Published on 12, July, 2020
Hi, I've been recently diagnosed with autism at the age of 20 (now 21) and I'm still really confused and overwhelmed by everything. It's hard to come to terms with the fact that I'm autistic and I often struggle to recognize myself being different to allistic people - even tho I am which makes seeing my needs or even recognizing what my needs are even more complicated and confusing
I don't know if I'm really autistic or if I just think I am - At first I felt relieved about the diagnosis because it finally made sense, but now I just doubt myself. Especially because a lot of people that I talked to about my autism diagnosis (even a therapist), told me that I should be careful and cautious of a diagnosis. And I'm just really confused? They often tell me that it's just a matter of will power. This just gives me so much anxiety, like am I just pretending? Even if I'm not autistic I still struggle don't I? Does anyone relate or is it just me?
I hope this somehow makes sense. If anyone can help me with this I'd be super thankful.
Btw sorry if there's any mistakes, english is not my first language.
Of course you're not imagining it - it seems like you've been told some really unhelpful things.
I'm going through diagnosis at 59 and can totally relate to being anxious and confused. I'm also reading as much as I can about autism so I understand where my strengths and difficulties are and how best to help myself in future. I would suggest that you do the same. There are lots of resources on this site and even more online, in fact more for young people like yourself than oldies like me. Once you get a clearer idea of how your autistic brain works you can take action to tailor your life to best fit your needs. I wish I'd known at 20!
By the way, your English is excellent :)