Long back story, I apologise. DM likes to make a repeated comment during arguments that I am entitled because I expect my partner to support me financially. And I do, but this is why:
I do not have any diagnosis but I have trained in SEN and it has literally been my job to flag up where I think children need to be referred to the ASD pathway and other concerns like possible ADHD and other causes developmental delay or difficulties. After 10+ years of this I am fairly certain I am on the spectrum, have ADHD and due to the emotional abuse I received from my pre teens to this very day, I also meet all of the criteria for BPD.
I have been failed by my parents, the schools I attended and the NHS. I was a child who slipped through the cracks because I was so good at masking it and the behaviours that weren’t so hidden were made to be other things. I was accused of being lazy but I’d have stayed awake all night using sleep procrastination as a form of self harm. I was called unmotivated even though I’d spend 8+ hours staring at a blank page not knowing why I couldn’t put my intelligence onto a page. I am still called explosive for lashing out when I was so unbearably overstimulated but didn’t know that’s what it was. I grew up to be an adult who can’t hold down a job, has failed relationships because my partners can’t understand why sometimes I can’t bare to be touched even by them, self medicates with alcohol and drugs because it makes my sensory issues easier to handle. I don’t even know what my real personality is because I am so angry and resentful for the abuse I received that my family attempt to gaslight me didn’t happen and all I know is depression and anger and I could never understand why until my realisations that I was neurodivergent. Those are only some examples, I still am coming to terms with what is coming from the true me and what are behaviours caused by being ND.
The NHS advised a 6+ year waiting list for an assessment and then wouldn’t even put me on the list. When I work full time, it’s horrendous. My alcohol and drug usage to cope increases, I am not a nice person as I’m so irritable and burnt out by being in an over stimulating environment all day with no escape and no diagnosis to be entitled to help or any accommodations.
I work part time now and this has helped so much. I can manage a lot better and since meeting my partner I have been honest about why I work part time and he realises that he would have to subsidise what j would be earning if I was FT. AIBU to think this is okay since I was upfront about what I can contribute financially and he is happy with it and understands it’s not laziness? I recently had to cover full time hours in my job after one week of it and seeing the affect it has on me he understood more than ever why I don’t work FT. He also understands that I carry the mental load of household things and organising and agrees I deserve to be compensated for that.