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Can't cope with diagnosis

Emily001

I was encouraged to go for assessment for autism. I did and now they have said I'm autistic. This has made me very upset. I feel that now I have been diagnosed I will only ever be seen as autistic and I think I feel hopeless or lost.

Does anyone understand this? 

  • Thank you. I have read all your replies and will continue to think about what you have all said whilst I try to figure out how I'm now feeling. It was very nice and helpful to have your points of view on the issue of diagnosis. So, thank you for being positive and for replying. 

  • It's a different kind of Normal that can be very groovy - do come back

  • Hi Emily001,

    Yes, many of us here do understand what you're describing.

    You have just discovered something very profound about yourself.  It is perfectly fine, and not unusual, if you feel 'hopeless and lost' just now - I'm sure that many of us here reacted that way at first - I know I did!  And I'm also sure that many people here can assure you that those feelings will pass, and one day soon you will see this as a new beginning.

    The most important thing to remind yourself is that you haven't changed - you are still the same "you" that you have always been.  The only thing that has changed is that you have discovered a new name for some of life's challenges and wonders.  Your personality remains just as it was before, and there is no reason that anyone who loves you should love you any less.

    Try not to worry yet about how other people will react to your news.  You do not have to reveal your new discovery to anybody that you don't want to, and not until you are good and ready.  Most likely, the people who encouraged you to be assessed did so with the best of intentions, not because they want to 'judge' you in any way.

    Come back here as often as you need to.  No matter what emotions your new discovery brings out, nobody here will be judging you, and you will find people who have been there before you, and will be glad to talk things through.

    Be kind to yourself, and do not be afraid to ask for help if you need it.

  • Hi. How people see you will depend on how you see yourself. Take your time to find out. I know it's a shock, 'cos when I got my diagnosis I was in a really strange place for ages. I didn't know where I was, what I was supposed to do next, and I'm still trying to find out how it works. It changed just about everything I had ever thought about me and the world. In ways, it was like being hit by a massive lump of blinding insight, and boy was I dazzled!

    It helped me a lot to come on here and talk to other people. The best bits are that I finally found a community of people like me, so I stopped feeling so alone, and that I found out where the confusing difference between me and other people was. It's in the AS, I wish I'd known sooner.

    You're not just a person with ASD, you are an ASD person. We're different to most people, but that's it. we're not better or worse, we have problems and difficulties just like anyone else, but for me, the best bit was getting started on my new journey by realising that it's OK to be me.

    I hope that you come to see the benefits of having the diagnosis. Now you can find other people who yes, DO know how you feel.

    Take care Smile