Figuring out life

Hello Jess,

I was diagnosed with level 2 ASD at the age of 24 in 2019. Please feel free to read my profile and ask any questions.

I too have asked questions like this. I have also thought "'I'm an intelligent young man with 2 formal IT qualifications and no job".

Really, you have to find the things that interest you and see if you can make a career with them. Generally, in my current employment, I'm just happy to know that I'm being helpful.

You say that you are interested in biology and organising things? Perhaps a laboratory assistant of sorts may be the way to go, maybe with the NHS?

Don't worry, you'll find somewhere that will appreciate you for your hidden talents.

By all means.

But I also have wildly different interests that occupy my thoughts and fight in my head

Thank you. I'm goint to try really hard

Dress history? If you're available at some point, I would love to poick your brain on the subject, if you don't mind?

I wanted to be a costume maker when I was your age. I went to Uni, I studied (and struggled), I got work in Theatre which I loved, but again I struggled. I made a decision to take a break from it and I never went back. I went into retail, then a call centre, then reception work where I am now. And to be honest with you, I hate what I do and I have major regrets that I didn't stay in Costume work. The difference between you and I, is that I only recently discovered that I could be on the spectrum. I couldn't cope because I was expending my energy doing what I thought was 'normal' instead of focusing on what I was actually interested in. I did myself a major disservice by thinking I was not capable when in fact, I just needed to approach it from a different direction. Theatre work is very chaotic, but it never occurred to me that I could also look at similar options such as dress history. Now that I do know, I'm slowly pulling myself in the direction I want to go. But I do have to fix quite a lot of damage that I caused myself over the years and it's not going to be easy. 

Whatever you are interested in, you should continue to pursue it. Don't let yourself think you aren't capable, because there is more than one way to follow what interests you. The more experience you get, the more avenues will open up to you. A job you aren't interested in should be a means to funding what you do want. Keep moving forward and follow what makes you happy.

Say nice things to yourself every day, give yourself compliments, Jess. Tell yourself how lucky you are. Tell yourself all the things you like about yourself.  List your good qualities daily. And then row, row, row your boat, gently down the stream. Life is a dream but it doesn't have to be a nightmare.

It probably sounds silly, but I'd love to be an inventor of some kind. Biology interests me and I enjoy sorting and organising things, but I don't know how I could turn any of that to employment. That's really wheat I need. An excuse to get out of the house and do something possibly helpful 

Just take a look at what kind of things you like, what kind of things interests you, what kind of skills you have, and what kind of skills you want to learn. I don't think many people know their purpose in life, but I believe that people can create their own purpose through the things they like to do. I mean like every area anyone's interested in, sometimes it's good and fun, and at other times it's a struggle and challenging, but what would you like to spend your time doing?