Published on 12, July, 2020
i was diagnosed at 29 with autism, i have reached the anger stage of acceptance, i am not sure why i am so angry i think it is because if i was diagnosed earlier i may of received the help i needed at school and people would of treated me differently instead of bullying me, i went my whole life being bullied for being different, i also have fibromyalgia now so that doesn't help, i struggle to make friends i just keep myself to myself and do my work, does anyone have any advice, how did you feel when you were diagnosed later on in life.
Hi! Welcome to the community and congratulations on your diagnosis!
What you've described is very common, especially among us late-diagnosed autistic adults.
I felt the same at the outset (including the relief you mentioned) - and my experience has been that these stages aren't necessarily rigidly structured. I'm just over one year on from my diagnosis and I still feel lots of different emotions about it at different times, still including some backward-looking anger, frustration, and grief.
Even just this morning, I remembered another situation from my past, about which I now feel freshly frustrated and embarrassed. More recently, though, the balance has shifted towards more forward-looking thoughts. But it's still a journey.
You might find this related NAS article helpful:
NAS - How will I feel after receiving an autism diagnosis
There's a whole bunch of other very useful information, too, covering the After diagnosis stage of our journeys, including:
NAS - After diagnosis