Published on 12, July, 2020
Hi,
Diagnosed with autism on Monday this week at age 42. I am still trying to process this, I thought I would be relieved but mostly I'm just feeling overwhelmed at the moment. I haven't told anyone about the diagnosis yet, not even my husband. I'm feeling anxious about telling my family and not sure how I will cope with their reactions.
Just wondering how other people diagnosed as adults told their close family about their diagnosis? If it was me, I would want to be given all of the information in written form but not sure if this would be too much to start with. Any thoughts?
I was diagnosed just over a month ago and I can relate to there being some unexpected feelings - the key one for me at the moment is getting used to not waiting for diagnosis any more (after 19 months)!
You're in an interesting position having been diagnosed without anyone knowing - how on earth did you cope with the soul searching, speculation and waiting alone? Well done in any case!
I didn't have much problem telling people I already know, and it was more gradual for me at home (via "Do you think my dad might be autistic?" and then lots of conversations about symptoms) and at work I had little choice; I had a burnout and was off sick for three months, returned to work pretty much knowing that I'm autistic and would have to say something & make changes to stop burnout happening again.
What I'm going through now is telling new people I haven't met before (e.g. new people at work who didn't see the burnout) - here it's much less easy to decide whether or not it's necessary. I guess this might be similar to what you're going through & the same "pros and cons" weigh-up might apply.
I'm done with Christmas Cards said:You're in an interesting position having been diagnosed without anyone knowing - how on earth did you cope with the soul searching, speculation and waiting alone?
I think my mental health issues provided a useful cover for once!