Is it wrong to want a cure for myself?

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MatchboxVagabond
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21 May 2024, 12:32 pm

BTDT wrote:
I've known since first grade that I was transgender but in the 1970s the cross dressing Klinger was ridiculed for wearing women's clothes. Basically a long running joke that cross dressers were to be mocked.

My wife knew but it never got any farther than wearing women's clothes that looked like men's clothes except for the buttons being on the wrong side. She concluded I had Apergers and suggested I get diagnosis and come to this forum!

When she passed I grew out my hair and began presenting increasingly more feminine.

I discovered the more feminine my appearance the more easily I socialized.
I concluded that trying to look like a guy put me in the uncanny valley between the two genders.

I have little difficulty socializing while presenting female!
I live in an extremely blue state where there are laws protecting gender equality.
More importantly my friends and neighbors are very acceptingl
More than accepting, as they love my flowering plants!
Last night a neighbor asked why I grew so many. Turns out that he also likes to go to Wickford Rhode Island!

I think that inevitably, people will be more accepting of things like this over time. We've gotten to the point as a species where we can have the necessary resources even if some portion of the population isn't conformant to social standards in one way or another. The fact that there's any sort of debate about any of this is an indication of how far we've already come, even if the answer right now remains one that I might not personally care for. Eventually people will realize how little it matters to them what a minority does and just let folks be themselves.



BillyTree
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21 May 2024, 12:42 pm

BTDT wrote:
I discovered the more feminine my appearance the more easily I socialized.
I concluded that trying to look like a guy put me in the uncanny valley between the two genders.

I have little difficulty socializing while presenting female!


I think that's interesting! Is this difference in your ability to socialize when you are presenting as a female that significant that you think it even puts your Asperger diagnosis in question?


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FrostBender
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21 May 2024, 12:53 pm

@Moderators Can we lock this thread? It’s going off topic



steve30
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21 May 2024, 3:54 pm

Quote:
Is It Wrong To Want A Cure For Myself?


Certainly not. In fact, I'll have one as well please.

I don't know if AS etc will ever be curable (or even treatable), but the problem at the moment are anti-science activists who seem keen on ensuring that those of us who want a cure don't get it.

We pretty much eradicated Covid-19 in a short space of time thanks to medical science. Why not Autism?



uncommondenominator
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21 May 2024, 4:50 pm

FrostBender wrote:
Title.
Note the hypothetical cure would be only be for myself, not forced upon anyone who doesn't want it.
I have always wanted to be NT. I keep imaging what I would be like as a NT(e.g. tons of friends, dating beautiful women, having nice things, lots of money, etc). I don't care about being smart. I rather be social and average. I always hope they will invent a cure. Even if it changed who I am, I wouldn't mind starting life over.

I don't always tell anyone about this, because I get told that it's wrong to want to change who I am. But those who say that don't speak for me.


While there's nothing wrong with willingly wanting to change who you are, the belief that "becoming an NT" will magically grant you "tons of friends, dating beautiful women, having nice things, lots of money", or that that's how things are for NTs, is a fantasy.

Go ahead and chase your cure. But it won't "cure" all the things you think it will.



Harmonie
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21 May 2024, 5:22 pm

I don't know that what you put in parentheses is in any way something that a lot neurotypicals even experience.

But I do relate. Now I haven't been screened yet and thus don't know if I'm truly autistic or not, but I am confirmed ADHD, and will say if I could fully understand what aspects of me are neurodivergent versus what aren't and would remain the same, I very well might go for being "cured".

However, there is a chance that so many of the GOOD aspects of myself are related to being neurodivergent. Like I wouldn't want to whisk away my strong sense of justice that given me my passionate moral compass nor the intensity of good feelings I get from stuff like music, taste, etc.

It's just, if those kinds of things aren't related, and I'd be roughly the same person, just without things like:

My sensory issues - which have lifelong caused me to have a bad and extremely limited diet, which have caused me to prefer to stay indoors because the sun is far too bright, which have caused me to have meltdowns because particular sounds in an environment I cannot stand, etc.

