Published on 12, July, 2020
I am a 61 year old diagnosed with autism and ADHD late in life, have a wife and a 15 year old son also diagnosed with autism from 5 years old, high functioning but not very independent.
I teach at university but I get so bored and lonely and feel totally stuck in my life and at times just can’t seem to take any pleasure in anything.
I feel I could do with a good therapist but I have tried the ones offered by the NHS and they were next to useless as they just didn’t understand my autism and ADHD. I have looked at finding some private therapists who specialise in autism etc. but they want £120 an hour and I can’t/refuse to pay that.
i used to drink a lot of alcohol from 16 to mask and fit in the neurotypical world, but I stopped over 2.5 years ago; the NHS CBT therapist seemed obsessed with this and I ended up making a complaint against them.
I’m rambling, so I’ll get to the point… what do older autistic people do to help with feelings of boredom, loneliness, isolation when they’re special interests no longer occupy them. I used to have a lot of acquaintances and fun before I married but I know know that alcohol was a big enabler there and caused a lot of problems for me both physically and mentally and I also upset a lot of people. Now I have no confidence to make new acquaintances and struggle with trivial conversations that don’t interest me.
thanks for reading
SocialistAutistic said: I have looked at finding some private therapists who specialise in autism etc. but they want £120 an hour and I can’t/refuse to pay that.
I've been paying about £50 or less for my therapists for a few years and all are well versed in autism.
Have a look at:
https://www.psychologytoday.com/gb/counselling/england?category=autism
If you have any other issues then there is a filter option on the top right to add this and find the therapists who cover this as well.
When you click on a therapists profile then you see their info and the price of a lesson.
If you are up for a zoom based session then there are hundreds to choose from.
SocialistAutistic said:what do older autistic people do to help with feelings of boredom, loneliness, isolation when they’re special interests no longer occupy them.
I took the time to revisit some of my earlier life special interests - reading sci-fi and fantasy at the moment - and found these reignited the spark to get me back into it. Then thanks to eBay and Facebook Marketplace I could stock my library very cheaply.
Loneliness required you to put in some time to find others who also share your passions and then take time to get involved with clubs or forums that cover these interests - in no time you will have found some who share your take on those interests and you can talk about these and maybe more.