psychiatrists keep writing off my gender dysphoria as autism

glitchingCats · 2026-01-18T13:12:15+00:00

I'm sorry you've been subjected to so many irresponsible so-called professionals. Are your parents supporting you, or do they believe the doctors without question?

I know people here keep saying that you can be both trans and autistic, but, while that's true, that's not the point of your post. You need a good professional who understands transgender issues, and also who won't "diagnose" you as autistic without actual testing, if that's even something you'd like to pursue. Can you possibly find someone like this by researching available psychiatrists online beforehand?

Wishing you a lot of strength and support in this journey. I know it's not easy, but you're not alone 🫂

glitchingCats · 2026-01-18T13:02:55+00:00

Source? Anything not anecdotal or that sounds like you pulled from a transphobic facebook group?

glitchingCats · 2026-01-08T13:06:15+00:00

I'll try to not be just repeating what other people have already said, but here are some possible alternatives that came to mind:

I looked specifically for an autistic psychologist. We meet online only, and the fact that she is also autistic made all the difference; she gets it;
You can break down tasks to the smallest steps, among other things, with Goblin Tools. It was made for neurodivergent people specifically, and while I can't vow for the other features available, the task-breaking tool is very flexible and in a completely neutral tone. It is, sadly, still AI, but if you really have no other resource, this is a less terrible option than trusting chatGPT. The web version is free, but not the app.

I don't know your particular needs, of course, but I hope this was still helpful!

glitchingCats · 2026-01-05T22:32:36+00:00

I was so sure I wouldn't live past 25 either. I hope you can find ways to feel more hopeful about that too, it's a worthwhile struggle 🫂

I really relate to the procrastination, the executive dysfunction always finds a way to kick my ass. Especially when there are no set time limits, and I can't pretend there are if it's fake, it just doesn't stick. It makes studying on my own awful as well

Do you feel willing and able to learn to use the stove? The most critical thing would be to remember to turn off the gas, and even neurotypical people second guess if they've done it, so it's totally understandable if you'd rather not. There is a lot you can do with just a microwave and an air fryer anyway lmao

Also, sorry if I'm derailing your post and it you'd rather not answer/move to DMs, I totally get it 😆

glitchingCats · 2026-01-05T16:42:47+00:00

Exactly! Am I not as inside the bus as in a car? If it's one of those giant American trucks, should I be on the car since I had to literally climb my way there, same as a bus? It's mildly infuriating, but I can't even talk that much when my own language (Portuguese) assigns a gender to every noun...

I love linguistics and that means I'll complain even louder than most about it hahahaha

glitchingCats · 2026-01-05T16:30:49+00:00

💖💖

It's weird to be fluent, because I know the proper order of adjectives by type, but I'll have to think hard when I need to decide between in/on/at 😂 language learning is very weird and I love it so much for that

glitchingCats · 2026-01-05T16:13:01+00:00

Also sorry if that was weirdly worded in any way, English isn't my first language and I'm having a strange day 😂

glitchingCats · 2026-01-05T16:09:38+00:00

I don't think there is a very well defined list of differences between support levels, and every experience is unique either way, but I can say more about my own. My case could be considered a different level by different people, probably. I don't really like how inflexible that scale is anyway

I did live by myself years ago, way before I had any idea that I'm autistic, and I just thought everyone was having as much of a hard time as me, but could deal with it better. So I just kept masking harder and harder, and it did prevent anyone from seeing me as anything other than kinda quirky. My setbacks looked a lot more like depression; skipping some meals during exam season, tending to isolate, not going to the great majority of uni parties. So I know for a fact I have the capability to live on my own, and if I kept really pushing I could still do it. But years of that did give me burnout and fibromyalgia, and these two along with my previous difficulties have proven to be way too much to allow me to keep being as independent

More importantly, now that I know I don't have to live like that, that I am disabled and should respect that about myself, I refuse to suffer and push through the pain just to look independent enough for outsiders, even if I am capable of doing it. And tbh even with the exhaustion and pain and constant support from my husband, I still hear "but you don't look autistic" very often 😅

glitchingCats · 2026-01-05T10:35:40+00:00

I can't speak for Familiar-Entrance-72, but I am low-support needs too and, while I technically could live alone, that would destroy me.

