The people around me had a very different reaction.
So I’ve not been officially diagnosed, but when I was 48 I went to a psychiatrist for my depression and after a few months he told me he thought I had autism. Just out of the blue.
I was a bit shocked to hear that and I thought he must be wrong. So I told my (neurotypical) friends. And they’re all like “yeah, we’ve known that for years”Most people view being diagnosed with a condition to be some huge thing that makes the person totally different from a “normal” person. To them, a weird person is just a weird person - significantly less removed from the norm than a full diagnosis. It’s the same reason why a lot of people don’t want to get diagnosed, because it would make them believe they’re “broken.”
I feel the opposite, Getting late diagnosed made me feel less broken as things started to click why I am how I am.
Rather than trying to blend in and “fix” who I am, I’ve started to just not bother trying.
I think alot of this is the difference of state of mind. People avoid diagnosis, because then they can pretend they are “normal” and then keep trying to avoid being rejected by society, without realizing, no amount of masking hides you completely… Its why some people just flatly treat some people poorly. They sense a person is different then they are and their lack of empathy makes them desire to keep them away.
A person that wants to get diagnosed, is typically done trying to play the game of hiding, and just wants to find better ways to manage day-to-day, without masking 24/7.
People like you to fit the mental model they have of you and tend to reject the infomration that doesn’t match what they already believe.
