I'm a 23 year old woman and very new to all of this!

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For starters, hi! I go by Val. I'm 23 and in college. I'm probably almost certain I'm on the spectrum but don't have the means to pursue a diagnosis for the time being. Because of this, despite weeks of lurking around the forums, I hadn't mustered up the courage to register for an account. I hope it's okay that I have no official diagnosis. I understand that some people are bothered by people self-diagnosing but please be nice.

A little about myself:
I love books!
I love music and chemistry and books!
I'll wear a t-shirt until it starts to erode off my body (I still wear a t-shirt I wore when I was 9 because it's soft).
I'm also asexual (i.e. I don't experience sexual attraction).
I clearly overuse parentheses.
Before I realized I was on the spectrum I used to describe myself as "unknowable" because it felt like no one saw through the masks I was socialized into.
When I was a child my dad bought these giant speakers and would blast music super loud which was torture.
My headphones are practically melded to my ears whenever I'm outside my home.
I'm very prone to overthinking to the point of it being almost borderline OCD.
Sometimes I struggle to fathom how I'm going to live 50+ years with so much noise in my head.

And I guess the biggest thing to know about me is that I want to meet people who understand me and still want to be around me; who still want to be friends.

Welcome to Wrong Planet enjoy your stay
Yep, books and music are awesome ^^
I'm also pretty much a newbie here, but my impression is, that everyone here is very helpful and understanding.
You have cosen the right place

Well I cannot relate to all of those things, but I get the overthinking thing. I mean I swear sometimes I get exhausted just because my brain wont stop. Sometimes even sleep is not an escape because my dreams are so full of a bunch of stuff I wake up trying to figure out what exactly the dream was or if it could mean anything. So yeah its like even in my sleep it doesn't stop...so it makes it hard to relax.

Also I also like books, for quite some time though I lost it...an incident happened, and I got PTSD and since I started having the PTSD symptoms it became very difficult to get absorbed into books like I had been able to do. Like I don't know why but its like the PTSD almost ruined reading for me for ever I dont understand how it was just I couldn't read. Like I could read the words but I couldn't 'read' like get absorbed into the world of the book like I could before so I stopped. But over the last few years I have found some books that have helped bring the passion back..so my passion for reading is coming back its just taking time.

@Lorrent thanks, I appreciate the warm welcome! This is my first post but considering i got two replies so soon I definitely agree that these forums seem very welcoming!

@Sweetleaf first of all I LOVE your username! Second, I'm sorry you lost your love of books there because of your PTSD for a while there. Please take it slow if you're getting into books again and take care of your mental health first and foremost. That's what is most important. Having said that, I'm glad you're rediscovering that love

Welcome to Wrong Planet!

Hello Val, I'm also new to this place. You sound like a cool person so welcome!

Hello Val and welcome to Wrong Planet!

These forums have been a godsend for me as I was diagnosed with high-functioning Autism also known as Asperger's Syndrome only a few months ago and I'm 43 years old now.

It is sad to hear that you don't have the means to pursue a proper diagnosis at this time but I would encourage you to make it a priority whenever you possibly can. It will become a fundamental part of your self-identity and you can begin to address your special needs and go about finding solutions to your unique everyday problems.

The most important First Step that anyone who has Autism must take is that we have to admit to ourselves that we have special needs and those special needs need to be taken care of. If not the consequences could be disastrous later on down the road as was my problem when I ignored my special needs and had a heart attack due to Autistic burnout when I was 34 years old. Of course, admitting to yourself that you are a special needs person, aka - mentally disabled, takes a great deal of courage and I hope you find that within you.

I hope that you stick around these forms because they can reveal a great deal about yourself as you will find you have much in common with all of us who come here often.

Glad to have you with us!

_________________
*** High Functioning Autism - Asperger's Syndrome ***

ADHD, OCD, and PTSD.

Keep calm and stim away.