Published on 12, July, 2020
My therapist said that I should spend time in the autistic community to get a better sense of myself as an autistic person so I can work out what is anxiety and what is autism (so I know what to bother trying to fix). I find this very hard because it's a spectrum so therefore we are all different. So how are any of us supposed to be able to define what is our autism and what's not? How are we supposed to be able to draw a metaphorical box around which bits we shouldn't waste time trying to fix? Not sure what I'm asking, but any thoughts would be appreciated.
Well that sounds like a very helpful suggestion....not! As others have said anxiety is both an autistic and NT trait, we may experience it differently, but how do we know how anyone else experiences things? We only have descriptions that often don't even begin to cover the experience. Honestly it sounds as though your therapist is stuck. Spending more time in "the autistic community" might be a good idea, if you can find one! There are groups out there in fleshy land, but I dont' know if there are any near you or if social anxiety is one of your things? I remember a conversation with my psychologist where he asked why I'd not been to the autistic group meetings held monthly in a nearby town, I told him to remember that one of the reasons I was there was because of social phobia!
I hope you find being here helpful and find some friends and a sense of belonging.