Help?
I’m 18 years old and in college. I’ve had depression and anxiety my entire life but recently when I was describing my symptoms and way of thinking to someone they suggested that I might be on the Autism Spectrum. I have only really known about autism through the dramatic way it’s shown on television but after researching online I realized that autism presents differently in women than what I thought. After spending hours going over lists of symptoms of women with autism I still can’t decide if I am actually autistic or if it just has a lot of overlap with my anxiety. Sorry this got so long winded but I’m just going to list some symptoms I’ve had for years and ask for your advice.
- I pace around my room. I do this for hours everyday and I don’t really have a good explanation for why. Sometimes it’s because I don’t feel like sitting still, I guess.
- I have always been sensitive when it comes to clothes. I cut off every tag on the shirts that I buy. Everything needs to be soft and loose. I barely have any clothes because I’m so picky about the material.
- I am so ridiculously picky about food. I don’t eat any fruits or vegetables because even the thought of the texture makes me want to throw up. I only eat plain sort of foods. I usually get a plain chicken sandwich or cheese pizza when I go to the dining hall.
- I’m in a dorm now but when I lived at home it used to drive me crazy when my brother would invite his friends over. I would stay locked in my room for hours even if I didn’t have food or water, just so I didn’t have to see them. And now I live in a dorm and it’s kind of the same way with my roommate. I am conscious of her presence at all times.
- I am OCD about certain things. I’ve had borderline panic attacks because something is crooked. I could feel my skin crawl and the only thing I could think about is that something is out of place.
- I rigorously plan my day. I am so anxious when I had to go out that I plan everything to the minute- when I am going to put on makeup, when I am going to get dressed, when I am going to leave, how long it takes to get there.
These are only a few things I felt like typing out but I’d love any advice you could give me. I don’t want to bring up autism to my psychiatrist yet in case I am just being a hypochondriac or something.
@indigoCircle6684 Welcome!
We can't diagnose here but a lot of the things you have shared here do seem to be issues that would connect to autism disorder. There can also be sensory sensitivities that aren't connected to autism at all.
Regardless of a diagnosis those things seem to affect you a lot so bringing them up to a psychiatrist seems reasonable to me.
You may be interested in checking out Support Plus too, autism is a topic there and there are others who suspect they have autism as well.