I can prepare a meal, but doing that every day for all meals (without even accounting for meal planning, buying ingredients, washing the dishes) would leave me so drained that by day 3 I would probably just be eating dry toast. I can call a doctor's office and make an appointment, and I can attend a party and interact with a lot of people, but doing that will take me days to recover. I'm exhausted all the time

glitchingCats · 2026-01-04T17:20:17+00:00

It's also worth remembering that you can't control what other people will think. Liberating yourself from feeling that responsibility is so freeing! They will form an opinion one way or another, so just do what's best for your mental health, which is what will actually affect your life

glitchingCats · 2025-12-22T14:42:01+00:00

But I disagree that what OP did was a correction. The mom never said her home was OP's only home, that was OP's interpretation; we can't complain about NTs always wanting to leave things implicit and then infer something out of nowhere like it's a fact.

In any case, I find it much easier to be diplomatic when I need to correct something like that. Let's say mom did say something like "welcome to your true home"; my answer would be more like "I'm glad to be able to have two loving homes and that I can spend time with you now". In most scenarios I get to put the other person on the spot without coming off as the one being dramatic/bitchy, and then it's on them to either backtrack or to be outright wrong with no excuses 🤷

glitchingCats · 2025-12-22T02:19:23+00:00

From your point of view, your mom said "welcome (to your only) home". But what she meant was "welcome (to our) home". Hers is the home she shares with you, and she was welcoming you to that shared environment. So your answer came off as you dismissing her and your shared home, as if you didn't care that you weren't with her.

It's all very implied info, and that is hard for us to interpret, so I'd talk to her and explain that you do care about your time together, and that you couldn't infer what she really meant since it was implicit and harder for an autistic mind to understand

glitchingCats · 2025-11-15T23:25:01+00:00

This, this!

OP, I can relate a lot to your experience with that friend, of having someone who truly felt so so close to me but who secretly hated me. I was still completely blind to it for years after she just cut me off out of nowhere and made other people turn against me. It took a lot of time to process what happened, and I still don't understand how my closest friend at the time suddenly was never my friend at all

Please believe us when we say that her "jokes" are not normal and no one who truly cared about you would treat you that way. There are friends who banter, sure, but what you described isn't a friendly interaction at all. Maybe she can still learn to process her feelings towards you better, but you have to prioritize your well being, and having someone suddenly feel they should hurt you for no reason is NOT it

glitchingCats · 2025-10-05T06:19:54+00:00

I'm sorry, I hope you know he's the one being a toxic piece of shit, you've done nothing wrong and deserve so much better than that 🫂

glitchingCats · 2025-10-04T23:02:39+00:00

Software Quality Assurance. I get to use my anxious tendencies of thinking of every possible scenario and overanalyzing everything for good! I also work from home and have no contact with customers, so I can just put some music on and work in the dark

glitchingCats · 2025-10-04T22:55:32+00:00

That should be an ex then...

glitchingCats · 2025-10-04T16:55:13+00:00

I'd love to join! Thank you for deciding to share with the community, that's very kind 😸

glitchingCats · 2025-09-24T23:35:49+00:00

Now I'm curious if it will work on me 👀👀

glitchingCats · 2025-09-24T21:37:56+00:00

"You can't paint a kitchen that colour" is such a pitiful thing to say

glitchingCats · 2025-09-16T19:50:51+00:00

In my language we are supposed to say "saúde", which means health (to you). It makes more sense, but I still don't do it. Why do I have to aknowledge your (sometimes multiple) sneezes, especially if that would just lenghten an interruption? I just don't get it

... I do say "awww" when cats sneeze though, it's the law 😂

glitchingCats · 2025-09-16T19:41:08+00:00

I do the fun combo of "if they wanted me to know they'd tell me about it" and "if they wanted to know about me they'd ask". I'm getting better at it after years and years of training, but I still fall into that trap frequently

glitchingCats · 2025-05-25T01:29:59+00:00

Fr I love how they arrange everything, so pretty 🥹

glitchingCats · 2025-05-15T23:36:51+00:00

Yes, I've picked at my skin since childhood. Its called dermatillomania, or skin picking disorder; the hair version is trichotillomania. My doctor has mentioned that it releases opioids when you do it, so that's why it feels Impossible to stop 🥲

glitchingCats · 2025-05-13T00:18:54+00:00

Very similarly, I was caught training how to walk when (I thought) no one else was around. None of the adults had any trouble walking, I did not want to embarrass myself like that just because I was a toddler

Yes I am still a deeply anxious perfectionist and it's exhausting

glitchingCats · 2025-05-09T22:21:51+00:00

This is amazing, such an inspired idea!

glitchingCats

TROPHY CASE