I’m 56 and work for the NHS. After recently attending Oliver MacGowan training it dawned on me I’ve been autistic all my life and not just weird scaredy cat! I was always so anxious as a child and used to count in my head to try and cope. My parents weren’t sympathetic and always seemed embarrassed/ashamed of me. I learn early on to hide things to try and fit in and just ‘get on with it’. I became a single parent and struggled with overwhelm, avoidance and crippling social anxiety. Looking back so many of my ‘failures’ were actually signs of undiagnosed autism and lack of support.
Recently some changes at work left me unable to cope. The stress tipped me into what feels like a complete breakdown. I’m currently signed off with work related stress. Thank god for econsult because if it wasn’t for that there’s no way I’d have contacted my GP. I’ve also told my GP about my suspected autism but the replies saying I’d have to go for a face to face appointment or phone consultation to explore further. There’s no way I can do this because my anxiety is just too high.I feel like my ability to mask has completely gone.Unison are involved and I’ve self referred to occupational health, also explaining to them the suspected autism but I haven’t had a response as yet. I’m sharing this as I feel very lost and hope someone can give me some advice.
Thank you for reading
