Thank you for this video. I was diagnosed later in life and I'm still trying to figure myself out. ADHD, ADD, PTSD and PCOS which also messes with my brain. I don't know where to go in my community to meet people like myself. -Evansville, Indiana
Hi Melissa! You commented 2 months ago, hope you’re doing well! Social media can be really great with finding other neurodiverse likeminded folks, I’ve met so many over the years! Local ND community is a bit more difficult to find.
Hi Kirty! I'm so happy that I found you on YT! I recently started a channel because I feel a deep need for talking about being Autistic (I think I'm Audhd). I'ts great finding more people I can relate to. I'm trying to find more people like me. / Isabella
I personally haven’t tried medication, so I can’t speak to that. BUT I have friends who are and it helps them a lot! I rely on meditation/daily walks/light yoga and Pilates to keep me in check. But my health feels a bit messy at the moment. Kinda just listen to what my body needs in the moment. Working from home helps me a lot.
That’s a common thing with autistic folks haha I’ve always been told I look young, I think it’s just the makeup making me look younger, I’ve got some dark under eye circles under there.
I have a pink car. I have my little friends Bones, Scotty, uhura, Jim, Spock, han solo, John lennon, Pavel, Capt coke, Capt pike, and domino dalmatian from 102 dalmatians. I love my babies, also Capt coke has an emotional support dog
Thank you for sharing, it was especially interesting to hear about your relationships with food!! (if it's appropriate to say this, considering you struggle a lot because of it) Because I'm completely the opposite, I adore food and it's my main source of dophamine in life 😅
oh, i 100% understand the anxiety with eating, and know it really doesn't take much to set you on a course of struggling with it. It is attached to literally every single social and work interaction, and it really makes it hard to blend in and be normal with everyone. The anxiety over it doesn't help either as your stomach turns and kills any appetite you might have had and my anxiety seems to heighten my sense of smell that can really turn my stomach if i am not prepared for it. It's just a bad combo all around and i struggled with it for a long time too. It sucks that it is such a vital function of working and social life and you feel so horrible for not being able to participate or find excuses. I am sorry you had to deal with people that weren't supportive over the years, they just don't understand. Eating in front of people i understand too. I am not sure what makes it so weird but just that it seems to come with extra expectations and anxiety that comes with it. Anyway, i hope you are building up some tools and concepts to help. Kudos on being so open with your thoughts, i think that can be so incredibly empowering to just get them out into the world. i know you are early on in your journey but what are your thoughts on masking? like i still can't wrap my head around where it might start and end? what even is a person's natural state if we have built a lifetime of coping mechanisms up to survive.
I am so thankful you shared this and for your willingness to be so vulnerable and open about your diagnosis. I've been following along with your art channel since around 2012? 2013? and have always admired you and your artistic talents. I even had the pleasure of meeting you at an art fair! After hearing about your diagnosis I admire you even more. I've struggled with Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD) my entire life and wasn't diagnosed formally until I was around 14. It's been an ongoing struggle trying to fit in when it feels like I am completely alone in what I experience. I know that people who have Autism also struggle with SPD, which is why I say I am so relieved - in a way - to hear you talk about your journey with Autism. I know they aren't the same diagnosis, but I still feel like in some ways, I am less alone. Thank you for sharing. I look forward to watching more of your videos.
Hi Gibby! I completely missed this comment! For sure remember you stopping by the art fair back in the day! I was so surprised that anyone wanted to come see me lol. I appreciate you following along on this weird journey! I'm glad I can make you feel less alone. There's still some taboo around people opening up about struggles, but that's always been important to me. Everyone struggles in some way behind the scenes, the struggles can unite us when we can lean on one another. Appreciate you! <3
The "Why didn't my teachers see anything" I relate to - I remember in certain classes it must have been obvious, at one point I remember telling a foreign language teacher that "I physically cannot remember these words" and they put it down to me not trying hard enough and gave me detention. Why didn't they ever question that maybe it's not down to the individual's effort. I fear that this probably still goes on today. Since leaving school I have worked with teachers and I obviously can't speak for them all but considering they are meant to be smart and teaching the next generation... some of them are pretty dumb. I love the "a learned quality from someone else" part... relatable. It's good you have Mr Blue to be your rock <3.
Yesss, they act like you aren't paying attention. I remember being fully engaged in class, really into a subject, and then 5 minutes later could not tell you what I learned. That's a tough one to live with. Do you know how interesting I'd be if I were able to remember everything I learned? lol If only... I'm hoping that teachers are starting to be more aware of neurodivergency the more people get diagnosed/self-diagnose and share their stories. Definitely unweaving the parts that I've learned from others. Luckily, I've been embracing my weirdo self throughout my 20's up until now but I know I can work on some things. Very glad to have Blue as well. I know I talk in the video about not wanting to bombard others with information, but he's bombarded quite a bit and a great listener. I just have an endless amount of things to say lol. Thanks for watching dude <3 hope you're doing great.
@@KirtysCuriosities I know right! My grandad would often tell me these really interesting facts and then 15 minuets later he would ask me what the fact was and I couldn't remember even though I wanted to and thought it was interesting! I'm only realised within the last few months so I think at 25 I need to start embracing myself a bit...
I have just been diagnosed as autistic at 26. It's quite overwhelming but a relief to know why. I also have hEDS and ME/CFS as well as pretty severe anxiety. I am just learning about it and trying to find some support. Thanks, this was a great watch.
