Newly diagnosed, mixture of emotions..

Welcome to the forum,

Yes, it certainly can be a very confusing time after diagnosis, and it's very common for people to feel that way; I know I did! My first advice would be this: try to avoid the temptation to rush into understanding it all at once, as it can be very easy to overwhelm yourself when discoveries shine a new light on years of your previous experiences. Keep in mind that autism is present from birth, so your diagnosis hasn't changed you, and there is no need to make any changes until you can see a clear reason to do so - there is no need to rush.

Masking certainly can lead us to have questions about who we really are, but you've come to the best place to start unravelling that. You'll soon discover just how diverse we all are, and before long you'll find yourself having "aha!" moments when you click with what another autistic person is saying and discover another little piece of your personal jigsaw.

It's a very generous, friendly bunch of people here, so make yourself at home, and ask anything you like - we don't divide people into "normal" and "weird" around here!

Best wishes.

Hi,

Thank you, its a pleasure being here and hearing from yourself.

It certainly is, i waited a years for an assessment as i saved up to go private and those fees are very costly as you can imagine!

The beauty in forums is knowing youre not the only one feeling the way you do and you feel less alone which is something im struggling with at the minute. I definitely feel the need to know everything but i have come to terms with the fact now that time is my best friend in this. I know i need to give myself time but as im an impatient person this is hard but im trying. 

I do feel as though a few issues do need to be addressed and now i have answers as to why i face these issues hopefully those can improve! One of the issues that bothers me day to day is contentment, i never feel content no matter what i do. Im always striving for more and feeling like something is missing. Boredom is another, the list goes on...

And thank you! I really appreciate that.

One thing i would like to ask is, what particular resources did you use when you were first diagnosed? Are there any books, videos, podcasts, blogs that you recommend etc? 

Thank you for your time, K x 

You're welcome.

To be honest there isn't much in the way of particular resources that I'd recommend (not helped by having lost my browser bookmarks when my last computer died recently!). For the most part, I've allowed both my general knowledge and understanding of myself to grow organically through participating in forums (I'm also a member of Wrong Planet; which can be a bit "wild west" at times, but benefits from the size of its membership).

More than anything, I'd suggest casting your net as widely as possible. The ways in which autism expresses itself are so diverse that I think it's important to find exactly those resources which resonate the most with our own experiences. It's not unusual, though understandable, that many autistic people slip into the assumption that every other autistic person's experiences are very similar to their own (as I have no doubt I do myself sometimes!) For example; even though I'm male, I have often found that blogs and articles written by female autistics fit my experiences better; and since my executive function deficits are often what I struggle the most with, I have received much good advice from people with conditions which express themselves similarly, such as ADHD.

On the other hand, academic descriptions and many "guides to autism" tend to deal with generalities rather than particulars by their nature, so can be too broad in scope. The perspectives of people looking in from the outside can often feel at odds with our lived experiences (indeed, many of the misconceptions about autism have their origins in academic research - though thankfully, this has been improving in recent years).

So I would say to follow your nose - if you find something which resonates with you, most people will be happy to answer any questions that it provokes; and follow the trail of hyperlinks or jargon which you discover in blogs and videos which pique your interest.

Best wishes.

You're welcome.

To be honest there isn't much in the way of particular resources that I'd recommend (not helped by having lost my browser bookmarks when my last computer died recently!). For the most part, I've allowed both my general knowledge and understanding of myself to grow organically through participating in forums (I'm also a member of Wrong Planet; which can be a bit "wild west" at times, but benefits from the size of its membership).

More than anything, I'd suggest casting your net as widely as possible. The ways in which autism expresses itself are so diverse that I think it's important to find exactly those resources which resonate the most with our own experiences. It's not unusual, though understandable, that many autistic people slip into the assumption that every other autistic person's experiences are very similar to their own (as I have no doubt I do myself sometimes!) For example; even though I'm male, I have often found that blogs and articles written by female autistics fit my experiences better; and since my executive function deficits are often what I struggle the most with, I have received much good advice from people with conditions which express themselves similarly, such as ADHD.

On the other hand, academic descriptions and many "guides to autism" tend to deal with generalities rather than particulars by their nature, so can be too broad in scope. The perspectives of people looking in from the outside can often feel at odds with our lived experiences (indeed, many of the misconceptions about autism have their origins in academic research - though thankfully, this has been improving in recent years).

So I would say to follow your nose - if you find something which resonates with you, most people will be happy to answer any questions that it provokes; and follow the trail of hyperlinks or jargon which you discover in blogs and videos which pique your interest.

Best wishes.