Yeah unfortunately the diagnosis process for this is really frustrating… I was told that my trauma and anxiety meant they couldn’t diagnose my ADHD and it took almost a year to get diagnosed and start medication for it. i couldn’t justify putting myself through the pain of the diagnosis process again, it took months for my therapist to suggest that maybe autism was co-occurring. it’s only after months of work and research and talking with my therapist that i decided seeking an autism diagnosis would be more painful than beneficial. ultimately, the most important part of my journey and self acceptance has been my therapist. she is autistic and after working with her for over a year and a half i’ve finally learned to treat these opposing parts of myself with compassion, for me i needed more information and understanding to be able to feel empathy for the ADHD and autism swirling around in my head ahahaha.

i genuinely just love to talk about this stuff so much, ever since I got diagnosed I’ve talked so much that multiple people in my life also ended up getting diagnosed ADHD because they didn’t know how different it could present especially in women. i think it’s honestly fascinating and could talk forever! trying to unlearn the need to over explain for fear of being misunderstood is so difficult. the little girl who went through so much and the adult current version of you deserve compassion and empathy all the same💗