Hello.

[Faren]

Hello. 30 y/o female here. Only recently found out I have autism about a week ago, but a high-functioning version. So I've been doing a lot of research and wanted to join a forum involving that community, so I can see how much I do or don't relate to everyone else. Hope I get to know some of you here and find more understanding of myself in the process.

 

[Xinyta]

Glad to have you with us, @Faren

It can be both exciting and scary to find out your autistic. It can be relieving on one hand, because it's not because you are weird or anything. But at the same time it can feel isolating. Because you are hampered with a weakness in understanding certain kinds of socail interactions and socail cues.

Though another thing that is also common, beyond social issues, is having hyperfixations and scheduled regiments. These are varied and at different levels for many of us.

Though I am also sure you are aware that you have sensitivities to many things or certain things. It can go both ways. You can either extremely sensitive or not sensitive at all to something.

Alot of the common ones are things such as:

Bright light(s)
Sounds
Textures
Temperature
Crowded places
Etc.

But as we adapt these things to how we handle life. It'll get simpler to navigate life. Though, don't let people around you talk you down, or rule how you 'should' do things. Because chances are that the way they want you to do it, will not work for you.

Anyway. It'll be great to hear about any experiences you wish to share. We all are friendly folks here. So don't be afraid to ask questions about anything you are unsure about.

 

[Rodafina]

Hello and welcome @Faren. Hope you enjoy the forum. Let us know if you need any help figuring things out.

 

[Aspychata]

Welcome to the club. Many helpful members here. Check out the posts. Do you have special interests you wish to share with us?

 

[Outdated]

Hi and welcome to the forums.

 

[Human Avatar]

Hello and welcome -if you need Any help with info or how to navigate on the forum let us know

 

[WhitewaterWoman]

Welcome.

 

[Jumpinbare]

What they said.

 

[tree]

 

[Tom]

Hi. One frequent aspect for us is special interests. Just about anyone has interests but we can take them to obsessive levels easily. One of my lifelong minor interests is ants. They may be slow, and make some wrong turns, but when they do get there that guy is in big trouble.

 

[kriss72]

Hi @Faren, welcome, you have come to the right place, for me it was at least... a place to find others that have the same feelings and thoughts as yourself (not that you are likely to find that in everyone here, we are all different, but I bet there will be some you can relate to) - it made me brave enough to dare and go out and meet other asd people irl.

 

[Rocco]

Welcome aboard.

 

[Faren]

Welcome to the club. Many helpful members here. Check out the posts. Do you have special interests you wish to share with us?

Hi thanks!

I have many diagnoses, so that makes it hard to answer that question. ADHD means I jump between different things/interests all the time, and depression means losing interest in certain things as well. Thankfully I am in a pretty good place right now and not actively depressed, and I'm starting to regain a joy and realness to doing certain things.

So hm. How to answer this. I love animals, and learning. Space/science stuff interests me and I watch a lot of that on YouTube, including some gaming videos too. I like gaming but I veer away from that more often these days, as it feels more like a distraction/waste of time now compared to how it used to be. That being said, I'm getting back into livestreaming with a long-time internet friend of mine. Social gaming feels more valuable than solo gaming, so I'm willing to invest time into that.

I'm in the process of looking for a second cat and will be meeting with a friend of my parents tomorrow to see some cats they're trying to find homes for. I have one cat already and she's considered an emotional support animal, but I really need another one that has more of an affectionate/cuddly personality. So I'm looking forward to that. I've been prepping my apartment for that and making things super cat-friendly and clean.

I would like to get into horseback riding in the spring. I used to take lessons years ago, but I couldn't take full advantage because my social skills and anxiety were so bad, that I really couldn't enjoy anything properly nor navigate the social situations surrounding it. But I think taking group riding lessons will do me a lot of good next year if I'm able to get accepted at the local facility. I have grown TREMENDOUSLY since my early 20's, and I'm so grateful to be in a much more stable place now where I can actually live my life relatively normally. I still have huge struggles to be sure, and my psychiatrist is working with me to figure out the best medications to help, and so far so good.

But besides that... I like reading, if I can find the right book to hook me. Used to draw tons but that was during my childhood/schooling. That almost completely stopped once I hit college, for various reasons.

I will admit I do obsess over interests sometimes. I usually hyperfixate on something for a brief period, and then move on from it almost just as fast. I think that could be a partially autism thing, and partially ADHD thing. But there's one time I pulled an all-nighter doing literally nothing except researching cruise ships, which I feel is pretty specific. I watched James Cameron's Titanic, then discovered there was a 1958 titanic movie and I watched that too. From there I think I started researching Titanic's sister ships, yada yada down the rabbit hole. Then when my mom woke up to have her coffee I started annoying the crap out of her by telling her all of these incredibly obscure details she didn't care about AT ALL lol. But I think that was literally it. One night of obsessing over cruise ships, then I was done with it.

