Battling with imposter syndrome

From reading a few posts on here it seems like this is pretty common but im struggling hard with feeling like a fraud while waiting for my assessment. Im doubting and second guessing whether i have asd or not and the not knowing is bothering me. Some times im absolutely convinced, other times im afraid its all in my head and im seeing things that arent there, this isnt helped by my anxiety issues

As the wait is so long i looked into going private and found a viable way to have an assessment within the next few weeks, but due to the feelings im having im hesitating to book the assessment as im afraid that i may not be asd and then i will have spent a large amount of money on the assessment for nothing. Particularly as i dont have an informant, so this could complicate the assessment. But the NHS list is extremely long and the wait may drive me crazy!

How do i get over these feelings? Im so confused what i should do

Parents
  • I have the same feelings from time to time (I'm waiting for my assessment), but someone on this forum told me that nobody suspects they're autistic without very good reason - I found that comforting. Whether your experiences are related to autism or not, they're all real and valid. The way I see it, if I don't get a diagnosis, I'll always be wondering and I might miss an opportunity to get to know myself better.

    I hope you get your answers soon.

  • Thanks both for your replies. Well i have heard that the waiting list is 2 years on NHS in my area, sooo i plucked up the courage and have a private screening appointment this saturday!

    Very nervous and still battling with the imposter syndrome but i guess i wont know until i try. I figured the screening apt will at least help me find out if i need a full assessment or not. Ill then decide about weather to go private for the assessment after ive had the results of the screening

  • That's great news! I've battled with these same feelings over the past three years since I first began to pursue a diagnosis - swinging from complete conviction to thinking I've made it all up - it doesn't help if you've been gas-lit about it your entire life!

    Yesterday I got confirmation that 'you meet the criteria for a diagnosis of Autistic Spectrum Disorder'. I'm over the moon.

    One thing that I found helpful while waiting was thinking that if it turned out not to be autism, I would at least be a great deal closer to finding out what it actually is. With all of the mental health problems I've had throughout my life (I'm 35 now), it would be unlikely that there was no underlying cause / syndrome / diagnosis. And I think the specialist assessment centre would help signpost if they had picked up on anything that might lie outside of their specialism.

    There was something else I found helpful to keep in mind but it's disappeared now. I'll pop back & comment if it comes back to me!

    Good luck. And remember - your experience is valid. 

  • Thanks and congrats on the diagnosis! So much of what you have said rings true to me too. Im close to your age and have also had recurring mental health problems throughout life, and have reached a point i feel i need to know if theres something more going on

Reply
  • Thanks and congrats on the diagnosis! So much of what you have said rings true to me too. Im close to your age and have also had recurring mental health problems throughout life, and have reached a point i feel i need to know if theres something more going on

Children
No Data