Am I Autistic? The start of my unmasking journey.
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- Опубликовано: 2 май 2024
- With my son being diagnosed as autistic, I have learnt more about myself through supporting and parenting him, than I have in my last 40 years. And with recent training in understanding autism which taught me about how autism displays differently in girls and women, I have decided to start looking into the possibility I am autistic. This will include an assessment but as I know through my son's experiences, the assessment and diagnosis is just one small part of truly understanding yourself.
And so, I am logging my experiences through this journey in the hope that it might help others who are wondering the same about themselves. And quite selfishly, hoping others can perhaps help me too through sharing their experiences.
Thanks for reading this and watching my badly recorded videos, and apologies for the bad captions!
Unmasking can't happen all at once. It's a journey and it takes some time but it is so worth it. I know that I have made progress these last couple of years because I'm not as hard on myself as I once was. When I learned that I was autistic it was like a very real weight had been lifted off of me and I could give myself permission to be my real self more than I was ever able to do before. If I am in a very uncomfortable social situation, for instance, I now am able to remove myself from it before I get totally overwhelmed and I don't have to think that I'm a terrible person for being " unsociable " when I do so. Masking is exhausting and I hope that you will have real success in your unmasking adventure.
Yes, I feel like it is a spiral already. That I will revisit things many many times as I make sense of them without masking.
Thank you for sharing your journey. It will help me on my mine.
Thank you for watching my videos ❤ I'm learning a lot about myself and it really helps to hear that sharing this journey is helping others.
I’m a new subscriber. I realized this past summer, at 54 years old, that I’m autistic. I don’t feel the need for a formal diagnosis. I’m definitely aware of where and when I’m masking. I’m also considering a video journal, like yours, to help me work through this all. I’m grateful to have found your channel!
I'm finding doing the video journal really helpful. Everyone's comments have meant so much to me. I totally recommend it and please tell me what your channel is called if you create one!
@@TheGreatReveal I absolutely will do! I have a channel now, but it’s not centered around my AUDHD.. I mention neurodivergence here and there. But I want to create a space for myself that is more raw and bring in others, like you, who understand the unique challenges of being a late diagnosed woman. 💕
@@beautifullifesageg.3951 I think this is brilliant. It is so complex and so individual but with so much that each of us can relate to, that I think we definitely need more stories shared!
I think unmasking is not so easy. I have been masking for so many years without even knowing that I was doing it and that I was autistic. I am 48 years old now, I was diagnosed at the age of 47. And I am exhausted after all those years. I don’t work at the moment, so I am at home most of the time and I find myself unmasking at home. But when I am around people I still keep masking. Please keep sharing your story, this is so important, especially for late diagnosed women.
Thank you for sharing. As I unmask more, I realise how much more complicated it is than I thought.
@@TheGreatReveal 💛
What were you reading that made you tick the boxes? Just listening to you describe even a few bits of yourself - it’s a mirror. The absolute, overwhelming tiredness.
Hello! So I am studying a certificate in Understanding Autism and the differences that ticked the boxes for me included mirroring and mimicking others in social situations even down to taking their accent on without realising, being hyper-empathetic (I can't watch so many films and tv shows, and as a kid hated anything that had mild peril!), people pleasing behaviours, being socially rejected no matter what group of friends I was in although I displayed "social skills", stimming and forcing myself to stop stimming, and on top of that other co-occurring conditions that I am starting to realise I have which could include ADHD. And the biggest thing of all of it is the regular burnout and never understanding why I was so much more exhausted and tired by everyday living that others around me.
There is a webpage on the National Autistic Society website (UK charity) that has so much helpful info about autism in women and girls too.