u/FlimsyDragon

AITA for encouraging my friend to seek an autism diagnosis instead of relying on self-diagnosis?

I’m a woman with autism myself and attended a school specifically for autistic students, so I’m not coming at this from a place of stigma or ignorance.

My former roommate recently started publicly identifying as autistic despite never being formally evaluated or diagnosed. She posts frequently on social media about how hard life is as an autistic person and how autism impacts her relationships/work/social life.

She was previously diagnosed with BPD, but now says that diagnosis was wrong and that she actually has autism. She told me that four professionals have suggested she likely has autism and should “look into it,” but she refuses to pursue a formal evaluation.

I initially tried to be supportive because I know women are often misdiagnosed. But eventually I suggested that if multiple professionals are already pointing her toward autism, getting evaluated could genuinely help her. She can afford an assessment, and I mentioned that an official diagnosis could help with workplace accommodations, legal protections from discrimination, and helping employers understand/support her needs better.

She responded that self-diagnosis is accepted in the autism community, that diagnosis does not equal validity, and that being misdiagnosed in the past caused her “extreme trauma.” She also said her current providers already treat her as if she is autistic, so she doesn’t see the point.

She argued that a diagnosis could actually hurt her employment opportunities if she ever disclosed it or requested accommodations.

Part of why I brought up evaluation is because, from my perspective, she still displays traits commonly associated with BPD, like splitting/black-and-white thinking and rapidly changing perceptions of people. I’m obviously not a doctor and I’m not trying to diagnose her myself, but it made me feel like a professional assessment would be more useful than completely rejecting the BPD diagnosis outright.

I genuinely was not trying to tell her she isn’t autistic. I just felt uncomfortable with someone publicly speaking as though they definitively have a condition while refusing evaluation despite having access to one.

Now she thinks I’m invalidating her experiences and being ableist.

AITA?

AITA for not calling my friend during a friendship-ending conversation at 3am?

About a year ago, I went through a difficult breakup with my long-term boyfriend. One of our mutual friends became convinced that I emotionally cheated because I became friends with another person (“Alex”) near the end of the relationship. I disagree with that completely.

For context:

• Alex and I were never in a relationship.
• We never discussed my boyfriend or romantic topics.
• One of the main things we talked about was Alex’s transition and identity-related experiences.
• My ex knew about the friendship at the time.

After the breakup, one of my closest friends (“Maya”) became increasingly distant. I also heard from multiple people that narratives about me emotionally cheating were spreading socially, and I spent months confused about where I stood with her.

At the same time, Maya was dealing with serious family health crises involving cancer. I was also having an awful year myself: my grandmother is in hospice, my dog died, I underwent major surgery, and one of my closest friends almost died.

Yesterday around 4pm, after sitting on my feelings for months, I finally reached out to Maya. I tried very hard to be non-accusatory and use calm communication.

She responded around 3am, and the conversation escalated badly. She felt I brought an emotionally intense conversation to her during one of the worst moments of her life.

She repeatedly said this conversation “should have been a phone call.” But it was nearly 3am, I was staying at my grandmother’s house helping care for her, everyone was asleep, and I genuinely did not feel emotionally capable of immediately jumping into an hours-long phone call after receiving multiple devastating voice memos.

So I kept responding through text instead. She interpreted that as proof that I fundamentally do not care about other people’s emotions and said my disagreement with her view of my friendship with Alex meant I was “unable to reconcile with reality.”

I’ve since apologized for hurting her and explained why I didn’t call, but she ended the friendship and said my unwillingness to immediately engage by phone reflected deeper character flaws.

AITA for not calling?

AITA for not calling my friend during a friendship-ending conversation at 3am?

This is honestly one of the most emotionally confusing situations I’ve ever been in and I genuinely want outside perspectives.

About a year ago, I went through a difficult breakup with my long-term boyfriend. One of our mutual friends became convinced that I emotionally cheated because I became friends with another person (“Alex”) near the end of the relationship. I disagree with that characterization completely.

For context:

• Alex and I were never in a relationship.
• He was 21 and I was 25.
• We never talked about my boyfriend, my relationship, or romantic topics.
• With permission, one of the major things we actually discussed was Alex’s transition to Avery and navigating identity-related experiences.
• My ex knew about the friendship at the time and knew we talked.

After the breakup, a lot of friendships quietly changed. One of my closest friends (“Maya”) became increasingly distant. Communication became inconsistent, I heard from multiple people that narratives about me emotionally cheating were spreading socially, and I was left confused about where I stood with her for months. Maya and I had been roommates for three years and last year, she had moved to another state.

Meanwhile, Maya had also been going through major family health crises involving cancer. I knew things were bad, but I did not understand the full severity because there were multiple times where she directly told me results were negative/fine, then later publicly posted that there actually was cancer.

