Benefits of a formal diagnosis?

I can answer for myself and give indications of what impressions I have from others Danjo 

For me I agree with pietro_21 regarding affirmation and there is also a common thread among other autistic people regarding this I believe.

Benefits of diagnosis depend a lot on circumstances - being able to be more "authentic" can be helpful.

In this respect I suggest look up the "double empathy problem on this website.

I and others have also identified a "triple empathy" issue regarding to learn to empathise with oneself.

everyone's journey is different

After a long wait post diagnosis I started some local NHS provided post diagnostic support last week. They put up what I have since done the research to identify as John Fisher's Personal Transition Curve model.

Here's an image that may give a sense of what is involved in your own personal journey fisher-transition-curve-2012bb.pdf

I have done a quick AI search to see if there is evidence to support this model generally and also specifically for autistic people.  Perhaps somewhat predictably I haven't found any yet - tricky to be objective about something so complex or boils down to personal experience.

Plato had a good allegory: Allegory of the cave - Wikipedia that I've been pondering on for a while...  typical blooming philosopher tho' answers one question by posing more! 

Best Wishes :-)

Quoting this Individual change in times of social crisis: Fisher’s Personal Transition Curve | The Oxford Centre for Life-Writing  on Fischer 

"Fisher suggests there are essentially three routes out in the end. One is disillusionment, another is hostility and the third is gradual acceptance. Which one becomes our own personal end in coming through this change will depend on many factors, some of which may lie largely outside of our control."...

"even going back to the drawing board and rethinking how our lives could be lived in a potentially less frenetic and globalised world that might not be as bad as we think. These are all potential ways we could enable ourselves to feel more in control of the outcome of current events and, hopefully, move on to the upward part of the transition curve into acceptance."

Quoting this Individual change in times of social crisis: Fisher’s Personal Transition Curve | The Oxford Centre for Life-Writing  on Fischer 

"Fisher suggests there are essentially three routes out in the end. One is disillusionment, another is hostility and the third is gradual acceptance. Which one becomes our own personal end in coming through this change will depend on many factors, some of which may lie largely outside of our control."...

"even going back to the drawing board and rethinking how our lives could be lived in a potentially less frenetic and globalised world that might not be as bad as we think. These are all potential ways we could enable ourselves to feel more in control of the outcome of current events and, hopefully, move on to the upward part of the transition curve into acceptance."