Published on 12, July, 2020
Hello folks,
Am not really sure where to start, so let's start with the basics.
I'm a 49-year-old man, I've always known that I was a bit 'different', never made any friends at school, I was the loner, in a trance; staring out of the window.
Have always been incredibly introverted, cannot hold a discussion as I just switch off, resulting in long pauses where I would think to myself “is it my turn to speak?”, as such I find it incredibly difficult getting to know anybody and rely on my brother a lot, I do have one or two close friends, and they accept me for who I am, quirks and all.
It all came to a head a few years back, I was employed in IT; one of my colleagues was speaking to me about his laptop, and commented on my inability to maintain eye contact, I much prefer to look off to the side as eye contact makes me incredibly anxious, this is when I began to research and came to the conclusion that I am likely on the spectrum.
I took some online tests linked via this site and came back with a score of 44, In previous tests I have received scores of 40 – 46.
Recently had a discussion with a counsellor in order to attempt to address my anxiety, luckily, he had some experience helping people with Asperger’s and after a brief chat he advised me to contact my doctor, in the hopes of being referred for assessment.
My doctor is calling me tomorrow, and I’ve been absolutely filled with dread that my doctor will brush this off.
For me a referral would mean the opportunity to make sense of my childhood/adult life.
Apologies, this may read as slightly disjointed; I just wanted to say ‘Hello’.
I too am a 49 year old man, and similar. I was diagnosed at 43, my partner suspected autism and so did my support worker. Before that, I had a diagnosis of social anxiety but that didn't explain it all. I get lost in my own thoughts or deeply into special interests. I worked in IT for 7 years, and electronics 6 years before that, both involved my special interests so it was great, but I struggled with people and suffered workplace bullying, and in the end was out of my depth in more ways than one and I crashed. I didn't know autism then, and just saw my GP about my problems with talking and socialising, in the end was diagnosed with social anxiety, which I accepted. But I wasn't aware of my other difficulties then, like poor eye-contact, or memory difficulties, and anxiety.
Anyway, write down your difficulties/reasoning down so you can read it all out when the GP calls. A referral is important, so push for it - be assertive that you need it.
And, Hello.
i went for a diagnosis of social anxiety and came away with an autism diagnosis. I was kinda shocked.
Its common for autistic people to not be fully aware of themselves, so not surprising. We may self-identify an obvious difficulty like social anxiety, but be less aware (or oblivious) of other things.
ok i will send u a friend request so i can then send u a invite link ----- all the people there are also members of this forum
i picked u at random
No, but I used chat rooms years ago related to depression or social anxiety.
I have difficulties with chat rooms though, as I struggle to keep conversations going.
I might give it a go, as I'm in a difficult situation and isolated.