I had also had an awful year myself:

• my grandmother is dying and currently in hospice,
• my dog died,
• I underwent major surgery,
• and one of my closest friends attempted suicide.

I finally reached out to Maya yesterday at around 4 pm because I had been sitting on my feelings literally since last summer and there never seemed to be a “right” time. I tried extremely hard to be non-accusatory and used therapy communication techniques (“I feel” language, DEARMAN, accountability, etc).

She responded at around 3 am. The conversation escalated badly. She felt I brought an emotionally intense conversation to her during one of the worst moments of her life and said my message was deeply hurtful.

At one point she repeatedly emphasized that this conversation “should have been a phone call.” The problem is:

• it was nearly 3am,
• I was staying at my grandmother’s house helping take care of her,
• my mother and grandmother were asleep,
• and I genuinely did not feel emotionally capable of immediately jumping into an hours-long emotionally loaded phone call after receiving multiple devastating voice memos.

So I responded through text trying to process carefully and clarify what she meant. She interpreted the fact that I continued texting instead of calling as proof that I fundamentally do not consider other people’s emotions or reality.

She also repeatedly told me that my disagreement with her interpretation of my friendship with Alex meant I was “unable to reconcile with reality.”

I have since apologized multiple times for hurting her, acknowledged that I did not understand the full severity of her family situation, and explained why I did not call at 3am.

But she ultimately ended the friendship and essentially said:

• I emotionally cheated,
• I refuse accountability,
• and my inability to immediately engage by phone was symbolic of deeper character flaws.

AITA for not calling?

This is long and complicated, but I genuinely don’t know if I’m the asshole anymore.

About a year ago, I broke up with my long-term boyfriend. The breakup was painful, but I did not cheat on him emotionally or physically. One of our mutual friends became convinced that I emotionally cheated because I became friends with another guy near the end of the relationship. My ex knew about the friendship at the time, encouraged the group chat we met in, and knew we talked. I’ve consistently denied cheating from the beginning.

After the breakup, several friendships slowly deteriorated. One of my closest friends (“Maya”) became increasingly distant. She rarely responded to me anymore, made a new private social media account and followed all our mutual friends except me, and another mutual friend eventually told me Maya no longer wanted to be friends with me.

At the same time, I kept hearing from reliable sources that people were discussing me as though I cheated and saying humiliating or untrue things about me. I felt isolated and confused because nobody was directly talking to me about any of it.

Meanwhile, Maya had reached out to me multiple times over the past year for emotional support regarding cancer scares involving herself and later her mom. Both times, after I supported her emotionally, she directly told me that the results were negative/fine. Then later she would publicly post that there actually was cancer. So from my perspective, I genuinely became confused about what was true and where I stood with her emotionally.

I also had a horrible year myself. My grandma is in hospice, my dog died, I underwent major surgery, and one of my friends attempted suicide. Despite that, I still tried to consistently check in on Maya and be there for her emotionally, even when she rarely responded.

I had been sitting on my feelings about the friendship since last summer because there never seemed to be a “good” time to bring it up. Eventually, on Mother’s Day, I finally sent her a long message.

Importantly, I did NOT accuse her of lying, attack her, insult her, or blame her for everything. I intentionally structured the message around “I feel” statements and the DEARMAN communication model from therapy because I was trying very hard not to sound accusatory or hostile.

The message basically said:

• I felt hurt and confused by the distance between us,
• I felt isolated by the narratives surrounding me after my breakup,
• I felt disconnected because I didn’t understand why our friendship had changed so drastically,
• and I admitted that the inconsistent communication surrounding cancer had damaged my trust because I genuinely did not understand what was happening anymore.

Her response was a huge voice memo explaining that:

• she had cancer,
• her father nearly died twice,
• her mother now has pancreatic cancer,
• and that my message on Mother’s Day was one of the most hurtful things anyone had ever said to her.

Once I realized the severity of everything, I immediately apologized sincerely, acknowledged that I had not understood the full situation, and told her I loved her and would always be there for her.

But she still essentially ended the friendship and said my message was “deal breaking.”

I genuinely did not know how severe things were because she had repeatedly minimized or contradicted the medical information she gave me directly. I also never intended to attack her. I was trying to finally address months of confusion and grief in the gentlest way I knew how.

AITA?

This is long and complicated, but I genuinely don’t know if I’m the asshole anymore.

About a year ago, I broke up with my long-term boyfriend. The breakup was painful, but I did not cheat on him emotionally or physically. One of our mutual friends became convinced that I emotionally cheated because I became friends with another guy near the end of the relationship. My ex knew about the friendship at the time, encouraged the group chat we met in, and knew we talked. I’ve consistently denied cheating from the beginning.

After the breakup, several friendships slowly deteriorated. One of my closest friends (“Maya”) became increasingly distant. She rarely responded to me anymore, made a new private social media account and followed all our mutual friends except me, and another mutual friend eventually told me Maya no longer wanted to be friends with me.

