Hi all!
I'm in my late 20s and am very, very new to discovering that I have Autism and ADHD. It's been a whirlwind couple of months of discovery. Although I don't have a diagnosis (yet), it just feels so inexplicably right. The more I read the more things that I had attributed as either just me things, or things that happen because of other stressors, are coming up and I finally feel like I have answers for behaviours and emotions that I have been experiencing since childhood. It's been exhausting and fascinating and frustrating all balled up in one big mess but I'm excited to learn more.
At the moment I'm having several 'ah-ha!' moments in a day.
I initially started looking into ADHD as someone close to me started looking at a diagnosis for themselves which led me down a research path, which led me down to male-female differences, which led me to identifying areas that I saw in my own life. Mainly the hyperfocus/inability to focus contrasts and near constant fidgeting.
It was only a month later that I was speaking to a colleague who noted that they had both Autism and ADHD (turns out the comorbidity is quite high - who knew?) when some of the Autism related experiences were ringing bells in my head. It wasn't ever something I had ever considered, despite some very obvious signs in hindsight, but I set off on a research path which led me on a very intense period of self discovery and reflection.
The more I read the more I find things that truly resonate with me. I'm not just a little emotional sometimes I have meltdowns. I sometimes struggle to make sense of social rules, I hate talking on the phone, I LOVE Harry Potter, hypotheticals confuse me (how can I give you an answer without all the data points I need?), noises that I can't control can be difficult to manage. Amongst many other things.
I wondered whether there was anyone else here who is relatively new on their journey of self-discovery? Or whether there are others who remember what it was like for them? I'd love to hear more about you and your stories.
Take care!
