# Healing and Wellbeing > General Health >  >  Autism

## Adrift

Hi All, 

Been quite some time since I have been on the forum. Anyway, probably over the last year, I have realized that I most likely may be autistic. I have been ready up on it and seem to meet a lot of the criteria but have yet to talk to my physician about it. Is anyone here autistic and care to discuss with me? Items might include your symptoms, how you manage it, are there any medications you take that are helpful?

Thanks

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## Total Eclipse

Hey, Adrift -- Welcome back to the site  ::):  I have a few friends on the autistic-scale. I'm not sure if I'd be of any help but if you want you can PM me  :Hug:

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## Cuchculan

Honest answer to an honest question? I would not ask anybody how they feel and what they go through. That will only put ideas in your head. Right now, you know how you feel. If it was myself, I would visit a specialist and let them decide if I had the condition or not. Don't base it on the net and sites you might have read things from. You can have a lot of cross over symptoms with a lot of conditions. Even basic anxiety can mimic many other conditions. With their symptoms. I would get checked out first. If it is something you have, then talk to others who might have it. Not talk first. Just my own opinion.

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## Antidote

^ I actually think it's fine to self-diagnose autism, as long as you read comprehensively on the subject (like try to read studies and books on the topic because many websites over simplify the condition). Also, the fact is autism is highly comorbid with other conditions like anxiety and mood disorders. So identifying with several conditions actually lends to the likelihood you have an autism spectrum disorder. These conditions are not mutually exclusive.

Most adults on the spectrum do self-diagnose, because it's expensive and often pointless to receive an official diagnosis, i.e. they're not eligible for any benefits for it, nor are there usually treatments or management plans devised for high functioning autists in most areas. Treatment is usually focused on managing comorbids, and increasing social support. Personally I consider myself on the autism spectrum (fairly mildly), and  I came to that conclusion after a decade of reading on the subject and discussing it with other autists online.

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## Cuchculan

Let us pretend for one second that a person had health anxiety. Would it be good for them to think they had such a condition. We all know the minds of those with health anxiety. Anything is possible once the mind gets hold of it. You could spend years thinking you had a condition like autism when really you didn't.

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## Antidote

> Let us pretend for one second that a person had health anxiety. Would it be good for them to think they had such a condition. We all know the minds of those with health anxiety. Anything is possible once the mind gets hold of it. You could spend years thinking you had a condition like autism when really you didn't.



Hence why you need to read comprehensively on the subject. Health anxiety isn't a reason not to investigate suspected conditions. I have pretty bad health-anxiety too, but what helped me was interacting with another (online) who had autism (high functioning), because it dissociated anxiety I had about the label of autism spectrum disorders... And I did spend years wondering if I had it. And I eventually concluded I'm at least mildly on the spectrum. It's one thing to just scare yourself wondering if you have it, it's another thing to seriously research it and get to the bottom of it. In fact, researching it on your own can be beneficial should you want to receive an official diagnosis. If you go along presenting results from social IQ and autism quotient tests (the official ones, downloaded from research sites) then a psychiatrist / psychologist is more likely to take your concerns seriously and hash out suspected traits with you. In other words it can be empowering to have that knowledge. 

Also, for what it's worth, many professionals are not even very skilled at detecting high functioning autism in females, so there's a tendency to diagnose comorbids and neglect the root cause, which is an ASD. Not that anyone will bother reading but here's a link: http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandst...spergers-girls

Hence why I think if you can research the condition for yourself, by all means you should.

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