New diagnosis?

I’ve been curious for quite some time how a family member could have been diagnosed with high-functioning autism without any other known cases in the family. However, it’s recently been called to my attention that there have been signs in other family members for some time. I just never realized it. Finally, it occurred to me that these are things I do, too.

Even more so, I read an article about people with both autism and bipolar disorder, and this lines up with my experiences perfectly. The article stated that people with both disorders tend to show symptoms early, as my bipolar symptoms were evident (even to me) in early childhood. Usually, it is more common for these symptoms to appear in a person’s late teens or early twenties. This was not the case with me. Another thing that drew my attention was the frequency of nightmares. I have them almost every night. I never realized this was unusual. I simply thought it was something my anxiety was creating.

Another thing is that I’m sensitive to noise. It causes me great anxiety. Again, I never thought this was unusual. I never realized that other people don’t feel that way. Of course, there are plenty of other signs (limited number of interests, becoming obsessed with things, being unable to read social cues, inability to look people in the eyes, etc.) that probably contribute to my social awkwardness. I thought I was just odd, but perhaps there’s a reason for that.

Anyway, I will bring this up with my doctor at my next appointment. At the last one, I was dealing with grief, and that dominated our session. However, I definitely want to discuss the possibility that there may be more to my diagnosis than previously thought. Something to think about.