Stereotypes about Asperger's and so-called HFA abound. And yet few if any of us conform to them, least of all fully. That many of us fly under the radar of NTs only goes to confirm this.
I wouldn't base a self-diagnosis on the most egregious stereotype I've found. The addiction thing you found, especially, strikes me as weird. Are we all supposed to be addicts now? I didn't get the memo...
Believe me, symptoms are diverse and vary both in type and extent across the whole neurodiverse population.
Also, a diagnosis or self-diagnosis can be nice if it explains things about yourself you would like explanations for. But in the end, it doesn't matter what your diagnosis is or isn't if a self-help strategy works for you. Some strategies I've used for getting my life back on track after extensive abuse by a bat**** crazy family of origin came from AA - I am not an alcoholic, but that doesn't mean I can't used their self-help strategies. The same would go for ways people on the spectrum deal with life, regardless of any diagnosis: if it helps, use it.
ETA: Empathy. I would like to see the no-empathy myth go the way of the dodo yesterday. The way psychiatry uses the word 'empathy', to my knowledge, means 'display of empathy' (i.e. a show) in culturally appropriate ways, and largely disregards whether it is actually felt or not. I think that's where this stems from: neurodiverse people don't tend to put on the appropriate show by NT standards, but many feel for others at least as much as the next person.
I wouldn't base a self-diagnosis on the most egregious stereotype I've found. The addiction thing you found, especially, strikes me as weird. Are we all supposed to be addicts now? I didn't get the memo...
Believe me, symptoms are diverse and vary both in type and extent across the whole neurodiverse population.
Also, a diagnosis or self-diagnosis can be nice if it explains things about yourself you would like explanations for. But in the end, it doesn't matter what your diagnosis is or isn't if a self-help strategy works for you. Some strategies I've used for getting my life back on track after extensive abuse by a bat**** crazy family of origin came from AA - I am not an alcoholic, but that doesn't mean I can't used their self-help strategies. The same would go for ways people on the spectrum deal with life, regardless of any diagnosis: if it helps, use it.
ETA: Empathy. I would like to see the no-empathy myth go the way of the dodo yesterday. The way psychiatry uses the word 'empathy', to my knowledge, means 'display of empathy' (i.e. a show) in culturally appropriate ways, and largely disregards whether it is actually felt or not. I think that's where this stems from: neurodiverse people don't tend to put on the appropriate show by NT standards, but many feel for others at least as much as the next person.
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