I don't know if my career goals count as an interest, but I'm aiming to become a police officer and feel it would be an excellent fit for me. Very much looking forward to that. Will be a lot of hard work to get fit for the physical test and then academy, but will be 100% worth it.

Oh and I always text people too much and write too much - something I'm working on. This post being an example lol. I would love to write books (that could possibly be an outlet for my need to write/explain stuff) but I don't think I'm currently in a place where that's possible. Too many other things that need my time and too many issues I have that would make book writing difficult currently. So perhaps this forum can be an outlet for my writing a little bit.

 

[Faren]

View attachment 137592

Hi. One frequent aspect for us is special interests. Just about anyone has interests but we can take them to obsessive levels easily. One of my lifelong minor interests is ants. They may be slow, and make some wrong turns, but when they do get there that guy is in big trouble.

I can understand that. Ants are pretty interesting. Definitely not something I'm fascinated by myself, but I love animals and have watched documentaries that have covered ants, so I can see why people would be into them.

 

[Faren]

Thanks everyone for your warm welcome. Much appreciated.

 

[Aspychata]

You sound actually quite a interesting person. Your interests are quite varied and all over the place. What's not to like. My brother is on the spectrum, he was a detective for a major metropolis, and he eventually left because he was assigned to domestic abuse, and he had a hard time dealing with that.

 

[Faren]

You sound actually quite a interesting person. Your interests are quite varied and all over the place. What's not to like. My brother is on the spectrum, he was a detective for a major metropolis, and he eventually left because he was assigned to domestic abuse, and he had a hard time dealing with that.

Thank you! That's reassuring to hear.

Sorry to hear your brother couldn't handle that change, but it's good to hear he found something he enjoyed/was good at. Hopefully he was able to continue in a related position/profession.

My younger brother also definitely has autism but I don't think he was ever officially diagnosed. But I can see it based on what I understand. And I'm pretty sure autism can be genetic, which would make sense in my case. My family is riddled with mental health issues.

Unfortunately I've had to basically cut contact with my younger brother due to a specific situation that made me incredibly uncomfortable with him. I'm not close to pretty much anyone in my family except one of my older brothers, and he lives a couple hours away across the border in Canada. So it's not easy to arrange visits.

 

[Aspychata]

Yes, my family is quite riddled with the same dx, but their highbrow attitude makes them belive they are above the autism label, so l wallow alone, l suggested it to them, and my mom immediately declared l couldn't be, but my mom is definitely all that. So l sit back, and hope they can come to peace with acceptance that they too are like me, as my daughter is. My daughter is a happy person, because l never labeled her or judged her. She seemed quite normal with her special interests that she would dote on for hours at a time. l hope you also find peace with who you are.

 

[Faren]

Yes, my family is quite riddled with the same dx, but their highbrow attitude makes them belive they are above the autism label, so l wallow alone, l suggested it to them, and my mom immediately declared l couldn't be, but my mom is definitely all that. So l sit back, and hope they can come to peace with acceptance that they too are like me, as my daughter is. My daughter is a happy person, because l never labeled her or judged her. She seemed quite normal with her special interests that she would dote on for hours at a time. l hope you also find peace with who you are.

Thanks for sharing. My parents are moreso the type who tried their best but it was never enough, and they were misguided about the right ways to go about things. So I was very much emotionally neglected and was never taught that it was safe to be around other people or to ever be vulnerable with others. My step dad especially did tons of harm with his anger issues, which led to me being completely invalidated during his rages.

But anyhow. That's a whole story on its own. Thanks for saying so about hoping I find peace with who I am. I don't specifically feel unhappy about my diagnoses - more diagnoses means more answers for why I'm the way I am, and I view that only as a good thing. Can't fix what you don't understand, y'know?

So while I definitely have a ways to go in finding peace with myself, it's thankfully nothing to do with being butthurt about having so many official diagnoses. Thankfully I have an incredible psychiatrist, so I'm in good hands and am doing well. Found the right path I think.

 

[Aspychata]

That's great news, a competent medical provider. Yes, l also went thru emotional neglect involving my mother. She left me for hours alone by myself. She chose not to deal with me as a toddler. It's been a very long path to be on, but it's apparently my path, and l have been chosen for this path. l go back and visit how incredibly bored l was as a toddler locked in a room with nothing to do.