Does this sound like autism?

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Sorry if this isn’t the correct place/accepted thing to do. I’m very new to this forum!

I’m 24 and thinking I might have autism. I’ve always struggled in life and I don’t really know where to start with explaining everything!


I’ve always always felt like an outsider, like I’m alone and just looking into everyone else’s social interactions. I’ve always had just one close friend at a time because I get so narrow minded that one is enough and I’ve got no energy to stretch to someone else.

The past few years have been hard, I’ve been diagnosed with anxiety and depression but I feel like I’m in a permanent state of low level confusion. Like information is getting muddled between being in the world and then going to my brain. Because of this I make hundreds of lists reminding me to do things and lists of the order to do things. With this structure it stops me becoming so overwhelmed and also saves the hassle of me panicking that I’ve forgotten something.

Normal things like trips to the supermarket or going to work become such a chore because I’m so worried that something unexpected will come up (something as simple as not having a basket available) and I’ll panic and become very stressed. This feeling of being overwhelmed causes a feeling inside me of like a swarm of bees bubbling up from my stomach to my chest and getting higher and higher until I have that feeling in your throat when you know you’re going to cry.

I’m very sentimental, especially with my cuddly toys. I have a group of stuffed animals at the moment who instantly calm me down and they’re my friends in a way. They help me a lot and I’ve got stories and personalities for all of them. I’ve always had this attachment to stuffed animals and it would genuinely kill me if something happened to them. I have hundreds of photos of them on my phone.

Emotionally I’m very fragile, I’ve always been described as sensitive or highly strung. I cry a lot and have panic attacks when sometimes I don’t even know why. I don’t want to go on holidays or go travelling like everyone else my age because I can’t handle the unexpectedness of ‘lets just wing it and see how it goes’. I can’t play anything by ear.

Socially I always feel like I’m being watched in my social interactions and I’m always wondering what the right thing to do in a situation would be. Like someone is talking and I’m thinking ‘now would be the right time to smile’.

Okay that’s just a random ramble off the top of my head but if anyone has any insight/shared experiences, please let me know!

Thank you.

Definitely sounds like it could be and parts of it sound familiar to me. For me the wondering was a bit maddening so sending good thoughts! Not sure I have much more useful to say than that. I found it useful to take some of the screening measures that are available online like the AQ because they helped me at least see that it wasn't ridiculous for me to be wondering if it was ASD.

In my case I think seeking formal diagnosis was worth it but it hasn't completely stopped my self-doubt regarding whether ASD is *the thing.*

Are you looking for resources?

Some of it sounds like autism, but also there are other diagnoses that overlap the autism criteria, and could also be possible, or it could be autism *and* something else.

Can you see about getting a psych referral and take it from there?

You have some Aspie traits. You might try taking an on-line tests which might give you some insight. Here is a link.
Take the online Asperger’s Test