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48, diagnosed yesterday, Well, didn’t expect to feel like this !

Gareth

Good morning all ! 

I was diagnosed 2 days ago with ASD ! Still awaiting my full NHS diagnosis report, but was told on the spot at the end of my first 3.5 appt.

How does everybody deal with this sudden complete overload of you now pulling your 48 years of life to pieces, it’s a nuts combo of emotions, relief, clarity, guilt, anger, resentment, sadness…..and just the overriding questions of what’s this now going to be like and how’s it going to change me and how the hell has nobody historically seen this lol ?

I know there’s no set way of processing this, everybody will be different, just curious to how others, particularly at my age range dealt with it in their first few days and weeks ?

Thanks for reading….

Parents

  • Hi Gareth - congratulations on your diagnosis and welcome to the community!

    From my own experience, I completely understand how you're feeling. Following diagnosis, it can be common for us - especially as late-diagnosed adults - to experience a lot of emotional dysregulation. Besides feeling relief about getting our diagnosis, this can also include working through a phase where we experience confusion and/or (backward-focused) anger, frustration, grieving and more. So please don't worry - this can be normal, although also overwhelming! 

    The NAS has a great set of articles focused on "after diagnosis", including one covering how you might feel during the subsequent days / weeks / months. You might find them of interest and/or helpful:

    NAS - How you might feel after a diagnosis (includes examples of reactions from other autistic people)

    NAS - Other advice covering post-diagnosis including:

    • Talking about and disclosing your autism diagnosis
    • Emotional support for family members after a diagnosis
    • Formal support following an autism diagnosis
    • What can I do if formal support is not offered or is not enough

    In terms of what to do next, my advice at this point (ie soon after your diagnosis, and based on my own experience) would be to try and give yourself some time and breathing space to process and absorb everything that you've been through, and let your feelings settle down.

    For me, as for many others here, my diagnosis turned out to be much more of the start of a new journey, rather than a conclusion full of instant solutions for all of my ASD-related difficulties. 

    Therapy (or counselling) is often recommended after a diagnosis, as a follow up action for your GP to arrange. In anticipation of that, you might find it helpful to borrow or buy this book, which includes discussion of various types of therapy and counselling, together with advice on choosing the right therapist or counsellor - all from an autistic person's viewpoint. Several of us here have found it very helpful, including me:

    The Autistic Survival Guide to Therapy  

Reply

  • Hi Gareth - congratulations on your diagnosis and welcome to the community!

    From my own experience, I completely understand how you're feeling. Following diagnosis, it can be common for us - especially as late-diagnosed adults - to experience a lot of emotional dysregulation. Besides feeling relief about getting our diagnosis, this can also include working through a phase where we experience confusion and/or (backward-focused) anger, frustration, grieving and more. So please don't worry - this can be normal, although also overwhelming! 

    The NAS has a great set of articles focused on "after diagnosis", including one covering how you might feel during the subsequent days / weeks / months. You might find them of interest and/or helpful:

    NAS - How you might feel after a diagnosis (includes examples of reactions from other autistic people)

    NAS - Other advice covering post-diagnosis including:

    • Talking about and disclosing your autism diagnosis
    • Emotional support for family members after a diagnosis
    • Formal support following an autism diagnosis
    • What can I do if formal support is not offered or is not enough

    In terms of what to do next, my advice at this point (ie soon after your diagnosis, and based on my own experience) would be to try and give yourself some time and breathing space to process and absorb everything that you've been through, and let your feelings settle down.

    For me, as for many others here, my diagnosis turned out to be much more of the start of a new journey, rather than a conclusion full of instant solutions for all of my ASD-related difficulties. 

    Therapy (or counselling) is often recommended after a diagnosis, as a follow up action for your GP to arrange. In anticipation of that, you might find it helpful to borrow or buy this book, which includes discussion of various types of therapy and counselling, together with advice on choosing the right therapist or counsellor - all from an autistic person's viewpoint. Several of us here have found it very helpful, including me:

    The Autistic Survival Guide to Therapy  

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