Published on 12, July, 2020
I have spent my whole life trying to figure out why I feel soo different compared to other people,
now that I’m 25 I’m asking myself lots of questions like why can’t I keep a job for long and why do I struggle with relationships.
I feel so anxious all the time because I find it difficult to communicate effectively, understand people’s jokes and talk under pressure.
although I’ve not been diagnosed I need to get some help to figure out if I am autistic.
It's great that you're exploring this and seeking answers. I totally get where you're coming from. I went through a similar process of self-discovery in my late 20s, and it helped me understand myself better. Getting professional advice is a good idea.
Yep. Just be aware that some private services that offer right to chose are currently at capacity, you might need to do some research what services will do it currently. There are others. Like the ones mentioned in my reply here https://community.autism.org.uk/f/adults-on-the-autistic-spectrum/33821/psychiatry-uk-----right-to-choose-referrals-temporarily-paused/322876#322876 We should probably start making a handy directory amongst us members here of all the services we know of because this topic comes up a lot, feels like it needs to be in a forum FAQ.
theres apparently another more popular option called "right to choose" in which you get a gp referal but then do a right to choose request and have the gps refer you to a much faster none nhs service like psyciatry uk which sees to you faster and their diagnosis still acts as a official nhs one
Cheers for that, I’ll speak to my GP but it seems like going private might be my best option
always worth a check with the GP anyway. its super easy now with their online "ask my gp" feature which i find makes it easy to ask for anything now where as before when you always just had to go physically in person i never liked that so never went for anything. so its worth filling out one of them online things for your local gp... but the waiting list is super super long... so long i doubt id ever be seen to in my lifetime and im only 33 years old i have been on their waiting list for 4 to 5 years now lol
Thanks for your advice, I will give that a try
I’ll try talk to a GP,
I have family that can help,
And unfortunately over the years I’ve lost my old mates due to anxiety
It’s always down to the way that I interpret things or the way that I communicate, for example I used to work in a factory and I just didn’t get on well with the staff because I took their jokes too litterally.
also when it comes to relationships it always fails because they don’t think I’m listerning to them when they are talking.
All of these things make me extremely anxious because it makes me feel like I’m stupid
Ive suspected for a while that I might have autism because of many different symptoms.
Hi, Start with an online test, a RADDS-R test or an AQ50. They will give you a rough idea of the autism criteria and how you relate to autism.
how do you lose your jobs?you have relationships but your struggle with them? alot of us cant imagine how to get a single starter relationship in the first place, how does your relationships struggle?i think these questions would delve deeper into this mystery perhaps
I think that you need to speak to your GP and see where that takes you.I must warn you though, getting referred, accepted and assessed will be hard work and won't happen overnight.
Do you have anyone close to you (friend / family) that can help you navigate the process?