I Was Diagnosed With Anxiety… But I’m Autistic

For years, I was diagnosed with anxiety disorders, tried different treatments, and only got worse. At 50 years old, I finally discovered the missing piece: I’m autistic. Anxiety and autism can look similar on the surface, but underneath, they are driven by very different things. In this video, I talk about how autistic traits are often misunderstood and misdiagnosed as anxiety disorders, especially in adults who have spent years masking and pushing themselves to cope. I share my personal experience as a late-diagnosed autistic adult, why traditional anxiety treatment didn’t work for me, and how understanding my neurodivergent brain has completely changed the way I care for myself. If you’re exploring adult autism diagnosis, questioning whether your anxiety might actually be autism, or trying to understand autism and anxiety in adults, I hope this video helps you feel less alone. 📘Video Chapters 0:00 Introduction 1:53 My anxiety diagnoses and years of therapy 3:07 Discovering I’m autistic at 50 5:11 Why my autism was misdiagnosed for years 7:56 Autistic overwhelm vs “classic” anxiety 9:41 Why exposure therapy didn’t cure my anxiety 12:46 Should I still try to get over anxiety? 14:33 How understanding autism changed how I care for myself – using the right tools 18:13 19:31 Next video: how my approach to socialising has changed 👉 Stop the Guilt: If you want to see how this discovery helped me finally stop forcing myself to be social and find my own way, watch this next: 👉    • Autism & Social Guilt: Why I Finally Stopp...   ___________________________________________________________________ 📖 READ MY STORY My Memoir, Top to Bottom: https://finlaygames.com/my-books/ 🌿 STAY CONNECTED Support my work on Ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/finlaygames Join my Gentle Newsletter: https://finlaygames.substack.com/ ✨ RESOURCES & HELP Visit my website for my blog, shop, and pay-what-you-can email support: 👉 https://finlaygames.com/links 🌈 ABOUT FINN I’m a trans man and author documenting the "unseen work" of becoming yourself later in life. I share my lived experience with late-diagnosed Autism and ADHD, while navigating life with ME/CFS and PoTS. You’re very welcome here. 🎶 MUSIC Outro: 10,000 Reasons (For Finn) by Sonni Regan.