Imposter syndrome and Surprised responses

Feeling the same on and off here, kinda get used to the way you are or the way you cope with things and didn’t ever consider it to have a label or a recognised and diagnosable aspect to it. You may have noticed issues through-out your life, feeling different from others, never really being able to connect like you feel others do with each other. I was only diagnosed myself just over a month ago and have thought for days sometimes that perhaps I’m wrong, perhaps the psychiatrist was wrong with their assessment. I wouldn’t want to carry something I didn’t have, I wouldn’t want to go around telling others who I wasn’t that close to as I don’t think I could do it with any conviction. I’d feel like a liar and how could I judge if others take it seriously or not? My biggest persistent concern is that I don’t match every single stereotype or symptom you might expect. 

Feeling the same on and off here, kinda get used to the way you are or the way you cope with things and didn’t ever consider it to have a label or a recognised and diagnosable aspect to it. You may have noticed issues through-out your life, feeling different from others, never really being able to connect like you feel others do with each other. I was only diagnosed myself just over a month ago and have thought for days sometimes that perhaps I’m wrong, perhaps the psychiatrist was wrong with their assessment. I wouldn’t want to carry something I didn’t have, I wouldn’t want to go around telling others who I wasn’t that close to as I don’t think I could do it with any conviction. I’d feel like a liar and how could I judge if others take it seriously or not? My biggest persistent concern is that I don’t match every single stereotype or symptom you might expect. 

I had 50 years of being undiagnosed, in that time I fought, struggled, loved, did crazy things, did wonderful things and everything that encompasses life, a diagnosis can't take those things away and nor would I want them too, but what a diagnosis did, was explain why I seemed to struggle with things others didn't, why I felt things seemingly more strongly than others. I'm the same crazy, loving, compassionate, funny nuisance that I always was, now I feel more able to stand in my own light, to see myself through an autistic lens, and help others to see me that way too and not allow myself to bullied into appearing "norma"

I dont' match many of the symptoms either, but so what? Someone with much more training than me diagnosed me, confirmed what I suspected. Most people will look at a list and either think they do or don't match the things on the list, many people like to look at a list and tell you, you don't match up to that list. Often those people have a hidden agenda, sometimes hidden from themselves too, it's about keeping you in a particular place, so as they can feel better about themselves. Co-dependent behaviours don't just happen in romatic relationships they happen in most, in different ways, it seems to be mostly about placing people in the pecking order. I refuse to be pecked and places in an order!