POTENTIALLY DUMB QUESTION ALERT, but I'm here for a reason.
I have SEVERE ADHD which a lot of the time feels like I'm bordering on autism when it comes to specific interactions. I've developed a habit of just, throwing out the phrase "oh, I'm just hella autistic" as a reason if I do something weird in a social interaction, like get overly passionate about something or get awkward or whatever.
I've never been formally diagnosed with autism, but I've had therapists suggest I may be autistic. Idk why I keep fucking saying that I'm "autistic" I feel like it's just easier to both say and explain as opposed to "oh I'm neurodivergent" or "Oh im just mentally ill :3" Its also cus I assume most people know what Autism looks like and thus I dont have to explain as much, as most people dont know what severe ADHD looks like and I assume most dont even take ADHD that seriously.
Is that something to just throw around like that?? 'Cause I have friends who actually are autistic, and after hyperfixating on all kinds of mental health research, I don't exactly fit the bar for autism, I'm wayyyyy too outgoing and sociable(?) among other things. My symptoms fit more under severe ADHD or potentially even AuADHD. Which I also have no idea how I can go about getting a diagnosis.
Well, if you're feeling like you're faking something, you should take a look at the stats for suicides and depression for self-diagnosed vs clinically diagnosed. Very close. If you're considering self-diagnosis you're in danger of something. Not an amazingly useful stat, as people having a hard time with various issues might get some misinfo and self-identify. Still have a higher rate of that stuff in the first place for obvious reasons. The lack of care for anyone who misses childhood diagnosis and getting actually effective treatment sucks. People needing to resort to self-diagnosis is a systematic failure, cobbling together information about what to do with yourself afterward is not easy alone, sounds like you have some people to ask about it a bit though.
Don't pay attention to personality quiz types in video form. Research all the symptoms. Sensory and even digestive stuff.
I dont wanna self-diagnose myself out of fear as becoming or being viewed some variant of those "Mentally ill TikTok girls" that fake their mental health diagnoses for attention. I don't do what I do for attention, I just do it because idk it just happens, idk... Half the time I genuinely cant control the shit that comes out of my mouth ๐ญ๐ญ
But I also feel like the diagnosis could explain a lot of my behaviors that ADHD may not be able to explain