Published on 12, July, 2020
I don't have a lot to say, it feels more appropriate to 'lurk' to begin with, and get a feel for how the conversations work. I've always found online conversations easier than real-world ones though, so I hope that won't take long. (What does "real" even mean??)
I'm a 60-year-old male, not formally diagnosed but likely to seek this soon. When I asked my GP some years back about this he said "It won't get any better..." or something very similar. Which was very offputting. A more sympathetic member of the practice did make a referral to Royal Bethlehem but they wrote to me sometime later saying they didn't have enough information to proceed, which I think means they wrote to the GP asking for backing and were rebuffed. But I don't really know.
I retired recently, at age 60, because I just don't have the energy for work anymore. My last job was okay and the people I worked closest with were supportive and nice, but after decades of "this" I have had enough. It won't be easy financially but I just don't care anymore about that: I'll only get one crack at life, I think, and time is definitely against me. But it's not too late to be happy, I think, so I will have another try but from another direction. This settling down, having kids, blah blah blah thing didn't really work for me. What does seem to work, a bit, is meditation, so after quite a long time of being too busy I have made time for it and try to sit quietly for a while every day.
I'm currently waiting to start CBT which I hope might be helpful. And having said I won't have a lot to say that's probably enough for now. Thanks for reading.
Hello and welcome
I hope your CBT helps you and good luck with your referral when you decide to go for it
Thank you. I am absolutely certain I will learn a lot from other members of the Forum. I am reading a couple of books at the moment. I am very prone to reading multiple books at the same time but have a rule not to read more than one novel (or biography) at a time as I forget who the characters are. The book is by Luke Bearden who seems to really know his stuff. He takes great pains to stress that no two people are alike, and this is just as true of autistic people. Bye for now and thanks again for the welcome.
Lovely reply, thanks so much. Someone I spoke to, who has an autistic husband, suggested maybe the Psychiatry UK service. It can be paid for privately, and isn't cheap, but I could probably just about afford it. There's a quite a few things in my life I'm needing to settle, including a divorce, so I think for now this will have to wait for a few months. Great advice though, thank you
Hello, glad you've joined us!
that is meh indeed
Mariusz,
Indeed we all do except I was meaning what is written by non Autistic people about Autistics..... you know, the outdated stuff that doesn't include different flavours of Autism.... it's the "no eye contact" type stuff.... Meh!
Welcome to the community
Good luck with your next attempt at seeking a referral. When you do try again it might be helpful to go armed with a document explaining your autistic traits, relevant past history and why you are seeking a diagnosis now. Ask you GP to send a copy of it with the referral. If you overload them with information they won't be able to come back again saying they don't have enough information
I consider myself early retired too. I hope this new chapter in your life will be everything you dream of and you're right, it isn't too late to be happy.
There's some total nonsense out there too.
But we love talking about nonsense It's fascinating to find out why someone finds it interesting.
And hello welcome!
Abhaya_D,
Hello there.
I'm glad that your work experience had nice and supportive co workers, you lucked out there. :-). It's unfortunate about the attitude of the G.P, a more tactful way to express that could have been "life as an Autistic person can be more challenging but here are some resources to try."
I'm not sure if you've researched much on Autism but I found reading stuff by actual Autistic folks very enlightening. There's some total nonsense out there too.
I found CBT gave me different ways to fight my negative thoughts which can be helpful but can also feel fake. It's a good tool to use though and having someone to work through your mental mind map is helpful.
This forum really helps in different ways in that you may find others who have your experience of life, you may learn things you were unaware of and you will definitely see there are many loving, kind and intelligent folks here. :-)
Welcome
It's good to see newcomers with positive attitude towards future, and sense of humour is most welcome, keep on 'lurking'
CBT, and equivalents many of us find helpful, unlike meds pushed on us by medical practitioners
Hello and welcome. I hope your CBT helps, I've had it for Emetophobia and it was really helpful.
Welcome and hello.
Changed the words back to front to be a little different.
Hello and welcome! : )
Hello and welcome.
Hello, and welcome. :)