Can Anxiety be Misdiagnosed as Autism?

✋ i am diagnosed with anxiety and on medication for it as well as ADHD and on medication for that too... I'm currently going through an autism assessment 🤗

Of course! It may be a symptom of autism but it can be irrelevant depending on the situation.

You can be autistic and have anxiety disorders, there's a lot of overlap and similarities. Have a chat with your gp, therapist, or clin psych, it's worth checking if you have the means to

It's possible

There are a surprising number of similarities between autism and anxiety and undiagnosed autism can cause anxiety so it can be misdiagnosed. Especially if you have issues with emotional regulation or, in the case of social anxiety, struggle with social situations and have had bad experiences with them. However they are also common comorbidities so it's possible that you have both.

i mean, the thing is that you can definitely have both. i think i might, but now we are pretty sure i have autism. but GAD can display in a variety of ways and cam be severe or mild, the same with anything else. but autism is definitely something to consider

Of course it’s possible, I have autism and anxiety disorder been diagnosed with both they’re pretty linked anyways

It's also very possible that undiagnosed autism can CAUSE anxiety. Like the anxiety is a symptom, not the whole diagnosis.

i was misdiagnosed for G.A.D. when i most likely have ASD and i have been since diagnosed with ADHD. The main difference is that, with Autism, your anxiousness is a logical and sensible response to sensory inputs that your over-active central nervous system is not designed to handle. eg. the loud, unexpected honk of a train horn will make an autistic person jump, and will hurt their ears, which makes them very stressed and uncomfortable because of their sensory processing symptoms. The unexpected honk of a train horn will make a person with an anxiety disorder go into a fight/flight/freeze/fawn response due to the panic being a trigger. They may have a panic attack, because the honking of the horn triggers a series of memories, thoughts and feelings that relate back to the underlying trauma. TLDR: Autistic people have similar symptoms to anxiety, but the mechanisms are different. People with anxiety disorders have their symptoms because of trauma, and their responses to stimuli don't necessarily make logical sense.