New to the forum. My introduction

[PercyZ]

Hi,

I’m a 53 year old male, in the UK, and for a number of years have considered I may have autistic tendencies.

8’I’m carried out, the somewhat outdated, test consisting of 50 questions and score 39 which tends to agree with my self assessment.

After a failed marriage when I was younger, in now been married for 15 years to my second wife.

Some traits that make me suspect autism in some form are that:

1. I have no person in my life that I would consider to be a friend. I have distanced myself from my sisters to the point I have no idea where they live, and, to be honest, don’t care. This doesn’t concern me.
2. I have quite an obsessive nature. E.g I have an interest in watches and now own over 60 and collected those in quick succession.
3. I have a strange relationship with death. It frustrates me when people show grief. “The person has gone, get over it” screams around in my head. This make it impossible for me to have empathy for a bereaved person so I generally stay quiet on the subject.

There are numerous other traits but I won’t bore you, the reader, any more at this time.

My life is going well and I am successful in my career so my question is, do I bother trying to get a diagnosis or is it simply just another label I shouldn’t bother about?

 

[tree]

 

[Alexej]

Hi and welcome @PercyZ

Glad to have you among us.

There are a number of folks in here who are UK based.
Do hang around a while and get to know us all

 

[Roxiee]

Hi,

I’m a 53 year old male, in the UK, and for a number of years have considered I may have autistic tendencies.

8’I’m carried out, the somewhat outdated, test consisting of 50 questions and score 39 which tends to agree with my self assessment.

After a failed marriage when I was younger, in now been married for 15 years to my second wife.

Some traits that make me suspect autism in some form are that:

1. I have no person in my life that I would consider to be a friend. I have distanced myself from my sisters to the point I have no idea where they live, and, to be honest, don’t care. This doesn’t concern me.
2. I have quite an obsessive nature. E.g I have an interest in watches and now own over 60 and collected those in quick succession.
3. I have a strange relationship with death. It frustrates me when people show grief. “The person has gone, get over it” screams around in my head. This make it impossible for me to have empathy for a bereaved person so I generally stay quiet on the subject.

There are numerous other traits but I won’t bore you, the reader, any more at this time.

My life is going well and I am successful in my career so my question is, do I bother trying to get a diagnosis or is it simply just another label I shouldn’t bother about?

Hai! I'm from UK too! What a nice place welcome to the forums it's so lovely to have you here, what a lovely person you seem!

Sit back, relax and let us introduce you to the tracks, LOL! we're a nice bunch who are here for near enough the same reason, mhm!

WELCOME!

 

[Nitro]

 

[Aspychata]

Nice to have you here. Alot of people have asked this same question. If nothing is going to change much in your life with this official diagnosis, then it just frees you up for collecting more watches. Obsessive interests seem to be a trait for some of us.

 

[MyLifeAsAnAspie]

Hi and welcome to the forums. There is not much of a reason to get a diagnosis in the US. All I know about getting one in the UK is the wait is quite long.

 

[Gerald Wilgus]

Welcome. I was not diagnosed until 60. It made no difference knowing because at 25 I did not know and was determined to overcome my social deficits, which I did. Yet I think understanding Autism after my diagnosis helped me confront the PTSD from the time I struggled socially.

 

[VictorR]

Welcome! Deciding whether or not to pursue a diagnosis is a very personal decision - is there anything that you might be seeking perhaps (such as getting closure)? If not, then it may not be worth the time and expense.

 

[Thinx]

Hi and welcome. I stumbled across autism in my 50s, it seemed to fit, but getting a diagnosis hasn't been an aim. I have been more interested to find out more about it, and to develop any strategies I can around issues that autism throws up for me.

I hope that you enjoy it here and find it useful and supportive.

 

[OkRad]

Welcome! Fee; free to share your watches. We have several special interest Geek-out threads where we let loose

 

[Rasputin]

@PercyZ, welcome! I was formally diagnosed ASD level 1 with general anxiety disorder two years ago. Everything you wrote is exactly like me, right down to the failed early marriage and my ongoing 2nd marriage in its 30th year. Also, I have difficulty experiencing many emotions, and in particular loss when someone has died. So, I think you are on target with your self-diagnosis.

