Published on 12, July, 2020
Hello. I'm new to this site as I've just been formally diagnosed with ASD in my mid-40s. I have no friends at all, but a wonderful wife and kids. Have struggled all of my life with serious anxiety around a myriad of factors. The diagnosis is somewhat a relief and was expected, yet when delivered it hit me like a thunderbolt. The past two days I only feel despair; having never felt 'normal' (whatever that is) I always hoped I'd feel so much better one day with the correct help/medication. I can't help feeling I'll always feel this way, desperately sad and anxious. Even the consultant psychologists have admitted I have significant issues that are worse now as I was never diagnosed much earlier in life. They are puzzled why I haven't been considered for ASD and diagnosed in the past as it was very clear cut to them when going through the assessments, which is often difficult in older adults. The root cause of my issues are definitely ASD, and I'm trying to be positive about the future, but I'm struggling to see the positives at the moment. Hope to read of some positive stories on these blogs.
Hi, I'm female (45) and just diagnosed in January. It is a lot to get your head around at first but I'm feeling that's it's an overwhelmingly positive thing to finally have answers - sometimes even to questions I was always too afraid (or didn't know) to ask until now! (sensory issues, eating habits, thought processes and many more)
Five months in, I'm only now beginning to assimilate the vast amount of information about ASD that I've voraciously consumed since diagnosis (I'd advise taking it slowly with that but in my experience I wanted to know everything yesterday having had such a late diagnosis.) and I'm starting to devise ways of making ASD work for me. It's a process and the ASD isn't going away so there's no rush.
Thanks for your kind words.