Hi guys, I want to start this post off by saying I know at least the majority of you aren't medical professionals and aren't qualified to diagnose me or anything. I guess I'm just looking for opinions from people who know more than I do about ASD.
A bit about me:
-I'm a 21 year old female, currently enrolled in college and working part time (15 hours a week)
-I'm highly intelligent and do exceedingly well in school. That's one area that I excel at for sure, especially anything related to writing and literature. I can focus really well when I need to and almost never procrastinate.
-As a child I used to have a lot of problems socially, never playing with or talking to other children even though I really wanted to.
-I do have friends now, which I didn't start making until about 4th grade. I now have two at home and about three at school, who I am very close to.
-I have only seriously dated one person in the past for about 3 months, and he did not understand my need for quiet and space in any way, and I eventually had to break up with him. He wanted to party and drink and go out all the time, which is a nightmare scenario for me.
-I do like going out once or twice a week, usually shopping or eating out, but I hate super-crowded places. Parties and nightclubs are just awful for me.
-I am able to handle school and a job, but not without frequent bouts of anxiety. I did work full-time-ish one summer (about 36 hours a week) and I was near-breakdown almost every day. When I got home I would just start crying and lock myself in my room as I tried to muster up the energy to go the next day.
-I find that I'm able to work up to 20-25 hours quite comfortably in my current retail job, a very quiet store which doesn't require much multitasking or pressure. I had to leave a bigger department store a year ago due to the stress of selling credit cards, the fast pace and constant interactions. I'm actually quite good at small talk but I do find it incredibly draining. I also had a part time job as a receptionist that I had to ultimately quit because every time the phone rang I found myself panicking, and I also found my mind going blank whenever someone asked me something too complicated.
-I do kind of have "obsessions", but I suppose they're on the milder side. Basically I can spend up to 2 or 3 hours a day researching about my topics of interest (currently sexuality and mental health)
-Common things like driving and paying bills get me panicking as well and totally overwhelm me. I only feel comfortable driving as far as 5 minutes from my house, and take the bus almost everywhere else.
-I get lost all the time, and when people ask me for directions even to places I know very well, even to my own house....I get flustered.
-I snap at people a lot when there are two people talking to me at once, I actually can't handle it most of the time.
-I'm much better at written communication then verbal. I often struggle to put into words exactly what I'm thinking.
-I have had to train myself to do things like eye contact, being warm and friendly with strangers, etc.
So...is there a chance I could be on the spectrum? Is it likely or unlikely? Am I overreacting and this is all just part of my anxiety? Where do I go from here? Any input is appreciated. Thank you all for reading through this ridiculously long first post!
A bit about me:
-I'm a 21 year old female, currently enrolled in college and working part time (15 hours a week)
-I'm highly intelligent and do exceedingly well in school. That's one area that I excel at for sure, especially anything related to writing and literature. I can focus really well when I need to and almost never procrastinate.
-As a child I used to have a lot of problems socially, never playing with or talking to other children even though I really wanted to.
-I do have friends now, which I didn't start making until about 4th grade. I now have two at home and about three at school, who I am very close to.
-I have only seriously dated one person in the past for about 3 months, and he did not understand my need for quiet and space in any way, and I eventually had to break up with him. He wanted to party and drink and go out all the time, which is a nightmare scenario for me.
-I do like going out once or twice a week, usually shopping or eating out, but I hate super-crowded places. Parties and nightclubs are just awful for me.
-I am able to handle school and a job, but not without frequent bouts of anxiety. I did work full-time-ish one summer (about 36 hours a week) and I was near-breakdown almost every day. When I got home I would just start crying and lock myself in my room as I tried to muster up the energy to go the next day.
-I find that I'm able to work up to 20-25 hours quite comfortably in my current retail job, a very quiet store which doesn't require much multitasking or pressure. I had to leave a bigger department store a year ago due to the stress of selling credit cards, the fast pace and constant interactions. I'm actually quite good at small talk but I do find it incredibly draining. I also had a part time job as a receptionist that I had to ultimately quit because every time the phone rang I found myself panicking, and I also found my mind going blank whenever someone asked me something too complicated.
-I do kind of have "obsessions", but I suppose they're on the milder side. Basically I can spend up to 2 or 3 hours a day researching about my topics of interest (currently sexuality and mental health)
-Common things like driving and paying bills get me panicking as well and totally overwhelm me. I only feel comfortable driving as far as 5 minutes from my house, and take the bus almost everywhere else.
-I get lost all the time, and when people ask me for directions even to places I know very well, even to my own house....I get flustered.
-I snap at people a lot when there are two people talking to me at once, I actually can't handle it most of the time.
-I'm much better at written communication then verbal. I often struggle to put into words exactly what I'm thinking.
-I have had to train myself to do things like eye contact, being warm and friendly with strangers, etc.
So...is there a chance I could be on the spectrum? Is it likely or unlikely? Am I overreacting and this is all just part of my anxiety? Where do I go from here? Any input is appreciated. Thank you all for reading through this ridiculously long first post!