Hi,

I’m a 53 year old male, in the UK, and for a number of years have considered I may have autistic tendencies.

8’I’m carried out, the somewhat outdated, test consisting of 50 questions and score 39 which tends to agree with my self assessment.

After a failed marriage when I was younger, in now been married for 15 years to my second wife.

Some traits that make me suspect autism in some form are that:

1. I have no person in my life that I would consider to be a friend. I have distanced myself from my sisters to the point I have no idea where they live, and, to be honest, don’t care. This doesn’t concern me.
2. I have quite an obsessive nature. E.g I have an interest in watches and now own over 60 and collected those in quick succession.
3. I have a strange relationship with death. It frustrates me when people show grief. “The person has gone, get over it” screams around in my head. This make it impossible for me to have empathy for a bereaved person so I generally stay quiet on the subject.

There are numerous other traits but I won’t bore you, the reader, any more at this time.

My life is going well and I am successful in my career so my question is, do I bother trying to get a diagnosis or is it simply just another label I shouldn’t bother about?

 

[Atrapa Almas]

Welcome to the forum,

Being very functional and having worked myself over years on the social thing, I have had similar questions about seeking diagnosis or not.

Here you have a video from a youtube Asperger channel that talks about exactly that question and go deeper on the matter:

To me, buying and reading autism books + reading this forum has more value than paying 1k Eur for a complete diagnose.

 

[Ronald Zeeman]

Hi,

I’m a 53 year old male, in the UK, and for a number of years have considered I may have autistic tendencies.

8’I’m carried out, the somewhat outdated, test consisting of 50 questions and score 39 which tends to agree with my self assessment.

After a failed marriage when I was younger, in now been married for 15 years to my second wife.

Some traits that make me suspect autism in some form are that:

1. I have no person in my life that I would consider to be a friend. I have distanced myself from my sisters to the point I have no idea where they live, and, to be honest, don’t care. This doesn’t concern me.
2. I have quite an obsessive nature. E.g I have an interest in watches and now own over 60 and collected those in quick succession.
3. I have a strange relationship with death. It frustrates me when people show grief. “The person has gone, get over it” screams around in my head. This make it impossible for me to have empathy for a bereaved person so I generally stay quiet on the subject.

There are numerous other traits but I won’t bore you, the reader, any more at this time.

My life is going well and I am successful in my career so my question is, do I bother trying to get a diagnosis or is it simply just another label I shouldn’t bother about?

You are that much different from some of us on here, just looking for a sense of community. Good life no real issues. Covid, recent retirement and a stroke to complement things led me here.

 

[PercyZ]

Welcome! Fee; free to share your watches. We have several special interest Geek-out threads where we let loose

I got close to £60,000 ‘invested’ in watches! Might share photos of some

 

[Suzette]

I got close to £60,000 ‘invested’ in watches! Might share photos of some

Welcome! Does your room vibrate with the force of all those watches ticking off time! J/k. I realize your "collection" could actually only be a small handful of expensive watches.

I am in the U.S., 54 and I do relate to the comments on death in particular. Are you familiar with the word "Alexithymia"?
Alexithymia is a broad term to describe problems with feeling emotions. In fact, this Greek term used in Freudian psychodynamic theories loosely translates to “no words for emotion.”
You will see alot of n.d. folk talk about Alexithymia as it is quite common amongst us. It seems to me, many of us relate to not knowing how we feel, rather than having problems of actually feeling emotion. But as in all things involving the brain, the condition is more a spectrum of expression that a firm line. Your description of yourself certainly fits too.

 

[PercyZ]

Alexithymia isn’t a term I’ve heard before but I can relate to the definition well.

I have two kids from my first marriage, and two grandkids from my daughter. I couldn’t care less it I see them of not as I have no feelings for them but I set reminders in my calendar to contact and visit them as I understand it is important to them.

Re: my watches. A large proportion of them are less than £500 or so but several were in the numerous thousands and have increased in value over the years Hoping they add to my pension pot in the future

 

[clg114]

Welcome to Autism Forums!

 

[Pats]

Welcome PercyZ. I'm 64 and was diagnosed about 4 years ago. It's a relief to know there's a reason for all the things we've done and do that you know is not what people would call normal.