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6 Devastating Life Challenges I’ve Faced As An Autistic Woman
From misdiagnosis to burnout: Navigating a world that isn’t built for us almost broke me
Living life as an autistic woman often feels like the other women around you have been given a manual on how to navigate life and function in society while you lack access to the same instructions. You observe those around you and attempt to mimic their behaviours; sometimes you succeed, and other times you fail miserably, feeling overwhelmed as life becomes a constant guessing game.
To complicate matters, many of us don’t even realise why we struggle so much compared to our peers. This lack of understanding can lead to overstimulation, depression, anxiety, and burnout among autistic women. This is why early realisation or diagnosis is so crucial for us. Recent research indicates that one in four autistic adults and one in three autistic women reported at least one psychiatric diagnosis before being diagnosed with autism, which they later perceived as a misdiagnosis. Among autistic women, personality disorders were the most frequently reported misdiagnoses, followed by anxiety disorders, mood disorders, and chronic fatigue syndrome/burnout-related disorders.
Growing up without the knowledge that I was autistic made me unaware of my…
