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roberri

521d

if you’re neurodivergent & afab, when did you get professionally diagnosed? how did it affect you?

Top reply
    • Wednesday_7

      511d

      I got diagnosed at 15 and it was super validating. It allowed me to better advocate and describe myself.

    • Wednesday_7

      511d

      I got diagnosed at 15 and it was super validating. It allowed me to better advocate and describe myself.

    • Gnashing

      512d

      I got diagnosed at 14 with ADHD, thankfully easily! I can't think of a single family member of mine who doesn't legitimately have it, so there was thankfully a lot of evidence to help with my own diagnosis :)

    • feralsharkdog

      512d

      Diagnosed with ADHD when I was like 6, I think? Bipolar when I was 21 (though I think it's a misdiagnosis). Would love to get an official diagnosis for autism, but I can't find a local doctor that will test adults.

    • broadwaylover596

      512d

      i got my adhd diagnosis at 13, ocd diagnosis at 15, and asd at 21!

    • NessieSoph

      512d

      I didn't get a diagnosis for my autism and ADHD till I was 24. I genuinely think I never would've dealt with severe anxiety if my parents had gotten me interventions earlier

    • mathlover98

      512d

      I got tested for ADD when I was 13 and the lady said I was normal and just making it up. I've had a distrust in therapists/psychologists ever since (10 years) and haven't been tested again even though all of my friends say I need to since I'm struggling bad and check all the boxes for several neurodivergencies.

    • AspieWriter6390

      512d

      I was diagnosed with autism at 6, GAD at 8, ADHD and NVLD at 21. SAD at 22. PTSD at 22. Some of the diagnoses are easier than others. The NVLD was the hardest one to accept. I’m 32.

    • StrawberryMoon

      512d

      i was diagnosed with adhd in third grade, then diagnosed with depression, anxiety, and OCD at 14, but then wasn’t diagnosed with autism until i was around 19 or 20

    • Anura

      512d

      I started to suspect autism in my early 20s but have wavered on getting an official diagnosis. I'm 26 and unsure if making it official would make my life better or worse at this point, so I haven't done it yet. I had behavioral and emotional issues from kindergarten to graduation, but my test scores were really high and they never tried to address what was going on - just punished me when I broke the rules and sent me on my way. My school really failed me. I went to a district with more than enough resources to go around, as most of my classmates came from rich families and neighborhoods, so it was pure negligence by the school.

    • MultiMato

      513d

      This year. I’m 25. I’ve built up a strong negative view of myself in a lot of ways, so chipping away at that with new context is quite a chore. It’s easy to feel like I lost a lot of my life obsessively masking, but I’m SO glad I know now and can take steps to improve.

    • moonwxtcher

      513d

      adhd 2019(18), autism 2021(20) so i found out very late in life. I really had to advocate for myself. I wasn’t being heard by my mom in hs so in college I immediately got tested and, shocker, I was right. then also sleep disorder (hypersomnia) diagnosis, then when i got the asd diagnosis my mom was somehow surprised when it’s clearly my dad that passed it down to me. since getting diagnosed i have felt less like a bad broken person and i’ve found a community as well as my best friends finding themselves on the spectrum as well. it’s one of the best self discovery journeys i’ve been needing to go through- i mean it’s rough as hell but i’ve learned so much and i’ll never go back to being that supermasked person

      • moonwxtcher

        513d

        @moonwxtcher I also identified as genderfluid and pan at 13 so i figured that out yearssss before I knew I was audhd lol

      • moonwxtcher

        513d

        @moonwxtcher correction; i realize early 20’s is not “very late” in life but still i would’ve liked to known this much earlier, especially in high school.

    • Ethan_Higginbotham

      514d

      I've known I was neurodivergent since I was 5,but only recently found out I'm ftm. I kept telling myself that I can't be trans because I'm neurodivergent and I'm just confused. I eventually accepted myself though, luckily!

    • SlothTism

      514d

      I got diagnosed at 18, about 4 weeks ago. It's basically explained my entire life.

    • Kapyin

      517d

      oh lord... alot of them came later in my childhood when i was finally able to speak for myself and started to think about my mental health more. im still getting diagnosed with things because i was so late to the game there.

    • panubino

      517d

      i got diagnosed when i was in elementary school, i was crying too much at school and my teachers knew something was wrong. nobody told me i had adhd or anxiety until i was maybe 11. i just learned recently that i was also diagnosed with autism at that time.

