Saying hello

Hi everyone,

It has taken me a while to post, I usually tend to read rather than post on forums and have been taking a look since around November time.

I’m in my early thirties (still painful to admit that!) and just going through a diagnosis process after a really challenging period at the end of last year paired with discovering that my mum (sunflower on here) is autistic following her diagnosis.

I’ve spent the last few years thinking that everyone experiences the levels of stress and anxiety that I do and have found it hard to talk about and while reaching crisis point before Christmas was horrible it also did a lot of good in terms of me making a positive step towards getting help.

My wife has occasionally suggested over the years that I may be autistic but I’d always been dismissive as I didn’t really understand what autism is and didn’t feel that it related to me. My wife and mum have been so supportive in helping me to better understand what it can mean and I’m now feeling incredibly positive about the idea.

Some challenges remain, my dad has really struggled with the whole idea, I didn’t talk to him about my crisis before Christmas and put off speaking to him about the diagnosis process as his initial reaction was quite explosive and dismissive. Things are improving there but I still don’t think my dad understands entirely but hopefully that will change in time.

I’m really excited about finding out the results of my diagnosis and can’t wait for my next appointment!