Pleased to meet you all and work advice sought!

Hi all

I’m Catherine, a recently diagnosed high functioning autistic in the UK.

Sought private diagnosis aged forty two after a sustained period of burnout having always been a bit “other”. I most definitely heavily mask as a senior public facing healthcare professional, trained to put others’ wellbeing at the forefront of my mind. 

I’ve just started a new job and wonder if anyone has any experience in how to navigate being autistic and unmasking? I’m an expert in “fitting in” but am desperate not to repeat previous patterns (which ultimately leads to stress, burnout and changing jobs). I have considered whether this career is suitable longer term but there are many aspects I love and a move isn’t an option immediately. As a highly logical female I’m often perceived as brash, a smartarse or insensitive and ideally would like to be more authentic opposed to hiding my intelligence and directness. Does anyone have experience with similar? I absolutely don’t wish to offend anyone but result in losing myself in a bid to please others!

Appreciate any comments or sharing of experiences particularly in relation to managing professional lives.

Catherine 

Parents
  • I was a teacher for 32 years and had to quit in part because I couldn't mask anymore. The problem is that this is not an autistic-friendly world. Those of us who have been employed (or in my case was empoyed) have had to mask simply because most jobs are out and about in the real world where we are actively engaged with neurotypicals who often don't (or won't) undertand our respective conditions. 

    I survived for 32 years partially because I built downtime into my schedule. I gave myself both privacy and time on a daily basis to emotionally rest and to recover from that day's stress. During this time, I would work on a special interest. I also made sure that I get enough sleep. 

    Since it was hard to sleep during the work week due to my tendency to worry about everything, I typically caught up on my sleep deficit over the weekend by taking nid-day naps. 

Reply
  • I was a teacher for 32 years and had to quit in part because I couldn't mask anymore. The problem is that this is not an autistic-friendly world. Those of us who have been employed (or in my case was empoyed) have had to mask simply because most jobs are out and about in the real world where we are actively engaged with neurotypicals who often don't (or won't) undertand our respective conditions. 

    I survived for 32 years partially because I built downtime into my schedule. I gave myself both privacy and time on a daily basis to emotionally rest and to recover from that day's stress. During this time, I would work on a special interest. I also made sure that I get enough sleep. 

    Since it was hard to sleep during the work week due to my tendency to worry about everything, I typically caught up on my sleep deficit over the weekend by taking nid-day naps. 

Children
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