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Introduction

Claudia

Hi there,

I am a 42 yo woman, looking for someone to talk to.

I have been looking into neurodivergency for a while now and realized I should probably speak to my GP as I can see myself 100% in everything I read or watch about specifically ADHD and Autism. Been always feeling not a good fit in any situation generally since I was a child, but things got way worst after pandemic.

I have come to the conclusion that the long period I spent home during Covid, made me completely forget how to mask and now I am not able to go back to it and this is making my life miserable. I have not been officially diagnosed, I have taken several online tests and repeated them over time. I always get a high number of probabilities of me being neurodivergent, so I have decided to contact my GP soon. I live in Scotland and I have heard the waiting time maybe between 2 and 7 years, so I am looking for help in the meanwhile, as I cannot afford a private.

On one side, realizing all the small and big issues I have had during my life, they all go back to this, is a relief as I have thought so many times there was something seriously wrong with me and could not really understand what, but on the other side, I feel worst than ever.

I do not have a job and cannot find one that fit this new me, everything feels very difficult to me now and I feel paralyzed, as I have no idea what to do, or what direction to take professionally.

Hope to find someone to talk to here.

Thank you for reading this,

Cla

Parents

  • Hi Claudia and welcome to the community.

    I'm a woman in my sixties, retired, and discovered I was on the spectrum about 8 or 9 years ago. I did the AQ test online and scored 42 like you. I spoke to my doctor about getting referred for a professional diagnosis but he said that if I was diagnosed I wouldn't get any support, and as I was able to work I didn't bother. 

    I just wanted to let you know that some of us on here are not officially diagnosed, but "self discovered". If you need to get a diagnosis to get a job with adjustments for your needs, or to claim benefits, you'll need to speak to your GP though. Some need to be diagnosed for various reasons, others carry on without it, but everyone is welcome here.

Reply

  • Hi Claudia and welcome to the community.

    I'm a woman in my sixties, retired, and discovered I was on the spectrum about 8 or 9 years ago. I did the AQ test online and scored 42 like you. I spoke to my doctor about getting referred for a professional diagnosis but he said that if I was diagnosed I wouldn't get any support, and as I was able to work I didn't bother. 

    I just wanted to let you know that some of us on here are not officially diagnosed, but "self discovered". If you need to get a diagnosis to get a job with adjustments for your needs, or to claim benefits, you'll need to speak to your GP though. Some need to be diagnosed for various reasons, others carry on without it, but everyone is welcome here.

Children
  • in reply to Lotus

    Hi Lotus, 

    Thank you very much!

    I absolutely get your point and to be fair, I do not need an official diagnosis to make sure I am ND, as I strongly believe I am. This explains so many things, from when I was a child up to my adult life: the constant struggles with anxiety, depression, many social difficulties I have always had, my constant hyperactivity alternated with burnout and extreme tiredness and my inability to keep any job for longer than one year, leaving every time on burnout..

    I have read someone else's comment on the forum saying sometimes when reading other ND people, it feels like your own autobiography and it is true, I could not believe how many small things I thought they'd just be a very personal quirk of mine and they are instead shared and common experiences.

    What I would like to have a diagnosis for are a couple of reasons:

    - I really need to find a solution for my professional life and I hope this could help;

    - my family and my partner would finally accept this, as I am tired of hearing people blaming me for being too anxious and pessimistic and overthinking everything, as if I had a choice.