Recently, I was officially diagnosed with PDD NOS by my psychiatrist. My father has aspergers, my mother is bipolar, with elements of ADHD and probably has aspergers or something related as well.
Now, as bizarre as it might sound (considering my parents) I do not have any social issues in terms of missing certain cues, awkwardness, nothing. (my sister is the same, has 2 kids, husband, no problems whatsoever in that regard. She's a midwife in fact; You'll need really great social skills for this line of work). In fact, I have a girlfriend, and she thinks the diagnosis is wrong! Honestly, she does. We're very open about anything, so she's being very straightforward. She sometimes makes jokes such as 'oh oh that's your PDD NOS peeking around the corner there' (when I react annoyed to something, for example). Then we both laugh, and that's it. But it's really getting to me more and more lately, considering I have 2 parents within the autism spectrum and a psych who's very convinced on one hand, and, me and my girlfriend's experiences (or lack thereof)on the other.
I understand group dynamics, and by understanding I mean it comes natural; I don't have to first process these things cognitively, and then understand. I function very well in groups.
I don't have any sensory issues as experienced by people within the autism spectrum (auditory ,olfactory, etc etc). I do take Ritalin, which is a life saver for me because of anxiety issues. I came to the psychiatrist because I thought I had ADD, but this wasn't diagnosed.
I have never experienced issues that people in the autism spectrum experience, except anxiety.
But, I can't connect very well with most people for another reason. They're all about things I'm not interested in. I'm a science buff, love philosophy.. I can't connect because I do not feel a cognitive connection. I do love contact with people when it comes to joking around, having a beer, laughing about just about anything.. great!
The emotional connection most definitely is there.
BUT, I also crave conversations that go a lot further than trivial stuff. About the interconnectiveness (i'm not a native english speaker!) of things, philosophy.. I love to make my brain go 100mph. I can't do this with anyone I know, So I often feel lonely sometimes. I don't see many people any more because I'm tired of hiding the part of me that I always had to hide because people don't understand that part of me(the love for physics, maths, philosophy and the language that goes with it) This isn't because I have social 'deficiencies'!
So what's the deal?? I'm experiencing a tiny identity crisis now.... I thought one of the DSM requirements for PDD NOS were social skill deficiencies?
Does such a thing exist, some kind of autism related 'thing', but with fully intact social skills?
ANY help is VERY much appreciated, I'm totally lost here!
Now, as bizarre as it might sound (considering my parents) I do not have any social issues in terms of missing certain cues, awkwardness, nothing. (my sister is the same, has 2 kids, husband, no problems whatsoever in that regard. She's a midwife in fact; You'll need really great social skills for this line of work). In fact, I have a girlfriend, and she thinks the diagnosis is wrong! Honestly, she does. We're very open about anything, so she's being very straightforward. She sometimes makes jokes such as 'oh oh that's your PDD NOS peeking around the corner there' (when I react annoyed to something, for example). Then we both laugh, and that's it. But it's really getting to me more and more lately, considering I have 2 parents within the autism spectrum and a psych who's very convinced on one hand, and, me and my girlfriend's experiences (or lack thereof)on the other.
I understand group dynamics, and by understanding I mean it comes natural; I don't have to first process these things cognitively, and then understand. I function very well in groups.
I don't have any sensory issues as experienced by people within the autism spectrum (auditory ,olfactory, etc etc). I do take Ritalin, which is a life saver for me because of anxiety issues. I came to the psychiatrist because I thought I had ADD, but this wasn't diagnosed.
I have never experienced issues that people in the autism spectrum experience, except anxiety.
But, I can't connect very well with most people for another reason. They're all about things I'm not interested in. I'm a science buff, love philosophy.. I can't connect because I do not feel a cognitive connection. I do love contact with people when it comes to joking around, having a beer, laughing about just about anything.. great!
The emotional connection most definitely is there.
BUT, I also crave conversations that go a lot further than trivial stuff. About the interconnectiveness (i'm not a native english speaker!) of things, philosophy.. I love to make my brain go 100mph. I can't do this with anyone I know, So I often feel lonely sometimes. I don't see many people any more because I'm tired of hiding the part of me that I always had to hide because people don't understand that part of me(the love for physics, maths, philosophy and the language that goes with it) This isn't because I have social 'deficiencies'!
So what's the deal?? I'm experiencing a tiny identity crisis now.... I thought one of the DSM requirements for PDD NOS were social skill deficiencies?
Does such a thing exist, some kind of autism related 'thing', but with fully intact social skills?
ANY help is VERY much appreciated, I'm totally lost here!
