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Did you think you were autistic before someone suggested it?

Stuart333

I'm curious whether you can see it in yourself. I thought I was right and everyone else was wrong.

I suspected I was different, but squashed it, I was just extra normal. I couldn't figure out why I was confused and had bouts of depression,

I just wanted to know what was holding me back, why I had some atypical depression, and whether there was something up with how I communicated.

But there was no need for an autism test. I wasn't autistic surely.

Except the psychologists thought otherwise, 3 of them. I even argued with them, a sign in itself probably.

So did you guess, before someone suggested a screening test? Maybe the internet makes it more likely these days, but you need a reason to go looking.

Parents

  • I knew I had mental health issues, with bouts of depression and near constant severe anxiety for most of my life, but just believed it was what ever the mental health folk had "diagnosed" at the time. First it was Generalised Anxiety Disorder, then OCPD, but none of these really explained all my symptoms and medication was of very limited to no help and just made me feel number and disconnected.

    It wasn't until last year and a new GP and a new mental health worker that things changed. Basically I had tried nearly every medication on offer, something that previous GPs had "overlooked", and the new mental health worker who had some experience with autism. I'm now receiving help to work out new coping strategies and generally explaining the nuances of being on the spectrum.

    Being autistic explains all of the disparities of that other theories never did, such as the dislike of loud or intrusive noises, bright lights, certain physical sensations, a reluctance for too much physical contact with others, and finally why I always felt like an outsider in society.

    Ironically when I mention the autism to a friend, who was diagnosed with Asperger's, she said she had her suspicions for a while. An ex-colleague and friend, when asked what she thought replied, "I thought it was bl**dy obvious!".

    I'm now starting to feel comfortable about being on the spectrum, and somehow freer.  I am learning what I'm like unmasked, and who I might actually be as a person. I certainly stim much more and it's helping me navigate stressful situations more successfully.

    I must say that my small circle of friends have all been so supportive, and I guess it has explained some of what might otherwise be described as quirks.

Reply

  • I knew I had mental health issues, with bouts of depression and near constant severe anxiety for most of my life, but just believed it was what ever the mental health folk had "diagnosed" at the time. First it was Generalised Anxiety Disorder, then OCPD, but none of these really explained all my symptoms and medication was of very limited to no help and just made me feel number and disconnected.

    It wasn't until last year and a new GP and a new mental health worker that things changed. Basically I had tried nearly every medication on offer, something that previous GPs had "overlooked", and the new mental health worker who had some experience with autism. I'm now receiving help to work out new coping strategies and generally explaining the nuances of being on the spectrum.

    Being autistic explains all of the disparities of that other theories never did, such as the dislike of loud or intrusive noises, bright lights, certain physical sensations, a reluctance for too much physical contact with others, and finally why I always felt like an outsider in society.

    Ironically when I mention the autism to a friend, who was diagnosed with Asperger's, she said she had her suspicions for a while. An ex-colleague and friend, when asked what she thought replied, "I thought it was bl**dy obvious!".

    I'm now starting to feel comfortable about being on the spectrum, and somehow freer.  I am learning what I'm like unmasked, and who I might actually be as a person. I certainly stim much more and it's helping me navigate stressful situations more successfully.

    I must say that my small circle of friends have all been so supportive, and I guess it has explained some of what might otherwise be described as quirks.

Children
  • in reply to DazeAndConfused

    It's so sad that many of us suffer a lot before finding out that for the most part we are fine, and that many external effects (which end up written in our brains) have caused much of the depression and related mental health issues.

    I decided to live very far from most family members; their pressure for me to meet social norms / expectations was so painful. And they do not even know about it. It would be worse for me to come out as autistic, I will have to do it slowly, spread across many years.