@pathfinder@actuallyautistic I appreciate you so much, Kevin. You always say these things so well and I resonate with this so much.
I started looking at "just what the hell was wrong with me?!" in 2016 after having to leave what should've been a dream job because it combined my college degree and my professional training. But the social aspects of the small office were intolerable, and I melted down so many times at work that I can't even tell you.
I had no idea at the time that I was autistic. In the years since then, because of online community and a few friends in real life who are also autistic, I've learned a lot about myself and been able to start forgiving myself for not being able to be "normal".
I entered a very deep period of burnout three years ago, after losing my partner and my dad in the same year, and now I am currently working to get out of that.
I sometimes feel hopeful and proud, both, about my neurology and understanding how to work with it better in the world. The isolation of the pandemic was hard, but it allowed me to drop all of the social constructs that were really not serving me.
I appreciate all of you so much! Thank you for being here. But especially you, Kevin. Please keep writing to us. You reach a lot of people in a really profound way.