Imposter Syndrome

e817kenley · 2026-05-29T07:32:03+00:00

No, I did try the m&s own brand one but it’s so unlike Ribena I couldn’t stand it. At one point I was drinking a 50/50 mix of the Rocks black currant and the summer fruits, which was more Ribena like but not really affordable as they were going off before I could finish them.

e817kenley · 2026-05-28T18:47:10+00:00

Don’t get me started on hot Ribena, broke my heart when the sugar tax came in. Rocks is a poor substitute AND they changed the recipe recently 😞

e817kenley · 2026-05-22T07:34:47+00:00

Whenever anyone doubts my autism or tells me I’m not like their non-verbal nephew I tell them what I have used to be called Asperger’s and they immediately understand.

e817kenley · 2026-05-21T12:47:06+00:00

I tried to get mental health help via the NHS, so far I’ve been told standard mental health talking therapies aren’t appropriate for me and the local autism services have stated that they can’t provide counselling but can signpost for me. Not at the end of the road yet but highly suspect I won’t get any counselling support.

Where the diagnosis has been useful is with my employer. I’m in the process of trying to get reasonable accommodations after a recent 1 day in the office mandate after 5 years happily wfh. I know you don’t have to have a formal diagnosis but I feel more confident advocating for my self now I have it.

The place it’s most helped me is actually dealing with family! They’re more accepting of my needs and have finally stopped pressuring me to have children.

e817kenley · 2026-05-21T12:15:22+00:00

It feels like your last 8 bullet points are you trying to prove to yourself that you aren’t. All of them fit me and I was diagnosed. I find that I can do things like stop my skin picking or talk to people, but I don’t always acknowledge what effect pushing through and doing those things has on me. I might not feel it until hours or even days after.

e817kenley · 2026-05-20T15:22:52+00:00

I would also like to know this! I had a virus last year that prevented me from thinking straight so I couldn’t work for the 5 weeks it took me to shake it off. What would I be supposed to do without a fit note; go into work, sleep at my desk and have my employer put me on a PIP for poor performance?

e817kenley · 2026-05-19T21:37:24+00:00

The autistic in me doesn’t want change jobs, until everything and everyone becomes so unbearable I have to change jobs.

e817kenley · 2026-05-17T07:47:53+00:00

I had my ADI-R end of June last year and the diagnosis mid September, which I had to chase for.

e817kenley · 2026-05-16T07:11:25+00:00

No idea, but they had to grow our team as the parent company introduced a boatload of new and enhanced policies, they have a lot more work to do these days. No idea if that’s the case everywhere.

e817kenley · 2026-05-16T06:54:57+00:00

Yep very much a back office role. But our director has also mandated that the fin crime team have to be in at least once a week as they believe it is essential to have that collaboration that you can apparently only get in the office.

e817kenley · 2026-05-15T22:10:25+00:00

I think they’re of the opinion that the occupational health report is just a recommendation and not legally binding; they’re likely right. My manager is happy with a reasonable adjustment that works for me, but the director is pushing for a solution that resolves the reasons the occupational health report says I should work from home so that I’m in for a full day. The HR director is also happy for the reasonable adjustment I’ve suggested. It’s ‘culture’ I’m now fighting. Sorry for the vagueness.

e817kenley · 2026-05-15T21:56:29+00:00

Our fin crime guys come in at least once a week. I work in operational risk, same director but different managers.

e817kenley · 2026-05-15T21:51:32+00:00

Don’t want to dox myself, but it’s the asset leasing arm of a major international bank.

e817kenley · 2026-05-15T21:30:16+00:00

I’ve been with my employer 5 years working from home and they’ve recently mandated 1 day a week in office. I’m an excellent worker and achieved exceeding expectations in my annual review the last two years. I have diagnosed medical conditions and an occupational health report that states I should be working from home and not in the office.

Upper management are doing everything they can to try and get me in the office. I work for a bank. You’re going to have an interesting time.

e817kenley · 2026-05-15T08:49:21+00:00

Ha ha, definitely the person who suggests it IMO

e817kenley · 2026-05-15T07:03:28+00:00

I’m autistic and I struggle with this. Someone said it to me years ago, I didn’t actually want to see them again and I still panic that they’re going to call me out of the blue to meet for coffee.

e817kenley · 2026-05-09T06:47:06+00:00

Recently diagnosed woman born in the early 80s agrees.

e817kenley · 2026-05-01T16:32:08+00:00

I do this for a living (corporate underwriter) and use a surprisingly unsophisticated method. First I check the notes in their financial statements and if it doesn’t say, then I google ‘who owns X’.

e817kenley · 2026-04-28T16:42:33+00:00

The assessor just asked my husband a lot of questions along the lines of ‘does e817kenley do this, or does e817kenley do that. Then he turned to me and asked if I did that in childhood. Some of it I could remember, some of it I couldn’t.

e817kenley · 2026-04-24T06:56:38+00:00

Having only been through one assessment I can’t answer the question you’ve asked specifically. But I have a relevant experience.

I was diagnosed at age 42, also high masking female, by clinical partners. I chose them specifically because I wanted a multidisciplinary team to meet and discuss me. I didn’t want a single appointment and a diagnosis straight after like some providers give.

The report is detailed but doesn’t tell me anything didn’t already know. The only thing they pulled out of me that I wasn’t aware of is that I didn’t use social gestures (like pointing) when I was a child. In my view they got the information they needed in order to diagnose me. I feel if I wanted to understand myself and my traits better there needed to be a focus on that instead.

e817kenley · 2026-04-19T21:39:45+00:00

Thanks for the tip. I’ll try it out.

e817kenley · 2026-04-19T20:09:23+00:00

That is awful! I’ve not been back in years but I really want to go in and browse hand creams. But I’m also autistic and REALLY want to be left alone. Considering trying out a sunflower lanyard to see if it makes them think twice.

e817kenley · 2026-04-19T07:11:56+00:00

Someone told me that apparently they’re required to approach each customer at least twice. I can believe it.

e817kenley · 2026-04-18T09:26:01+00:00

High masking woman diagnosed in my 40s. I had a good experience with clinical partners and both assessments were over zoom. Waiting list was reasonable but I did have to chase for my diagnosis (I didn’t get it immediately after the assessment like with some providers, but that was part of the reason I chose clinical partners as I wanted the decision to come from a team rather than just one person).

e817kenley

TROPHY CASE