At the same time, I kept hearing from reliable sources that people were discussing me as though I cheated and saying humiliating or untrue things about me. I felt isolated and confused because nobody was directly talking to me about any of it.

Meanwhile, Maya had reached out to me multiple times over the past year for emotional support regarding cancer scares involving herself and later her mom. Both times, after I supported her emotionally, she directly told me that the results were negative/fine. Then later she would publicly post that there actually was cancer. So from my perspective, I genuinely became confused about what was true and where I stood with her emotionally.

I also had a horrible year myself. My grandma is in hospice, my dog died, I underwent major surgery, and one of my friends attempted suicide. Despite that, I still tried to consistently check in on Maya and be there for her emotionally, even when she rarely responded.

I had been sitting on my feelings about the friendship since last summer because there never seemed to be a “good” time to bring it up. Eventually, on Mother’s Day, I finally sent her a long message.

Importantly, I did NOT accuse her of lying, attack her, insult her, or blame her for everything. I intentionally structured the message around “I feel” statements and the DEARMAN communication model from therapy because I was trying very hard not to sound accusatory or hostile.

The message basically said:

• I felt hurt and confused by the distance between us,
• I felt isolated by the narratives surrounding me after my breakup,
• I felt disconnected because I didn’t understand why our friendship had changed so drastically,
• and I admitted that the inconsistent communication surrounding cancer had damaged my trust because I genuinely did not understand what was happening anymore.

Her response was a huge voice memo explaining that:

• she had cancer,
• her father nearly died twice,
• her mother now has pancreatic cancer,
• and that my message on Mother’s Day was one of the most hurtful things anyone had ever said to her.

Once I realized the severity of everything, I immediately apologized sincerely, acknowledged that I had not understood the full situation, and told her I loved her and would always be there for her.

But she still essentially ended the friendship and said my message was “deal breaking.”

I genuinely did not know how severe things were because she had repeatedly minimized or contradicted the medical information she gave me directly. I also never intended to attack her. I was trying to finally address months of confusion and grief in the gentlest way I knew how.

AITA?

This is long and complicated, but I genuinely don’t know if I’m the asshole anymore.

About a year ago, I broke up with my long-term boyfriend. The breakup was painful, but I did not cheat on him emotionally or physically. One of our mutual friends became convinced that I emotionally cheated because I became friends with another guy near the end of the relationship. My ex knew about the friendship at the time, encouraged the group chat we met in, and knew we talked. I’ve consistently denied cheating from the beginning.

After the breakup, several friendships slowly deteriorated. One of my closest friends (“Maya”) became increasingly distant. She rarely responded to me anymore, made a new private social media account and followed all our mutual friends except me, and another mutual friend eventually told me Maya no longer wanted to be friends with me.

At the same time, I kept hearing from reliable sources that people were discussing me as though I cheated and saying humiliating or untrue things about me. I felt isolated and confused because nobody was directly talking to me about any of it.

Meanwhile, Maya had reached out to me multiple times over the past year for emotional support regarding cancer scares involving herself and later her mom. Both times, after I supported her emotionally, she directly told me that the results were negative/fine. Then later she would publicly post that there actually was cancer. So from my perspective, I genuinely became confused about what was true and where I stood with her emotionally.

I also had a horrible year myself. My grandma is in hospice, my dog died, I underwent major surgery, and one of my friends attempted suicide. Despite that, I still tried to consistently check in on Maya and be there for her emotionally, even when she rarely responded.

I had been sitting on my feelings about the friendship since last summer because there never seemed to be a “good” time to bring it up. Eventually, yesterday, I finally sent her a long message.

Importantly, I did NOT accuse her of lying, attack her, insult her, or blame her for everything. I intentionally structured the message around “I feel” statements and the DEARMAN communication model from therapy because I was trying very hard not to sound accusatory or hostile.

The message basically said:

• I felt hurt and confused by the distance between us,
• I felt isolated by the narratives surrounding me after my breakup,
• I felt disconnected because I didn’t understand why our friendship had changed so drastically,
• and I admitted that the inconsistent communication surrounding cancer had damaged my trust because I genuinely did not understand what was happening anymore.

Her response was a huge voice memo explaining that:

• she had cancer,
• her father nearly died twice,
• her mother now has pancreatic cancer,
• and that my message on Mother’s Day was one of the most hurtful things anyone had ever said to her.

Once I realized the severity of everything, I immediately apologized sincerely, acknowledged that I had not understood the full situation, and told her I loved her and would always be there for her.

But she still essentially ended the friendship and said my message was “deal breaking.”

I genuinely did not know how severe things were because she had repeatedly minimized or contradicted the medical information she gave me directly. I also never intended to attack her. I was trying to finally address months of confusion and grief in the gentlest way I knew how. I do feel really bad about sending it on Mother's Day, as it was not something I was clearly thinking about.

AITA?