New to this flock.

Post Reply New Topic

While this is not my first time on this forum, it is, however, my first time writing an introduction.


Hello. I am introducing myself as Snowybird. It's nice to meet all of you.

I am 32-years-old lady and reside in Canada. I was recently diagnosed with Autism and several other co-morbid disorders earlier this month, after an extremely arduous year and a half. Before January 2023, I would never even considered being Autistic or having any other co-morbid conditions until earlier this year. While, I've always known I was different and felt slightly "alien" and that I just wasn't like everyone else. I was even diagnosed with different disorders in the late-1990s. While they weren't wrongly diagnosed, they weren't necessarily correct, either. It just didn't fully encompass everything going on with me. My current psychologist even knew the child psychologist who diagnosed me when I was young and said she had a hunch that this psychologist was autistic, as she went into grand detail that most psychologists did not (given that it was the 1990s). With that said, as someone who didn't really understand Autism and lived in her own world majority of her life, I never had a grounded view of what it appeared to be. I have had friends come and go throughout my life who were Autistic and I didn't even really know what that meant. I knew I was different and I just accepted other people's differences. But I also never once had the moment of "I am like them!"

All throughout my life there have been signs and traits that my mother had seen since before I was born. Many misunderstandings, frustration and confusion occurred throughout my life, all because, to paraphrase someone else, I didn't come to this planet with the innate and intuitive sense of the "Human Manual and Rules and Regulations" pamphlets and books that everyone else in my life seemed to have an awareness of. I have always followed my own rules and rules that were given to me that "must" be in place due to authority or authoritative figures. (Of course, I only broke certain rules if they didn't make any sense to me.) I'm sure this is something that I don't have to over-explain, as I'm sure it's not an uncommon feeling for those of you here, and that you will understand my struggles.

My entire life has been full of extreme ups and downs with not being able to understand myself properly or to have an awareness of myself, as I struggled with diffuse sense of self majority of my life. Now, I am trying to learn who I really am and what I really do like without all of the camouflaging and unique, individual personas with scripting. All I can say is that I began to unwind myself from the mess of managing all of this for so many years, and I figure it's going to take some time to truly get to know myself. So far, it's been a delight and frustrating, but overall, having a way to describe myself to others has been uplifting and so insightful. It feels like after years of pain and agony, my family and I can finally begin to heal from the messes that we were all entangled in because of being unaware.

As mentioned, I have co-morbid conditions. The ones that stand out the most are ASD, ADHD, OCD and several anxiety disorders. I have learning disabilities (Dyslexia, Dyscalculia) which I am constantly trying to learn around. And, while not diagnosed, I feel that I have Dyspraxia as well (my clumsiness is way beyond "normal" and my proprioception is a disaster). I also struggle with Alexithymia and delayed processing of my emotions.

While this doesn't say too much about me, I wouldn't mind being more personal and sharing some of my interests.

The interests that make me extremely happy and fluttery are birds and birdwatching, the winter season and snow, Shetland Sheepdogs, gluten-free baking, cooking, travelling and geography, some types of craftwork such as crochet and sewing, researching information thoroughly through peer-reviewed sources, studying disabilities and disability history (and I suppose all kinds of multi- and inter-disciplinary type research), reading (currently reading a non-fiction books about intelligence and Autism), creating lists and spreadsheets for data, all types of puzzles. Despite having poor proprioception, I love aquafit, yoga and zumba. I love to curate data. And I have a love for a MMORPG video game, titled RuneScape, which I have played consistently for over the last two decades.

I have so many interests that sometimes staring at a blank page makes it difficult to sort of have any kind of idea of what to write. So I feel like this gives a brief idea of who I am.... Maybe? I am open to answering anything that I may have missed.

My education and career background is diverse, but I'd say my most recent educational endeavours, within the last 7 years, encompasses the kind of person I am. Library settings are some of my most favourite places in the world, so it makes sense that I enjoy being a library technician.

Over the past several months, while learning about who I truly am, has caused a lot of grief with unmasking around my friends as they process and perceive me in a different way. And I don't mind the friends who have moved on as they didn't really know me as well or vice versa. The ones who have stuck around, well, they are true friends who have continued to care about me regardless. I have two close friends, who have ADHD, that I met through the video-game community I play in. Those friends are great as I can discuss mathematics, techniques and methods, equipment and items within the different strategies within that atmosphere and that "world". Additionally, I don't really have any friends who enjoy discussing some of the interests that I have, and I honestly would like to meet more people who are like me!

I realise there's lots still about me that I didn't unveil, but I'm sure as I am more comfortable with the WP community, it will show with time. A big thank-you to anyone taking the time out of their day to read my About Me.

I look forward to meeting anyone who would like to meet me.

Sincerely,
Snowy

Welcome to WP Snowy. Thank you for sharing your brief bio, and I’m sure many of us have shared elements of your experiences, which to me fosters a sense of belonging. I hope you find many people who enjoy your interests.

Hi Snowy,

Welcome! I also like bird watching. I grow a lot of flowering shrubs and they come to my yard! Perhaps the rarest bird to check out my yard is a Northern Harrier!

Hi there, DirkGently. I appreciate you taking time out of your day (or night) to read my introduction.

I definitely seek a sense of belonging and I'm certain I will find something within the many threads and pages of this forum.

Thank you for your welcome. It means a lot to me.

Welcome to the forums, Snowy.

I used to play Runescape a long time ago, back in the days when the graphics were very basic.

I did a lot of tree chopping!

Hello, BTDT. Thank you for your welcome!

