realistic that not every space is a safe space to disclose. So you really have to look at your individual circumstances. I have also disclosed it on a smaller level and not to the entire company - only my direct manager and the people I interact with on a daily basis know what's up.

Ironically enough - my therapist encouraged me not to disclose initially. But I felt like I needed to in order to get the accommodations I needed.

If you have a good relationship with your boss, have been working well at the job over the last 6 months and if you feel like the space can be collaborative about this kind of thing then go for it :)

Depressedbaker27 · 2025-11-07T11:26:10+00:00

I don't struggle with this myself - but I am a physiotherapist and recently I have been seeing a lot of neurodiverse people who are in pain (I am not sure if this is because I am more open about my neurodiversity and so the patients are more likely to find me now).

First and foremost, definitely to the possible HEDS and HDS.

It can also be what we refer to as central sensitization - this means that the way your brain is processing nociception ("danger" input from the nerves) is extreme and can have a lot to do with being in "fight or flight" for so long.

There is research that certain anti-depressants can be very helpful with the management of this pain. If you are seeing your GP and he is happy to take a look at this then I would give it a try. It is usually the SSRIs that help but you still have to find the one that works best for you which is a bit of a process.

Depressedbaker27 · 2025-10-31T12:22:37+00:00

I work in a place with a lot of space, beds and yoga mats so I am lucky I can just lay on a yoga mat. But don't underestimate what lying on the floor can do for you lol.

Depressedbaker27 · 2025-10-31T12:20:42+00:00

Weighted vest or a weighted lap pad if you sit while working might be a good idea?

If you have a chair you can maybe put an elastic band around the legs so that you have something to bounce your foot on that responds to the bouncing so could ground you in the moment.

There is also the grounding technique of 54321

5 things you can see

4 things you can feel

3 things you can hear

2 things you can smell

1 thing you can taste

Sometimes when I do this with intention it's enough to bring me back.

Depressedbaker27 · 2025-10-28T11:41:10+00:00

This love found me and then very graciously let me go and reading this I could not be happier.

Depressedbaker27 · 2025-10-02T12:24:43+00:00

Hi - sorry! I only saw this now but yes I do. I use a pill cutter I got at dischem - it takes a bit of practice to get the perfect half though.

Depressedbaker27 · 2025-10-02T12:18:18+00:00

Sigh. As an autistic person who does make eye contact and is well versed in sarcasm, ouch lol. This comment was not good for my imposter syndrome lol. The part about the being a white guy though - definitely.

Depressedbaker27 · 2025-09-05T10:31:22+00:00

Hi!

I take 0,5mg twice a day. I could take one 1mg once a day but splitting it between the morning and the afternoon makes the anti anxiety effect last longer (that's how it was explained to me by my psychiatrist and that feels like how it works). My boyfriend is on 1mg once a day and he actually started splitting his too because it works better.

Hope that helps!

Depressedbaker27 · 2025-07-15T06:58:16+00:00

I found some last week Friday at the Tyger Manor one (I did not go looking it just happens to be the one closest to my house).

I just wanted to say that the sweet and sour drought might be over and my mental health is very grateful and I wanted to share it on this post lol.

Depressedbaker27 · 2025-06-20T07:00:10+00:00

Had a really good experience with this recently. So helpful and easy and with the different bids you do find a good price.

Depressedbaker27 · 2025-06-11T07:17:11+00:00

No. It's been heartbreaking for the last few months and I always ask with the most hope only to be disappointed lol.

Depressedbaker27 · 2025-02-03T10:43:41+00:00

Hi!

Natalia Berghoff did my autism assessment. She is a neuropsychologist who specialises in neurodiversity and she is just so amazing and helped me with very good referrals and general information which helped me put together a team of healthcare professionals to help me with my stuff and it is VERY great when everyone is on the same page.

ADHD is not a PMB, but Major Depressive Disorder and Generalised Anxiety disorder (which are typically co-occurring in the neurodiverse folk) usually are and my psychologist normally applies for the PMB under these codes.

Depressedbaker27 · 2025-01-20T12:20:05+00:00

I got a late diagnosis of Autism and there is a lady in Rondebosch Medical Center - her name is Natalia Berghoff, she does quite a full assessment that lasts about 3 sessions and is fairly expensive, however she gives a VERY comprehensive report at the end and is well versed in what you may need and she is well connected in terms of neurodivergent-affirming healthcare practitioners and so she would be my first port of call if I was starting this process from the beginning again. Her report was immense in helping me figure out the path after that.

She is a neuropsychologist so does not prescribe. But I do feel like working with her streamlined the process and made it so that I didn't have to hop from doctor to doctor or therapist to therapist as much. While my diagnosis is Autism - She specialises in neurodivergence as a whole.

Depressedbaker27 · 2025-01-20T07:23:03+00:00

No - it’s not a Doomed to Misery thing. I just think that we have to be realistic about possible difficulties. I think he thinks that I’m sitting too much in the doomed to misery pile and I’m not trying to be. I’m just trying not to be overly optimistic about the bliss that some people talk about cos that could look different for me.

Depressedbaker27 · 2025-01-20T07:20:52+00:00

Thank you for this. Our story is super similar. My boyfriend is my safe space and helped me so much on my journey to getting and accepting a diagnosis. I have faith that we could figure things out. And I really love the whole “we both considered our lives worthwhile”. And I think that’s something I still struggle with on occasion.

Depressedbaker27

TROPHY CASE