Hi there, I just joined here and I hope I'm posting in the right place and it's ok. I'm an adult male, 24, and for the longest time I haven't felt like I have a place in the world, always feeling overwhelmed by certain day to day activities and just feeling like I don't fit in with the people around me and lots of other things like having the worst time trying to make friends and feeling like I'm some kind of alien. A couple of months ago by chance I came across some articles and then YouTube videos about what it is like to have autism. After reading and watching I felt as though I have never related to anything more in my life and I've slowly started to think that I may be autistic. I know that I am not diagnosed and so I can't say for sure. However I have been wondering if I should approach my doctor about it but I feel some anxiety and fear about it especially because I don't know what happens after that point. I think I feel worried of not being believed. I also think that my family would think I'm silly if I talked to them about it (which is why I thought I'd post here). Does anyone have any advice if they were once like me and they've been through the whole journey about what it is like to go through this and what they recommend? I just think that if I'm right, having a diagnosis could help me to understand myself better and be able to manage things better. I don't know if it sounds silly but I almost feel like everyone I know was given a manual of how to be a human and I didn't get my copy? Thank you for reading.
