I'm glad you have access to care and I hope it's useful to you!

I had a somewhat opposite experience. I was diagnosed with bipolar in my 20s (type II, rapid cycling). After 2 years of trying to find a medication combo that worked for me, my doctor recommended me to an intensive day program. I went for the intake assessment and they were like, "Um, you aren't bipolar." Okay? Anyways, I stopped meds (with doctors blessing) and went on with my life.

I got diagnosed with autism in my 40s and suddenly it makes a lot more sense.

My official diagnosis is schizoaffective (after thinking on it for a few years, I really think psychotic bipolar would be a better way to describe it), although I know many schizoid people.

Personally, still think you should tell people you're autistic. Something psychs (I genuinely hate psychs, the pharmacists are usually more qualified) don't understand is that there's quite a bit of acceptance with more minor mental health diagnosis nowadays. I'm able to ask for reasonable accommodations without doctor's notes for autism and other issues usually. Now to be fair, the accommodations I ask for at work are pretty simple - if I'm on an early morning shift, call me a couple hours ahead of time to make sure I'm awake. Not getting tilted over me regularly being 5 minutes late because of time blindness. But the point is, it's a lot more socially acceptable to say it's autism or ADHD than anything else.

Now to be fair, I am usually the most competent employee at my job, and I'm also in food service so neurodivergence is quite common in back of house. I left fine dining and now I work at a pizza restaurant, I am extremely overqualified for my current position and it frequently shows.

Some of the things in the thread sound just like me, and I actually started going through a full neuropsych eval this week. Will report back if I get told anything similar!

Anyone have experience with this

With me, not quite the same, but there are a lot of similarities, hopefully enough to warrant this comment. Like I also assumed I had mild autism for a long time. My mom before passing even told me that when I was a little kid she was fully convinced I was autistic because of how hypersensitive I was to everything, but she only told me this when I was around 20. For a while, only partly because of what she told me, I thought I was probably on the spectrum. But then I discounted it. See, I would like to think I'm a rather empathetic person, I did back then too, but at that time I also mistakenly believed due to bad stereotypes that empathy ruled out autism.

Fastforward to only a few years ago and suddently, like you, I happened to luck into some real mental health care at last. That's when I got diagnosed with Avoidant Personality Disorder, AvPD. I've spoken to a few other comrades here who also have AvPD and that did help me feel a bit less alone with it, but because of it, I really am a hermit now. Which I hate to admit as a communist. I wasn't always though, and I keep hoping maybe one day I won't be again, but having a personality disorder means it's really fucking hard.

If you don't mind me asking, how are you feeling about the diagnosis? I had a lot of mixed feelings about mine. I hope you're doing well with it, comrade. Solidarity.

my half brother has the paranoid version

wouldnt wish it on anyone

If you don’t mind me asking, did they say why they believe schizoid personality disorder is more likely than autism? I have strongly considered me being schizoid, schizotypal, or autistic but haven’t really had any kind of evaluation besides being diagnosed as having ADHD

I am schizophrenic. But I am highly functional.

My brother has what we suspected could be SPD. But he's quite different from you, he wouldn't make posts on Lemmy, because he doesn't read or use the internet much. It's not that he doesn't have a personality at all, but he doesn't have any hobbies or personal preferences or opinions on anything and spends hours sitting around doing nothing/thinking. He doesn't do anything out of his own initiative. When he does speak he's quite insecure and shy. One thing he does have though is that he's very observant and can remember things very well and in much more detail than the rest of us.

Yup I either have Major Depressive Disorder with Generalized Anxiety Disorder or Schizoid Personality Disorder. The good news is they're all treated the same way, even medications. It only matters so far as determining causes.