ADHD and autism (Audhd)

Hi!

For years I was dismissed by therapists and others when trying to express symptoms I regarded as adhd and/or autism, they would always attribute these to my PTSD.. I quickly learned that professionals who had most experience with trauma, depression or anxiety would almost always go down this route, so therefore it became my mission to steer clear of psychologists with that kind of background.

However, this installed doubts in me that maybe they were right, and only after three rounds of different trauma therapies did I feel confident enough to truly advocate for myself.

I needed to find the language to be able to express my life-long symptoms of adhd and autism and to clearly separate these from the ptsd. In hindsight I always recognised the difference within myself, and wish I had had the tools to advocate for myself earlier. I ended up with substance abuse issues as a form of self medicating, and only then did I feel like my problems were taken seriously.

I received my diagnosis of both autism and ADHD last fall. For me, the combination of living with both autism and adhd is at the core of my experience. It feels like a constant push and pull internally, where my autistic needs for predictability, routine and order strongly contradict with my adhd needs for novelty, thrill seeking and impulsiveness. I have often said that it feels like having two different personalities!

After my assessment I have also learned more about how adhd and autism shows up together, for example how it intensifies my perfectionism and RSD. When i discovered content on audhd (term often used for combined adhd and autism) it was as if everything fell into place, I have never felt so validated in my experience as I have by the audhd community.

Hi!

For years I was dismissed by therapists and others when trying to express symptoms I regarded as adhd and/or autism, they would always attribute these to my PTSD.. I quickly learned that professionals who had most experience with trauma, depression or anxiety would almost always go down this route, so therefore it became my mission to steer clear of psychologists with that kind of background.

However, this installed doubts in me that maybe they were right, and only after three rounds of different trauma therapies did I feel confident enough to truly advocate for myself.

I needed to find the language to be able to express my life-long symptoms of adhd and autism and to clearly separate these from the ptsd. In hindsight I always recognised the difference within myself, and wish I had had the tools to advocate for myself earlier. I ended up with substance abuse issues as a form of self medicating, and only then did I feel like my problems were taken seriously.

I received my diagnosis of both autism and ADHD last fall. For me, the combination of living with both autism and adhd is at the core of my experience. It feels like a constant push and pull internally, where my autistic needs for predictability, routine and order strongly contradict with my adhd needs for novelty, thrill seeking and impulsiveness. I have often said that it feels like having two different personalities!

After my assessment I have also learned more about how adhd and autism shows up together, for example how it intensifies my perfectionism and RSD. When i discovered content on audhd (term often used for combined adhd and autism) it was as if everything fell into place, I have never felt so validated in my experience as I have by the audhd community.

Also! I want to note that symptoms of adhd and autism can sometimes disguise each other, especially within the current diagnostic system, but also in life. For me, in social situations, my adhd impulsiveness can often override my autistic anxiety. Additionally, because of masking and relatively high intelligence, I learned to hide some of my social difficulties, appearing way more sociable than i actually am. When one lives a long time without proper treatments or accommodations, we often evolve compensatory behaviours, like extreme systems of organisation to deal with memory issues and scattered attention.

It is so important to find a neurodivergent and trauma informed physician, in order to receive an accurate diagnosis and the right treatment!!