Published on 12, July, 2020
Hi, I’ve just been diagnosed aged 25 and I feel this has made things worse as I now know what I thought was just social anxiety (so possibly treatable) is actually autism and so will never go away. Looking back at my life, I realise that autism has had a huge negative impact - I’m unable to do things such as join sports teams or go to parties/social events without experiencing extreme anxiety before going, and then wanting them to be over the whole time I’m there. This has lead to me having no friends at 25 years old which is beginning to take a toll on my mental health. My mind feels like it’s in a constant battle with itself where I want to join in and enjoy playing sports, etc. but when I actually think about doing it, the anxiety kicks in and I end up back where I started. Does anyone else feel the same or have any advice on dealing with the diagnosis?
I was dxed in 2019 at the age of 62. It's resulted in a mixed set of emotions . The 'I knew I was right' emotion The irreversible damage caused by not getting timely help and support -frustration, anger,and sadness. The self loathing of 'If only I had moved to be near my daughter earlier I'd have got the diagnosis earlier' . Ironically that was down to the very autistic anxiety over change. It took a greater anxiety over another change that was going to occur to push me into agreeing to move near my daughter. It's not always easy, but for sanity's sake I have to live as best I can with things as they are, rather than how they could/should've been with proper help and support. I'm still trying to work out where I fit exactly on the spectrum. I struggle to identify with good job,own house, etc autistic types but most definitely I'm not at the other end of the spectrum.