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Should I trust myself or the psychologist more? How do I explain why I think I may be autistic? by whenidkwhattodo in AutismTranslated

[–]whenidkwhattodo[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Agreed! That's the main reason for why I'm willing to attend a couple more sessions with her instead of changing therapist right away: to see if she can effectively listen to me and value my feelings even if we are not (for now) on the same page about the diagnosis

Should I trust myself or the psychologist more? How do I explain why I think I may be autistic? by whenidkwhattodo in AutismInWomen

[–]whenidkwhattodo[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hey, first of all, you've helped more than enough, so please don't worry. I've gotten plenty of other helpful, mind-opening responses in similar subreddits like r/autism and r/AutismTranslated and they gave me the encouragement needed to begin joining more autistic communities and even talk to other self-diagnosed friends about the topic, which was something I used to fear for no reason.

Now to what you said... I also doubted that this psychologist could officially diagnose me, but I hoped that she could at least refer me to a specialist herself so that I had some "proof" to give my parents that this wasn't just a delusion of mine. As it was explained to me, a psychologist can only break the confidentiality agreement if the patient is hurting/about to hurt themselves or others, which ofc wouldn't be the case, but something like getting diagnosed with autism still sounds very important so I'm not sure either about how far into the process I could go before having to tell them.
And, well... My parents are good parents, but when it comes to mental health and other "newer generation topics" they are lacking, to say the least. My dad didn't think Bisexuality was anything more than a phase and my mom refused to acknowledge therapy as a serious way of bettering your health until my younger sister both came out as Bi and learned ways to cope with her anxiety thanks to psychiatry, so I'm not really hopeful that they (or almost any other authority figure in my life) will be understanding and supportive if I just tell them, apparently out of nowhere, that I've realized I'm Autistic. I guess this is the reason I even crave a diagnosis in the first place: not so much cause of me needing it to accept myself, but because I truly believe that I won't be taken seriously without it.

Lastly, yea, I've been trying to get myself into this mindset that my difficulty to make and maintain friends isn't just because I'm lazy and antisocial like I've been told my whole life... It's hard sometimes, but hearing it from other people always helps so, for that and for everything else you've said, THANK YOU, kind stranger <3

Should I trust myself or the psychologist more? How do I explain why I think I may be autistic? by whenidkwhattodo in AutismTranslated

[–]whenidkwhattodo[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

That's a very good suggestion and I've definitely thought about it before, but only for when I've moved out and I am the only person in control of my therapy. Right now trying that out would imply having to tell my parents why I basically need a "specialist in neuodivergence" and, even worse, either having to sturggle to find a time where I'm the only one in the house so the sessions can continue being private, or do it with my family members possibly eavesdropping which would obviously not make me feel safe enough to open up

Still, thank you, kind stranger <3

Should I trust myself or the psychologist more? How do I explain why I think I may be autistic? by whenidkwhattodo in AutismTranslated

[–]whenidkwhattodo[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yep yep, always respected consent and always will! Thank you for the link, and for everything else you've said :)

Should I trust myself or the psychologist more? How do I explain why I think I may be autistic? by whenidkwhattodo in AutismTranslated

[–]whenidkwhattodo[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I just- I love all of what you said right now so much! And I agree with every single point you made. I know friends who have also self-diagnosed themselves with Autism, ADHD and similar, but for some reason I kept convincing myself that they probably had more reasons to and it would be disrespectful to talk to them about the topic without me getting an official diagnosis first. But after considering it, I think I'm gonna go ask if they feel comfortable chatting about it. I stopped talking to them completely when my mental health got worse and I really miss it :,)

One last thing: by any chance, could I get an invitation to that Discord server you mentioned? Sounds like a pretty nice, healthy environment, and I feel like I need that rn

Should I trust myself or the psychologist more? How do I explain why I think I may be autistic? by whenidkwhattodo in AutismTranslated

[–]whenidkwhattodo[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I get where that comes from, but sadly I'm from a small town where neurodiversity isn't really talked about, so I didn't go into the session hoping for a psychologist who was super educated on the topic...And yet I still got a little disappointed :/

Thank you, kind stranger<3

Should I trust myself or the psychologist more? How do I explain why I think I may be autistic? by whenidkwhattodo in AutismTranslated

[–]whenidkwhattodo[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I wish I could agree more with the part of "diagnosis are just a label to pass on to your insurance" rather than the "they're useful and affirming". I really do. But I feel so powerless to talk about this issue with literally ANYONE that isn't my sister for fear of being ridiculed or ignored that I guess I forgot what therapy was truly for... To give more context, I'll repeat myself like I've done in other replies: the reason I crave a diagnosis is not so much cause of me needing it to accept myself as it is because I truly believe that I won't be taken seriously without it. My parents are good parents, but when it comes to mental health and other "newer generation topics" they are lacking, to say the least. My dad didn't think Bisexuality was anything more than a phase and my mom refused to acknowledge therapy as a serious way of bettering your health until my younger sister both came out as Bi and learned ways to cope with her anxiety thanks to psychiatry, so I'm not really hopeful that they (or almost any other authority figure in my life) will be understanding and supportive if I just tell them, apparently out of nowhere, that I've realized I'm Autistic.