Ah! You caught me, I forgot to mention that I love gardening. I spend quite a lot of time outside during the summer months tending to my gardens. What are your favourite flowering shrubs that you've planted?

It's also lovely to meet another avid bird watcher! A Northern Harrier would be quite a sight to see. I saw quite a few birds of prey earlier this year during the spring. I saw some unique birds passing through our backyard as well. A Hermit Thrush, Chipping Sparrows and the occasional Cedar Waxwing! Northern Flickers (eastern red underwing) used to be an occasional sighting, but a few have made a nest nearby and I see a family of them quite often.

Welcome to WP! I think you'll like it here.

If you are one of the folk (like me) who meets the criteria formerly associated with "Asperger's Syndrome" then the correct diagnosis is partially dependent on when you get the diagnosis. Under the current DSM the correct diagnosis is Autism Spectrum Disorder. But that was not added to the DSM until 2013, before that the diagnosis would've been Asperger's Syndrome...which was added in late 1994.

Before that I would've just been "weird". (I think that's what my father would've said, other folk might've used less polite terms.)

Northern cardinals nest in my yard. I once saw fledglings make a run for the understory! They were in a nest under an air conditioner!

I grow too many roses to count. They are still blooming! Today I saw pink blooms on my 5ft high camellia. It is well out of zone, but it has been in my yard for 15 years. I'm making yet another rose bed and planted zinnias where there used to be vines. I let a neighbor make a flower bed between yards but she sold the house and now her side is mowed grass. So now it going to be a rose bed on my side of the yard.

Welcome, Snowy!

I went through several years being absolutely obsessed with Age of Empires and I'd probably still be playing today if my computer supported it!

Your experience is very familiar to me, and I too came here to find some connections with people who might understand what I have been through.

Question:

What is a new ability you've discovered since your diagnosis?

Ahoy-hoy.

welcome! glad you are with us.

Welcome to Wrong Planet.

That was a long introductory speech. I suffered a stoke a couple years ago and lost my ability to read. But I have been working hard and have made some progress. But that was a long introduction.

In analyzing yourself understand that humans are a very complex species. There are two sides to our brains. The left side is the dominant side. It is our daytime brain. The right side is a supporting brain. It normally occupies our sleep during REM and deep NREM sleep. But some of us experience a brain reversal. Our two sides switch places. It is as if we were born on the wrong planet.

There is an interesting book out there. It talks about the four brains that exist within humans. It is called "Whole Brain Living" by Jill Bolte Taylor. She experience a severe brain bleed (stroke) at around age 35 and came very close to dying. She came back but as an entirely different person. She experienced a brain flip. And the book goes into describing the effects of the stoke and how our different brain beings work.

Hi Jimmy,

Sorry to hear of your stroke. I was away from the forum for a few years.
I also had a stroke but was able to make a full recovery.
I had a balance issue but can now walk in high heels!
I think wearing pointy shoes has helped my balance!

BTDT

Welcome to Wrong Planet!

Hi BTDT. I am sorry that you experienced a stroke also. Strokes can be difficult to recover from. I am glad you have made progress in your recovery.

Welcome to the forum.

Snowybird, I don't have some passions that you have, while others I certainly do.

I read your post quickly, I tried to read quickly to have more time to answer you.

You write a lot of things like it happens to me. We share many of the comorbid disorders.

For dyslexia there is a graphic mode that could help you.

For dyscalculia I can't give you an idea for now.

Among other things, I don't understand how you manage to do with mathematics. OCD, let's see : maybe you will write what it consists of, at 16 I overcame a very heavy one on my own.

Maybe I can give you some ideas eventually.



I Have :


Alexithymia ....

I'm INTJ.

ADHD .

It can be seen from how you write.

But you are very tidy. I tend to be very messy but not in my mind. I tend to make complicated speeches. And to make mistakes by overestimating some people who don't fully understand them.

This is frustrating. My mind stores data, statistics, numbers, I think in images, so I have to for many sometimes translate into words what would be a quick thought in images.


Then I don't write validly in English and I apologize for this to all of you.



Here you will find very intelligent people, you will already notice from their answers in your thread the mental quality of those who have you for now answered.



Dipraxia: let's see also in this I could help you perhaps in some exchanges of ideas in the threads to come. I cause a bit of disaster because I am uncoordinated.



Sometimes I think very quickly and I can only write a small part of my thoughts.


Alexithymia: It's a problem I have. But don't worry because we should all feel emotions. It's just that we don't decipher them and sometimes we seem cold and detached, while other times we receive feedback that we weren't expecting. Sorry, I wrote quickly, I hope you understand anyway : I am dysgraphic.


<>



Yes, as James wrote, welcome. For me you are fantastic beings, because you had to start everything from scratch after a stroke.


I train my brains as James would say, Jill Bolte Taylor quotes you, very interesting suggestion.


Regarding diagnoses, the quote from Double Retired is important.


I underline that there is both the DSM 5 of 2013 and the DSM 5 Ter of 2022 (Always APA) AND the ICD 11 (2019).


I was thinking about an answer to give to a new member, but

I would like understand better and make a synthesis of the three volumes.


I have to save myself an interesting thesis.

And find a way to read it: the time and specific attention dedicating myself only to that (mission impossible).

I wrote some things because maybe there will be threads We will be able to interact on this matter and read your opinions.

3 o'clock in the night, thunderstorms and tiredness.

Then, as usual, I get lost among a thousand things to do.

In the presentations the term "alien" often appears, in my first registration I used it too. you will find good here.
​