Am I autistic? Just odd?
Let me start off by saying that there hasn't been much of a diagnosis opportunity for me early in life. My father was the type who didn't want to take me to the doctor over anything unless I was dying and I was their first child, and my teachers just liked me because I was quiet so they left me be.
I haven't found much help that wasn't very vague on the Internet. My family has a history of mental illness, but not autism. My grandmother and her sister are schizophrenic, my mother is bipolar, my father has borderline personality disorder.
My symptoms are as followed: number one I'm PAINFULLY awkward and shy. My coworkers and classmates throughout school have always talked about me and when I was younger bullied me because of it. From not speaking to being the kid reading at lunch to lashing out at people and simply embarrassing myself, I have been the odd one out my entire life. I've always been really smart, with the best grades in every school I went to, but I remember being put in the special ed room one day in 2nd grade because my teacher wanted to see if it would "help me. " Another teacher found me in there, said I didn't belong there and took me back to class. Meanwhile I was too shy to speak so I still don't know what that was about. Once I get to know someone, which is kind of difficult but happens, I can talk relentlessly. Usually this clicks when something I'm interested in or know a lot about is brought up, because I feel confident in giving my two cents. But even so, if the person even barely gives a hint that they're not interested I shut down and feel physical pain in my chest from rejection, whether that was really them rejecting me or not. I think you get the gist of the shyness. Some other things I do that no one else does upon inquiry are that I bite the skin around my nails until I bleed without even knowing I'm doing it. When I'm tired I have an incredible urge to bite the inside of my cheeks and scratch out the inside of my nose or bite my tongue. And I make lists over and over again over things that I don't need lists for. Like every thing that could possibly be cleaned in my house organized by room and the time to do them or lists of every state I'd like to visit and every thing I want to do while there and how much it costs, etc. And then they just get thrown away only to make a new one. I have like 4 little notebooks I keep in my purse for that reason, and it calms me to write them I guess. I'm very artistic, and I read a lot. In elementary school I read dictionaries for fun, solidly through. One more fun fact is that when I was really young I would find small dead animals like butterflies or once a rat and carry them around in a case. My mother lost it on me when she found the rat.
Oh! And possibly the most worrying thing, and I'm not even sure if it's related to autism, is that my entire life I pick people or book/movie characters (subconsciously, just whoever I've thought of a lot recently) and constantly imagine that person is there. I know they're not real, but I'll have internal conversations with them and can't make the thought of them go away. Enough so to be uncomfortable when dressing or feel watched when I'm walking when I know there's no one there. This is actually the first time I've admitted to that one.
Anyways I'm obviously not looking for a doc in this thread but all of these things have been on my mind and I'd like to get the opinion of other people on if I have something going on like autism that was just never caught, or if I'm just weird.
If you've read all this and will give your opinion, even if you're not sure, I'd be really thankful.
As EzraS has said , there is no one here who can give you a definate answer.
Have you tried any of the online tests ? These can give you a good indicator on whether you should pursue things , Try This One.
I have not been diagnosed but use this website to identify certain autistic-like symptoms I have and see if the reason I get the symptoms are similar to users with autism , as some autistic symptoms are very similar to other disorders it's not a perfect diagnostic tool but it's the best I can do while waiting for a assessment.
Also because of your family history , there is a chance of inheriting things , thats not to say you don't have autism but maybe other things as well.
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Hypocrisy is the greatest luxury. Raise the double standard
Welcome. I think you have some things that should be brought up with a psychologist. There are some things that could be autism, but the rat thing and the imaginary friend make me wonder if it's something else.
The shyness is like what I have experienced.
Because of your family history, there could be a few things going on. If you are having a difficult time with things still, at this point in your life, I would seek a diagnosis.
Doesn't completely scream autism to me, especially since you seem to understand your emotions and can vividly imagine things, but you should definitely ask a doctor about it.
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Your neurodiverse (Aspie) score: 174 of 200
Your neurotypical (non-autistic) score: 29 of 200
I have Asperger's and OCD. I love languages.
Most people don't realize that about 1/5th of the population suffers from some sort of mental illness each year.
http://www.nami.org/Learn-More/Mental-H ... he-Numbers
Approximately 1 in 5 adults in the U.S.—43.8 million, or 18.5%—experiences mental illness in a given year.
Approximately 1 in 25 adults in the U.S.—10 million, or 4.2%—experiences a serious mental illness in a given year that substantially interferes with or limits one or more major life activities.
- See more at: http://www.nami.org/Learn-More/Mental-H ... nYCZ7.dpuf
http://www.nami.org/Learn-More/Mental-H ... he-Numbers
Approximately 1 in 5 adults in the U.S.—43.8 million, or 18.5%—experiences mental illness in a given year.
Approximately 1 in 25 adults in the U.S.—10 million, or 4.2%—experiences a serious mental illness in a given year that substantially interferes with or limits one or more major life activities.
- See more at: http://www.nami.org/Learn-More/Mental-H ... nYCZ7.dpuf
I'm guessing that first stat could even be higher as I'm sure a lot of people don't get diagnosed or ask for help
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Hypocrisy is the greatest luxury. Raise the double standard
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