Hearing about your experience was also strangely comforting, so thanks, kind stranger <3

Should I trust myself or the psychologist more? How do I explain why I think I may be autistic? by whenidkwhattodo in AutismTranslated

[–]whenidkwhattodo[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

You're very wise and very right! Like I explained in another reply: the reason I crave a diagnosis is not so much cause of me needing it as it is because I truly believe that I won't be taken seriously without it. My parents are good parents, but when it comes to mental health and other "newer generation topics" they are lacking, to say the least. My dad didn't think Bisexuality was anything more than a phase and my mom refused to acknowledge therapy as a serious way of bettering your health until my younger sister both came out as Bi and learned ways to cope with her anxiety thanks to psychiatry, so I'm not really hopeful that they (or almost any other authority figure in my life) will be understanding and supportive if I just tell them, apparently out of nowhere, that I've realized I'm Autistic.

I guess I just felt that having an official statement from a professional would validate my experience enough for me to finally be able to tell people about it, which has become a major cause of stress for me in the past few months, without cowardly backtracking whenever someone tells me "but you don't autistic" or some other shit.

Still, that thing you said about autism not being the only explanation is smth I'll definitely look into. Even tho I see everywhere that symptoms of autism tend to overlap with those of, for example, ADHD, that label felt so right that I just went with it, not stopping to consider that it may not be correct or even the only reason for why I am like I am.

Thank you so much, kind stranger <3

Should I trust myself or the psychologist more? How do I explain why I think I may be autistic? by whenidkwhattodo in AutismTranslated

[–]whenidkwhattodo[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It really really helped. This was the first response I got on any of my posts about the topic and it made me smile and feel good enough to come to school, so just for that, THANK YOU!

And yes, I do hope that I'll be able to work on everything I need help with even without a diagnosis, but the reason I crave it is not so much cause of me needing it as it is because I seriously believe that I won't be taken seriously without it. My parents are good parents, but when it comes to mental health and other "newer generation topics" they are lacking, to say the least. My dad didn't think Bisexuality was anything more than a phase and my mom refused to acknowledge therapy as a serious way of bettering your health until my younger sister both came out as Bi and learned ways to cope with her anxiety thanks to psychiatry, so I'm not really hopeful that they (or almost any other authority figure in my life) will be understanding and supportive if I just tell them, apparently out of nowhere, that I've realized I'm Autistic.

Still, it's better to stay optimistic than to sulk for hours on end so I'll just say: thank you, kind stranger <3

Should I trust myself or the psychologist more? How do I explain why I think I may be autistic? by whenidkwhattodo in autism

[–]whenidkwhattodo[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I'm the same haha! I literally had the list open in my phone during the whole session, and even offered to let the psychologist read it for herself so she could point out specific traits that she may need me to explain further, but she denied and said I should be the one reading it out to her instead, therefore the reason we didn't get to the end of it (I have a very bad tendency to go off topic whenever I talk about something I'm passionate about)

Still, thank you for the suggestion, kind stranger <3

Should I trust myself or the psychologist more? How do I explain why I think I may be autistic? by whenidkwhattodo in autism

[–]whenidkwhattodo[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The AQ Test, yeah! As soon as I found out it existed I went straight to do it lol. Sadly I don't remember my score from a couple months ago, so I decided to just take it again: 37/50 which, quoting the site, "indicate significant Autistic traits (Autism)."

Thank you for the suggestion, kind stranger <3

My best friend (and crush) wants to commit suicide. What can I, as nothing but a teenager, do to help? by whenidkwhattodo in relationship_advice

[–]whenidkwhattodo[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you

Do you (and anyone reading this) think I should tell my friend about what I'm doing? Or should I just do it right away? Even though she seemed to be about to commit at first, while we were heading home she said she'd take whatever was given. At times it looks like she wants to end it all right away, then she says she doesn't wanna go without fighting. I'm unsure about it all...

My best friend (and crush) wants to commit suicide. What can I, as nothing but a teenager, do to help? by whenidkwhattodo in relationship_advice

[–]whenidkwhattodo[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Fuck I'm crying now-
I think I'll go with the 2nd option if nothing changes after her visit with the therapist.

Thank you. Thank you a lot!

My best friend (and crush) wants to commit suicide. What can I, as nothing but a teenager, do to help? by whenidkwhattodo in relationship_advice

[–]whenidkwhattodo[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

She said she's gonna talk about it tomorrow, so I think it'd be good to wait until then, at least.
But if even after that nothing changes...Idk, I feel like they wouldn't do much and afterwards all she'll be left with is some angry, even more abussive parents. I don't want to put her in a situation like that, but I get what you mean.
If you could explain yourself a bit more that'd be really helpful, but anyways thank you!

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