Potential Asperger's, nervous about the truth

Page 1 of 2 [ 18 posts ]  Go to page 1, 2  Next

zemanski
Toucan
Toucan

User avatar

Joined: 20 Apr 2012
Age: 59
Gender: Female
Posts: 271
Location: UK

27 Jan 2013, 3:08 pm

Meem wrote:
Zemanski -

Thanks so much for that information. The war memories have been especially difficult for me, and have made me feel even more isolated than I had been before the war. This is because my family didn't react the way I did, so I hid my reaction because I was embarrassed and confused. I definitely do have PTSD, but I almost feel too conflicted and guilty about it to address it. However, I'm getting there!


glad you are getting there - ptsd is a serious condition and many people who have experienced war suffer badly from it but try to hide it thinking it is weak to react so badly (the macho culture of an army doesn't let people show that sort of weakness). It is nothing to be embarrassed about and there are people who can help - speak to your doctor about referring you for something cognitive behaviour therapy which is apparently very effective in ptsd



wheresmyreality
Butterfly
Butterfly

User avatar

Joined: 23 Jan 2013
Gender: Male
Posts: 14

28 Jan 2013, 12:20 am

Half girl half boy, huh? I didn't know that may have been related. I also feel that way. And I definitely relate to your worry about being overlooked during diagnosis because you are deceptively good at "appearing" normal. I am also seeking a diagnosis in the coming weeks and am unsure of how to approach this. I feel like I've taught myself how to behave in casual conversations. As long as I can control where it ends, or direct it to where it feels like a normal place to get out of there, then I can get away with "appearing" normal or just in a hurry to leave. If someone tries to engage me in a longer conversation, then I think many more indicators appear. I also consider myself pretty good at deflecting with sarcasm or humor.

Hope you feel at home around here. It's fun discovering that the things that used to make you feel weird, embarrassed, or ashamed is actually kind of cool. Especially when you find out it can be explained and that so many other people can relate. Best of luck with your diagnosis!



YellowBanana
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 14 Feb 2011
Age: 50
Gender: Female
Posts: 1,032
Location: mostly, in my head.

28 Jan 2013, 3:43 am

I used to think I was good at appearing "normal". After all, I got to age 38 without a diagnosis, am married and have a good job which I've held for several years so I must have been doing something right. The thing is, to the experts who diagnosed me - I sought help after experiencing difficulties at work - it is glaringly obvious I have an ASD regardless of how "normal" I think I am presenting myself!

At the last meeting with my support worker from the local autistic society, which came after a few "good" days, I said I wondered if I was autistic at all and whether I was in fact wasting her time as she would be better off working with someone who was. She told me not to be daft as it is obvious I'm on the spectrum and that she was surprised that I had gone so long without a diagnosis...

I think what I'm saying is that you shouldn't worry about the fact that you have learned to present as "normal" because expert on autism will be able to recognise it regardless.


_________________
Female. Dx ASD in 2011 @ Age 38. Also Dx BPD