Are you "okay" with having Asperger's?

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Autism is not a mental illness. It's classified as a developmental disorder. That means that it affects how our intellect developed. It's not about emotional balance.

Just in case anyone was confused by the OP. I don't think that was addressed yet.

Well, first of all, I am very sorry you were told you have a mental "illness." Aspergers is a difference, but to call it an "illness" just shows how inconsistent our modern "tolerance" crowd really is when it comes to differences they don't happen to personally and subjectively "like." My goodness. There is no scientific objectivity whatsoever for anyone to claim such a thing.

As for the main part of the question...I'm sort of ok with it. I understand I have it, and there are benefits and drawbacks to it, like just about anything else. There are times, socially, and with executive functions etc., where I wish I didn't have it. But other than that, I'm ok with it. It has its benefits, too, like being more detailed and analytic with special interests. I can see things others can't see as readily.

Yes I must emphasise that Asperger's is not a mental illness, I was directly quoting how the question was put to me, warts and all, by a bit of an idiot.

I'm glad to know that I have it because it explains everything, but am I okay about it? No, not really. It's made everything so difficult and I can't come up with many positives.

Yes.
I have long accepted it's advantages and drawbacks, it's privileges and consequences.
Even better -- that I don't cope with, by, or because of it anymore.

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I find out if I have it two weeks from today.
Secretly, though this is the first time I've shared it, I kind of hope that I do becasue it would explain so much of what has been wrong in my life. I'm actually more worried that the specialist I'm going to see will say that I'm NT.
But I am happy with who I am. Things have been very difficult for me at times, particularly when I was young, but my experiences have made me the person that I am, and they have made me stronger and more compassionate towards others.
If it turns out I do have it, it will be very interesting to find out which parts of me are affected and how, and learn new ways of dealing with it.

I've often thought about this.

I am certainly OK with having a diagnosis because it explains so much that is different and weird in me and gives me some good pointers on how to manage myself better.

When I think about the possibility of not being on the spectrum I think about no longer being blind to all of that social stuff which I know is out there but which I don't see. This thought worries me rather than excites me. I feel afraid of being overwhelmed with information in just the same way as I get overwhemled with sound and touch and I feel sick at the thought of it.

However, I'm beginning to get the feeling that a lot of the misunderstandings I have in communication are due to my use of context. Basically I always have the same context - 'life, the universe and everything' (to quote Douglas Adams). Because of this I don't pick up more refined contextual information and so struggle to communicate unless precise clear language is used. So if part of autism is about defaulting to a universal context for all information and not being good at grouping information and knowing what you can ignore, then if I didn't have that anymore maybe I wouldn't be overloaded by the social stuff becoming clear to me? It's so hard to know the answer to this question without knowing what it's like not to be on the spectrum. Also, there is a fear that since I am autistic if I didn't have it would my actual self be lost?

Hmmm, so I guess my answer is that I'm kind of OK with it because I don't know what other options there might be.
I'm definitiely not OK with having sound / touch synesthesia and sensitivities due to this. I find this part of ASD v hard to manage.

Morning all. Thank you very much for your responses. I'm still bleary eyed and uncaffeinated but shall stumble through some replies:

Yes.
I have long accepted it's advantages and drawbacks, it's privileges and consequences.
Even better -- that I don't cope with, by, or because of it anymore.

For the most part, yes. But there is the occasional "why do I have to have this stupid AS thing?" moment.

I supposed I am okay with having Asperger's. I don't know how to be anything or anyone else. It makes me...well me. Of course, there are things associated with AS that are bothersome sometimes. Ultimately, I like being different. I wouldn't give it up for anything.

Great responses both, you beautiful Aspie brothers and sisters. Thank you.