    • Bean69

      517d

      Last March I’m 20 And Only Got Diagnosed A Few Months Before My Birthday Have Struggled To Get Medication For My ADHD Ever Since

    • Icky

      517d

      diagnosed with autism at 5, OCD at 16, and ADHD at 22. helped in school to have accommodations and stuff. I don't like to share my diagnoses with anyone who isn't close to me (unless it's anonymous). the past few years have gotten harder due to the Munchausens by Internet trend; its hard to gain access to the resources I need. I hate having any of this. I want a cure more than anything but I don't think it's happening in our lifetime

    • Johannes

      518d

      I got diagnosed at 22 and I'm currently 23. It was a really hard thing to try and deal with and I'm STILL dealing with it to be honest.

    • mermaidap

      519d

      got diagnosed with asd at 12! it was scary to be diagnosed at such a formative time, but ended up being extremely helpful in getting me necessary accommodations in high school!

    • Sevyn0Sevyn

      519d

      I was diagnosed with ADHD at 5 or 6 and the rest started becoming apparent within the following decade. There's definitely a few things that I haven't or can't get diagnosed too

    • Neptune_64

      519d

      for a long time I've been told that I'm just being emotional or overreacting and only this year did people start taking it seriously. I got diagnosed recently and whenever I tell people that I'm autistic they are surprised or don't believe me it's been easier to accept it myself since I got diagnosed, but it's still a struggle to get the people around me to accept it too

    • BrokenAtBest

      520d

      I was 19 when I got diagnosed with autism and ADHD. It made a lot of things make sense. I got diagnosed anxiety and depression at 18. I'm 20 now

      • Bean69

        517d

        @BrokenAtBest You Just Described My Diagnosis Journey Entirely

    • royalty

      520d

      Right now I'm only medically recognized with autism and OCD but I'm aiming to get an official diagnosis for both of those + ADHD

      • royalty

        520d

        @royalty But when I was younger I had an autism evaluation done and they told me I just had social anxiety with ADHD traits.

    • willownyx

      520d

      doctors said I was just shy and never went forward with a diagnosis. to this day I've only been professionally diagnosed with severe anxiety but been told my m a n y different people I have autism and bpd. it hasn't changed my life or anything, it's just annoying and impossible to access any support when doctors never take you seriously

    • canadaisntreal

      520d

      i got diagnosed with both adhd and asd when i was 13, i think. i sometimes wonder if it would’ve been sooner if i was amab. i’m thankful that my parents worked to get me assessed. i’m also giving myself some credit though because i think i pushed them to. my dad is diagnosed with adhd (but my sibling and their partner really think he has asd, i think he might too), and i think it was hard for him to acknowledge that adhd manifested differently in me, but it was definitely there.

    • Willisalarming

      520d

      People only started to take notice of my problems when I was 12. For the longest time I wasn't aware that a lot of my thoughts an experiences were abnormal. I've had crippling paranoia for as long as I can remember and it caused me to spiral into my first depressive episode in the 3rd grade. I was silent about it and I didn't understand it since I was so young, and whenever I did discuss my feelings to friends that I trusted I was met with things like "You shouldn't kill yourself, you'll go to hell!" or my father telling me I was selfish for having suicidal ideation. Nobody ever thought to get me a psychiatrist until I was 12 and I had a depressive/psychotic episode caused by ketamine that had been administered to me in an emergency room when I had dislocated my kneecap. It amplified problems that I had already had before. I still don't know why nobody ever thought to get me mental help before that. There's a strong history of mental illness on my dad's side of the family. My dad was diagnosed with schizoaffective when he was younger, but he doesn't let psychiatrists or therapists help him.

    • Something_Strange

      520d

      I don't remember when I got diegnosed because I was diegnosed with autism when I was very young.. I spent most my life denying I was any different from others but in recent years I've been learning that it's ok that I'm different.. doesn't mean I'm any less of a person..

    • ren410

      520d

      I was 34. Going through life undiagnosed destroyed me. I hate myself and i dont think that will ever change. Not only did I not know, but it was kept a secret from me. My mother knew. If i would have known i wouldnt have pushed myself so hard to be what i was "supposed to be." Eventually I couldnt keep up with the expectations and i turned to alcohol and drugs to be able to make it through the day. Its a slippery slope and after a hellish nightmare of a decade i crashed and burned. I was the homecoming queen. Now i live with my mother again, cry because I'm alive, and dont want to leave my bedroom. I just want a reset button. Everything is wrong. ✌🏻

    • Eren2273

      520d

      Doctors always told my mom I would grow out of all of my problems when I grew up so I wasn't diagnosed until early teens, and I wasn't able to get the help I needed so now I have barely any social skills and it makes it very hard to make friends that will stay

    • KoraRel

      521d

      10 years old

      • KoraRel

        521d

        @KoraRel And 22 for autism and it’s been eh

    • slaymaster

      521d

      just this summer, in June, so it hasn’t really affected me professionally or anything yet. it did make me feel more comfortable in my skin though.

☝ This content is generated by our users and it is not a substitute for professional medical advice. Please consult with your physician before making any medical decision

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