My social issues - I somehow have friends, but it's not like a NT. I rarely talk to any of them. It's sad. I don't have the confidence in my ability to read people to be able to know when I'm being annoying or when someone actually wants me in their life. And don't even get me started with relationships. I have almost no experience and am feeling pretty hopeless now. I'm super reclusive, for the most part. It kind of meshes in what I mention below about "burnout", except I feel like I just always have a low patience for being outside of the house or socializing. It's not so related to burnout, in fact, social experiences and being out can increase my burnout and make me even less functional. D: It's just kinda how I naturally am, and I don't like it.

My executive function issues/burnout - I love having a clean space, but boy am I horrendous at it. After a long day of work with lots of stresses the very last thing I want to do when I get home is clean up after myself. The more burnt out I get, the worse it gets. I just have no energy, I have no patience. It's horrible. I love having clean spaces. D: This extends to other areas, as well.

My routine issues: Always gotta have every day be the same. Same food at the same times, with the same exact drinks. At work, I always want to follow the same tasks in the same order and not have any interruptions or any one task take too long compared to what I think is "normal". This is rather bad for working. Somehow I've always kept every job, I think because employers realize that I am a competent and hard worker (and also have great attendance, with me showing up early every day) and thus they let my attitudes slide, but... it's not good. It's bad, it's so bad.

etc., etc.

Stuff like that, if that's what would change, then I would like to be NT. I don't expect perfection. I don't expect tons and tons of money. I just want to not have the above issues (and more), so I can function better.


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MatchboxVagabond
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21 May 2024, 5:29 pm

FrostBender wrote:
@Moderators Can we lock this thread? It’s going off topic

If you want it locked, make sure to post over the the appropriate sub forum for the site, it will speed things up a lot as mods don't necessarily read every post in any sort of timely manner.



FrostBender
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21 May 2024, 6:33 pm

MatchboxVagabond wrote:
FrostBender wrote:
@Moderators Can we lock this thread? It’s going off topic

If you want it locked, make sure to post over the the appropriate sub forum for the site, it will speed things up a lot as mods don't necessarily read every post in any sort of timely manner.


Ok, I let them know.



FrostBender
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21 May 2024, 6:53 pm

steve30 wrote:
Quote:
Is It Wrong To Want A Cure For Myself?


Certainly not. In fact, I'll have one as well please.

I don't know if AS etc will ever be curable (or even treatable), but the problem at the moment are anti-science activists who seem keen on ensuring that those of us who want a cure don't get it.

We pretty much eradicated Covid-19 in a short space of time thanks to medical science. Why not Autism?


THIS.



ProfessorJohn
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22 May 2024, 1:54 am

renaeden wrote:
FrostBender wrote:
I want to go under electroshock therapy like john elder robison did. To get the normal parts of the brain switched on. However I don’t have the funds for it.
I didn't know John Elder Robison had ECT. I wonder why he had it. I've had it too, about six months after I joined WP. I had eight sessions in total and it made me happier for a while but it had no effect on my autism. Not even a little bit. The reason I had it was because I had deep depression that medication didn't fix. Two psychiatrists had to approve it and I had to sign a form that listed the risks.

In short, ECT has no effect on autism.


Did it cure your depression?



renaeden
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22 May 2024, 2:33 am

ProfessorJohn wrote:
renaeden wrote:
FrostBender wrote:
I want to go under electroshock therapy like john elder robison did. To get the normal parts of the brain switched on. However I don’t have the funds for it.
I didn't know John Elder Robison had ECT. I wonder why he had it. I've had it too, about six months after I joined WP. I had eight sessions in total and it made me happier for a while but it had no effect on my autism. Not even a little bit. The reason I had it was because I had deep depression that medication didn't fix. Two psychiatrists had to approve it and I had to sign a form that listed the risks.

In short, ECT has no effect on autism.


Did it cure your depression?
It did for a while, until my antidepressants kicked in. ECT doesn't work in the long term unless you have what they call "maintenance ECT" where you have one session once a month or so. This is more for people who has tried many antidepressants and had them not work. I was lucky, I didn't need this.



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22 May 2024, 4:21 am

 ! Cornflake wrote:
Locked by request of the OP.


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