how would i know if was an aspie

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i did suspect it but am beginning to think i just have aspie traits. i do have anxiety, clinical depression, social phobia and OCD - and there are probably crossover symptoms.

i dont know if my social anxiety is the same as someone with autism? i seem to fear rejection and be very sensitive to criticism and fear people getting close to me (there is more to it but thats the basics) which means i'm isolated. do aspies feel like that or is it more that they are suspicious of peoples motives when they want to make friends.

i am suspcious of peoples motives but not above being afraid to get close. i think there is somethng very wrong with me, i dont know what it is, but i dont want people to get close and find out.

(i have sensory issues etc but then some of my dx conditions could cause that)

thanks if you bothered to read all that

Technically you need to be diagnosed by a psychiatrist. The problem is that it's hard to become diagnosed as an adult in this country since the disorder has only been in our DSM since 1994. That's the year I graduated high school so I certainly wasn't going to be diagnosed by then. I would suggest finding out as much as possible about the disorder, make very detailed notes and then take that information to a psychiatrist.

Now keep in mind that under the criteria in the DSM-IV you must not fit the criteria of other PDD or schizophrenia. When I checked this page I realized that I fit all the criteria under both methods of diagnosis. I would suggest giving your psychiatrist examples of how you fit these categories.

You're diagnosed with it and you have the symptoms. That's how I can tell.

Sometimes people don't even know they have it even though they have read about it but still wouldn't know because they aren't a textbook case so they may think they don't have it and maybe only the traits. Some may suspect it and not be sure because they are afraid of labeling themselves wrong or they believe only a doctor should do it before they claim having it.
But some people do know they have it because they have that much self awareness or they are a textbook case of it or they remember their traits very well from their childhood and everything just fits.

Autistic social anxiety is partly due to social ineptitude and awkwardness - but just as much is about sensory overload. I think you'll find most people with AS are not nearly as uncomfortable in one-on-one encounters (though those can be awkward, too) as they are being in a crowd, or group where its necessary to process many incoming signals simultaneously. I'm sometimes very nervous dealing with an unfamiliar individual, but I will cross the street and hide in a dumpster to avoid going to a party. Its why we usually end up standing in a corner waiting for a chance to dash for the exit without being noticed.

On the other hand, that anxiety may actually diminish in a crowd where one is not required to interact with others, but can just 'disappear' anonymously into the throng. I have always been much more anxious in a staff meeting than I am when walking through a mall.

As far as others' motives - People I feel I can't trust or those who would judge me, I try to avoid socializing with at all. You can't help but encounter them, but you don't have to embrace them. I'd rather have one good friend than a thousand back-stabbing acquaintances. So those putzes don't cause me anxiety 'cause I don't hang with them. Bullies are a little harder to avoid, but there's not much to be done about them.

>>> There is a significant size of undiagonist but suspected Aspergers population here. As mentioned, it is very difficult to get diagnost with this disorder. Especially with high functioning autism, where we still function although with great discomfort. (ie not shutting down, after hearing Junglist rave music or something) or what ever silly stereotypes these doctors gauge us with. It is suspected that they think some of us are faking it or that the strange behaviors are psychosomatic. It's also notable that there's no "provalium" "prozackium", or some other medication that "cures" Aspergers syndrome. There might not be a incentive or eagerness to focus priority to assist us, as our generation is regarded as a write off. They rather assist the young. Which is good, as resources are meager especially with the archaic Canadian health care system. (In the states there are probably hundreds of chapters of assistance for Autism. Here in "rich" alberta there is 1.... but this expected with the "Frankenstine government" of the Social Credit-Progressive Conservative Nazis (google Alberta and Eugenics).

anyways, the cheapest testing is 1000 dollars here in Calgary. So much for Canadian health care.

It's possible, not certain either way. Try taking the Aspie Quiz; it can't hurt, and if you score high, you might want to consider your next step.