Here goes

Hello 

It seems you are the middle ground, where they have planted the idea in your mind but you aren't sure. You haven't convinced yourself and you haven't met the experts yet for them to tell you. 

Uncertainty can be quite confusing and you don't know what to do for the best. Hopefully you won't need to wait too long. 

In addition to this site, you may also find useful info at embrace-autism.com

Women seem to have been missed for autism as the present slightly differently to men, but this seems to be changing.

Uncertainty also causes stress, which can make sleeping problems worse and tiredness amplifies emotions. I become more prone to looping thoughts and cognitive distortions too, e.g black and white thinking and loss of perspective.

Being stressed and anxious also makes emotions more unstable. Small things seem worse.

Burnouts don't seem the same for everyone. There are 2 free quizzes on embrace autism site related to burnout. It might help to tell. They also have a good ebook, although you need to pay as it is not free.

ABO and CBI

On the embrace-autism.com/autism-tests.com page, scroll down.

There are many tests here too which you can do if you want to try to see for yourself.

The main autism one is the AQ test. The 50 question one is the main screening test, if you have already done it.

Burnout can also come with depression, it does for me. Many things can also affect hormone levels too.

Try to reduce stress, sleep, stay hydrated, reduce caffeine and alcohol and see how you feel. 

I hope things get better for you.

• Thank you so much for replying. Iv been in and out of mental health care majority of my life. Misdiagnosis a couple of times and finally im here in hopes of correct help this time. I do have learning difficulties and iv always had to have someone with me wherever I would go. I feel irritated a lot of the time as I dont know what feeling is what or why. I would always stress to doctors my mind wont work properly, nothing is staying in...im forgetting everything. Im really clumsy. I dont even know much about life and was always stuck in as it would be my comfort zone but everything felt like it went bad again a few years a go now. I cant get to know people properly and I can always feel this guilt for people. I will be trying to quizzes for sure. Thank you so much

Struggling with emotions is fairly common.

While it can come from alexithymia, it can also come from other issues.

There are techniques to help so it may be possible to make it better.

You may also be getting overloaded or overstimulated.

There are some changes you could make that may help.

If you use Youtube, search for "autistic accommodations"

You should get some videos from "mom on the spectrum", "I'm autistic now what" and others.

Click on a few and see if anything might help. They suggest over 100 things.

The small things can add up. The main thing is to get rid of the tightness in your chest and in your stomach, and slow your heart rate. Breathing exercises  can help. Take a deep breath in and breathe out slowly like you are blowing through a straw. Do 5 and see if it helps. If you feel calmer you can wait a few minutes and do it again.

Closing my eyes makes a big difference. Having quiet is very helpful. I struggle with noise.

If you really want to relax, lie on a bed on your back and imagine each part of you getting heavy, your foot, your calf, your leg, then the other one, then your hand and arms, your head and your body. Keep your eyes closed. Breathe slowly.

You may fall asleep. This is good it means you are tired. Rest will help.

Struggling with emotions is fairly common.

While it can come from alexithymia, it can also come from other issues.

There are techniques to help so it may be possible to make it better.

You may also be getting overloaded or overstimulated.

There are some changes you could make that may help.

If you use Youtube, search for "autistic accommodations"

You should get some videos from "mom on the spectrum", "I'm autistic now what" and others.

Click on a few and see if anything might help. They suggest over 100 things.

The small things can add up. The main thing is to get rid of the tightness in your chest and in your stomach, and slow your heart rate. Breathing exercises  can help. Take a deep breath in and breathe out slowly like you are blowing through a straw. Do 5 and see if it helps. If you feel calmer you can wait a few minutes and do it again.

Closing my eyes makes a big difference. Having quiet is very helpful. I struggle with noise.

If you really want to relax, lie on a bed on your back and imagine each part of you getting heavy, your foot, your calf, your leg, then the other one, then your hand and arms, your head and your body. Keep your eyes closed. Breathe slowly.

You may fall asleep. This is good it means you are tired. Rest will help.