Quite overwhelming indeed! I have been feeling better after over a month of digesting but some days are better than others. The next major step in my journey is returning to doctors to hopefully get answers regarding my health problems which I now believe are linked to my diagnosis. I'm sure it won't be a fun process. I'm glad you were able to find the answers you needed, hang in there! Thank you for watching, its a comfort hearing more and more people getting diagnosed instead of struggling alone.
Congratulations on getting the diagnosis! I've been following you for a while and was surprised to see this video. I was diagnosed 1.5 years ago too at age 29 and it was a huge relief. I make videos about my experience too to spread awareness about autism. Good luck on your path!
Ahh so happy for you that you were also able to find clarity! Love to see so many other adults finding peace in knowing. Thanks for watching and for hanging around a while!
You are brave to keep putting yourself out there and i hope it helps in your journey of healing and growth. The tiktok thing hits home, it's been the first time i ever considered that i don't just have anxiety there could be more at work. Incredible work on your part to do all the leg work of self diagnosis putting all the pieces together, self examining your life and experiences. I hope that has itself been a journey of healing. I am worried if you are feeling alone or treated different. That seems to be a common take away for late diagnosis folks. I know you are surrounded by incredible loving and supportive people to help. But i hope you understand too how your experience is mirrored and relatable for others too. I hope there is some calm in knowing you are validated, understood and able to thrive. I also know we live in a world that is increasable aware of mental health issues and i hope that means everyone is met with understanding and care especially in hard to function workplace and social scenarios that really push the limits. anyway, i am equal parts excited to see your journey as well as interested to hear how you arrived here to learn from. thank you for doing these videos. I really do hope they are helping you.
Thanks for keeping me company over here! I always appreciate you taking the time to watch and comment. Hope you find the answers you're looking for as well! Tiktok's algorithm is a trip, I'm actually so thankful for it planting the idea in my head. I would've been wandering aimlessly as I have been my whole life. As far as feeling alone, I would say those feelings are there but the online neurodivergent community has given me a sense of belonging that I've never felt before, even if they are strangers to me I still feel a connection. But friends/family/even acquaintances kinda sorta make me feel alone in my journey since many can't relate to how I'm feeling. Which is okay, that's how I've felt my entire life anyway so its not a new thing. It's just something I have to sift through in my own mind. Let it marinate a bit. But there have been quite a few folks who have messaged/commented about similar feelings of thinking there may be something more going on with them, which makes me happy that I shared this news and is motivation to keep sharing more. As always, really appreciate you hangin out!
I’m 33 soon to be 34. I’m on disability and struggle daily. Adhd and autism undiagnosed is very hard to explain to loved ones. I usually don’t tell people I’m disabled. Thank you for sharing your story. I never finished high school and abused alcohol in my 20s trying to cope with social and sensory problems. Meeting neurodivergent friends online will help a lot. Avoid anyone who isn’t validating. They simply don’t get it and probably never will. Neurotypicals can feel like a different species at times but just like they try to understand us we just have to accept their own neurotype. I’ve been on adhd meds since I was little and do they help but side effects are pretty annoying. My boyfriend is neurodivergent so it’s easy living with him.
So sorry to hear of your struggles. It is VERY difficult to help families/friends understand when you're undiagnosed as well as being diagnosed (especially when they themselves, also may be neurodivergent and don't care to see it). I've only told a few people in my work setting of my diagnosis, the internet however, I'm open about it. I figure if they dig this far into my social media, they'll see it and hopefully understand my way of feeling about it. What has been your experience when telling others? I've heard some good and bad. Already I've seen such a shift in my sense of "belonging" after finding other like-minded neurodivergent people. So far, so good there. The similarities are intense and comforting. I'm so sorry to hear to hear how difficult life has been for you. Mine definitely has staggering ebbs and flows despite some successes. Lovely to hear that you have a neurodivergent boyfriend, I'm sure that's very comforting. I appreciate you taking the time to comment and watch the video <3
@@KirtysCuriosities thank you for getting back to me! I just logged in and saw your response now I’m sorry. Well I had one girl friend (who I believe is also autistic) yell at me because it was all I was talking about. They call women with autism little psychologists for a reason. We love the brain and how it works. I am told often “everyone’s a little autistic” well no they’re not. It’s pretty clear who is and who isn’t but of course there’s surprises because of masking! Phew.. what online places are you making new ND friends? I used Facebook for years and had a lot of luck joining groups on there.
New house is looking amazing. I have no diagnosis but I belive I have austism too, and I've made this discovery at 25 - You mentioned you had a splash of ADHD, I guess that explains how easy it was to distract you when you streamed hehe. I think the name comes with some misconceptions and negativity but I'm some ways it can really be the opposite as you can do a lot of things that others would struggle to do - I can't spell for example 😂.
I'm totally slacking on the condo reveal video haaa. But yeah we're all settled in and loving it here! Yenno, neurodivergent people seem to flock together unknowingly so it'd make sense! Haha have you thought about getting a diagnosis or are you okay keeping it as a self-diagnosis (just curious)? Wish I discovered it at 25! I had nooo idea at 25. But yes my lizard brain when streaming definitelyyyy makes a whole lot of sense now. It is a very strange dynamic to have ASD and ADHD.
@@KirtysCuriosities I'm not sure, I guess for me it doesn't change a whole lot - and I never see my doctor so starting the process would be a process within itself. It was actually an ex gf who at the time had noticed some of my tendencies and said its quite likely and than a therapist agreed that it would be a good explanation for some of my... quirks.
