Published on 12, July, 2020
Hi I am Ang,
42 year old woman living in Surrey. I have 3 children, 12/14 & 20. I have a passion for Brazilian JiuJitsu, help my partner run a martial arts gym & work for a Brain Injury charity.
After a lifetime of struggle I finally received my Autism & ADHD diagnosis this year. I also have RSD, OCD, PTSD, anxiety & depression to name but a few.
Even though I always knew I was different and spent my who life trying to find out why, being diagnosed this year had hit me with a tonne of bricks because its the realisation, grief for young Ang who has struggled so much & masked her way through life thinking she was useless & just an awful person.
Life has been hard & after yet another bad mental breakdown, I am now giving up some of my work to focus on my mental health. And looking to find the right support & hear other peoples journeys & how they have helped themselves!
My psychiatrist has recommend many pathways & therapies etc but my doctor said they don't have the resources so I need to find this all myself!
Looking forward to hearing from you all!
Ang
AngAuDHD said:its the realisation, grief for young Ang who has struggled so much & masked her way through life thinking she was useless & just an awful person.
Hello Ang,
That line resonates with me as I was diagnosed at 67. I know exactly how you feel. I have had to work through feeling angry, bitter, resentful etc etc; breakdowns and addictions were followed by the hell of getting off the damned pills..... three times! Well-meaning NHS counsellors who mostly hadn't a clue, but tried. Yet I survived it all and somehow earned a living. Masking! Oh yes, so much so that I thought it was normal and wondered if everyone did it!
Welcome to the forum,
Ben
Hi Ben
Thank you for your message!
Well done for getting through everything & congrats on the diagnosis at 67 finally being able to make sense of literally everything.
Looking forward to the journey ahead