Hello. I'm new here.

Hello. As the title says I'm new to this forum. I'm currently seeking an Aspergers diagnosis as I feel many of the female aspergers traits fit with me. Went to see my gp a few weeks ago. Thought I was going to have a job to convince him so was really nervous but to be fair he did take my concerns seriously and referred me to the mental health team for assessment. I have an appointment this week with the mental health nurse. For the past couple of weeks I have  been really struggling with low mood and anxiety which I feel affects my work. I work in healthcare as a nurse and although I believe I am great with patients I really struggle interacting with my colleagues who probably at best see me as odd/aloof or just don't get me at all/see me as useless. I love my job and I'm terrified I might loose it as I've only had it for 6months. I've not mentioned to my managers that I suspect I have aspergers as I don't feel comfortable doing this without a formal diagnosis but I am anticipating a long wait to be assessed. Last year I experienced bullying at work which caused ptsd like symptoms. I had to take time off and had counselling to work through the anxiety.

Does anyone have any advice on discussing the situation with my employer? Am I right to leave things until after I get assessed? 

Anyway I'll stop rambling on now. I'm hoping I will find some support and reassurance from this forum as I go through this process.

Thanks for reading x

Parents
  • Thank you all for your replies and supportive suggestions.  They mean a lot to me as I feel quite isolated and lost at the moment. I had my appointment with the mh nurse on Wednesday. I think it went well as she seemed to take my concerns seriously. I found it hard to focus to talk to her though. I've not been sleeping well lately and have been struggling with background noise. The clock ticking,  traffic noise, and trickling radiatorSmile were all really distracting. Even the sound of my own voice which sounded very distorted by the echo in the room. SmileySweat smile

    SmileShe gave me a shorter version of the aq test but I have done the longer one online, which I scored 41. I believe that is quite high. I am now waiting 8-10 weeks for a referral to psychology. Not as long as I had anticipated which is good. Also going back to see my gp to ask for antidepressants.

    ThinkingI think I will contact occupational health where I work. Also there is a manager in work who seems friendly enough that I could talk to. As some of you have suggested I will only mention what I know to be definite which is my low mood.

    One psychiatrist (loads of letters after his name) said I couldn't be autistic because I didn't flap my hands! 

    Gosh I'm really sorry to read this. I'm starting to realise that I must spend a lot of effort not rocking or doing "socially unacceptable" things. I always used to rock back and forth when I was revising for exams until a fellow student saw me doing it and laughed at me calling me a "spastic". Not a nice thing to say to anyone. Suffice to say I put a lot of effort into not rocking after that so I could be like everyone else. Now that I'm feeling run down and mentally worn out these little habits are creeping back in. 

    Thanks again.

  • Yep - 41 is up there.  I scored 42.  But I have Aspie friends (diagnosed) who've scored lower than that.  Some of the other things you mentioned are definitely indicative.

    Good luck!  And keep talking to us.

    Tom

Reply Children
No Data