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imposter syndrome whilst waiting for a diagnosis

SophieWhit

I am getting diagnosed later in life (27 years old) and every step I progress into the diagnostic journey, I keep getting a paranoid feeling that I am lying, I am a fake etc and I know I am not, but does anyone have any advice on how to stop these feelings? Everyone in my life who I have spoken to about going forward with a diagnosis has been saying that it's clear I am autistic and without a doubt I have no worries about the diagnosis coming back lacking but I still worry. I think it stems down to not knowing what I will do if I get the answer that I am not autistic because I have more or less accepted it (I've been thinking I could be for at least half of my life now) and I know that is a silly feeling because my GP (who is experienced in autism luckily) wouldn't have put me forward for a diagnosis if they disagreed AND my friends who are also autistic wouldn't be supporting me in going for this but yeah.. any advice?

Parents

  • I felt exactly the same sort of worry before my diagnosis because I knew coming away empty handed would leave me raw, confused and feeling stupid for even considering I could be autistic. Even after diagnosis the feelings of imposter syndrome can linger, coming and going like the tides of the sea, that’s how it is for me. 

    It may help to visualise a spectrum like this one. Everyone who is autistic will be on here somewhere in their own unique way. Not everyone is the same and black and white thinking; another autistic trait certainly doesn’t help with this type of thing. Sometimes you may think “How can I be autistic as I don’t do this and that like other autistic people do?” But not every autistic person has every autistic trait. I stim very little but others may do it more or constantly. 

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  • I felt exactly the same sort of worry before my diagnosis because I knew coming away empty handed would leave me raw, confused and feeling stupid for even considering I could be autistic. Even after diagnosis the feelings of imposter syndrome can linger, coming and going like the tides of the sea, that’s how it is for me. 

    It may help to visualise a spectrum like this one. Everyone who is autistic will be on here somewhere in their own unique way. Not everyone is the same and black and white thinking; another autistic trait certainly doesn’t help with this type of thing. Sometimes you may think “How can I be autistic as I don’t do this and that like other autistic people do?” But not every autistic person has every autistic trait. I stim very little but others may do it more or constantly. 

Children