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Getting used to me

Chris

Hello. I'm new here. I'm in my 50s and just been diagnosed. I'd had my suspicions for ages, but just recently formally 'labelled' Aspie. I feel like I'm just meeting myself for the first time. Does/did anyone else feel this on being diagnosed? 

Parents

  • Hi Chris,
    Welcome to the community!

    I think it's very normal to have one of two reactions: 1. Surprise, confusion, doubt, imposter syndrome. 2. A sense of everything 'falling into place,' and reframing a whole lifetime through the prism of our new understanding. Both can overlap, and both are, I think, different expressions of a questing mind that loves drawing connections between unexpectedand seemingly disparate points.

    Personally, I started in the doubt and moved into the reframing. I still fluctuate a bit between them, but mostly I find myself in the latter, and I'm grateful for that, it can be very liberating. 

    I hope you can find what you're seeking in this community. It's a very valuable space for a very diverse group. Congrats on joining - it's brave to put yourself out there like this :)

Reply

  • Hi Chris,
    Welcome to the community!

    I think it's very normal to have one of two reactions: 1. Surprise, confusion, doubt, imposter syndrome. 2. A sense of everything 'falling into place,' and reframing a whole lifetime through the prism of our new understanding. Both can overlap, and both are, I think, different expressions of a questing mind that loves drawing connections between unexpectedand seemingly disparate points.

    Personally, I started in the doubt and moved into the reframing. I still fluctuate a bit between them, but mostly I find myself in the latter, and I'm grateful for that, it can be very liberating. 

    I hope you can find what you're seeking in this community. It's a very valuable space for a very diverse group. Congrats on joining - it's brave to put yourself out there like this :)

Children
  • in reply to sphynx

    Thank you, Sphinx. I think everything fell into place when I questioned my own brand of 'weirdness' so the diagnosis has merely confirmed what I think I already knew.

    It's like I don't know how to react. Having spent my whole life adapting to suit other people, I feel like I'm free for the first time to respond to this in my own chosen way, and I just don't know how to choose my own reactions any more.

    Not sure if that makes sense!