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figuring out who i am

HMN

hi everyone! I was diagnosed with autism last week and am still navigating what that means for me and how it will affect my life from now on. 

if anyone has had any autism-related experiences (like certain behaviours or actions of yours happened because you are autistic) that they wouldn't mind sharing, I really would appreciate it. I'm going through the process of putting a name to the experiences I've had throughout my life and slowly realising that many things I considered to be 'weird' about myself (such as sensory overload) were actually autistic traits!

I'm also trying to figure out how to non-awkwardly (and hopefully not very anxiety-ridden) tell my friends about my diagnosis. I don't want them to think of or treat me differently but I do want them to know at some point.

any tips and advice would be greatly appreciated :D 

have a lovely day!

Parents

  • Hi HMN,

    At the age of 42, Ibhave just gone through the same. I completely understand. I was sent some very good information which has helped me figure out my strong a weak points. 

    My friends were intruiged and asked me lots of questions. The way I explained it was that it doesn't change me as a person but I need to make sure I take a bit more care of myself so not to have a burn out. I explained about the battery theory and that different things drain more of my battery compared to someone who isn't neurodiverse. I also explained about masking and say that if I find things overwhelming I may react in [this] way because masking uses a lot of my battery up and sometimes I may not want to mask as much. I also said that it may take some time for me to know who I am, so bear with me. 

    I hope that helps. I woupd love to know how you get on if you do choose to tell people.  

    Best wishes x

Reply

  • Hi HMN,

    At the age of 42, Ibhave just gone through the same. I completely understand. I was sent some very good information which has helped me figure out my strong a weak points. 

    My friends were intruiged and asked me lots of questions. The way I explained it was that it doesn't change me as a person but I need to make sure I take a bit more care of myself so not to have a burn out. I explained about the battery theory and that different things drain more of my battery compared to someone who isn't neurodiverse. I also explained about masking and say that if I find things overwhelming I may react in [this] way because masking uses a lot of my battery up and sometimes I may not want to mask as much. I also said that it may take some time for me to know who I am, so bear with me. 

    I hope that helps. I woupd love to know how you get on if you do choose to tell people.  

    Best wishes x

Children
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