Y’all, I feel hopeful tonight, and I wanted to stop in here and say that. Life has been a bit of a slog on several fronts lately – nothing particularly new really – just the stuff of life and the complications that go with it sometimes. But tonight I feel hopeful for what’s coming.
A few years ago I began to realize and wonder if I fell on the autistic spectrum, and over the past year, it’s been confirmed by a couple different therapists that I most likely do. Eventually I’ll pursue a formal diagnosis, but for now, I’ve been working with my long time therapist, as well as her business partner to develop new to me coping skills to help with the ways my brain processes life differently. My long time therapist has been great, and it was her that suggested I work with this new therapist as well, who happens to specialize in neurodivergence. So in a slightly unconventional arrangement, they’re sharing me as a client, so that I get the specific help I need in different realms.
I saw the new therapist this afternoon, and it’s so refreshing to talk to someone who immediately understands what I’m describing when I’m talking about neurodivergent experience, and has normalized it. It’s been different working with her – she takes a much more goals oriented approach than I’m used to, and because the things we’re working on impact my day to day life and habits, there’s a much more experimental side to the work we’re doing – lots of going home and trying some stuff, and then coming back and working together to customize the approach to the things I’ve struggled with.
We were talking about a big area of focus today, and I walked away so encouraged just because I almost always leave her office with homework and a plan, and today was no exception. We talked through a bunch of the challenges I’m facing in this area, and I left with an experiment to try before our next session, and some new insights and steps. And then she sent a detailed follow-up email with the plan and steps laid out for me so I won’t forget, as well as the reasoning behind some of the steps. It’s practical and (hopefully) doable, and I’m excited to experiment with it, and that feels good for a change.
So yeah, that’s what I came here to say – tonight I feel hopeful, something I can’t always say in late October as the days get shorter and darker and colder. But tonight, despite the snow falling outside, I’m hopeful.
