Hi, newly diagnosed, no idea what to do next

Hi, I can relate! I experienced a lot of mixed feelings and feelings of imposter syndrome initially. It’s been 3 years now since I’ve been diagnosed and I’m still figuring things out but I do think I understand myself better. 
There’s no simple one size fits all answer to your question ‘what do I do now?’- it is up to you! But I think it’s important to remember that you are still the same person that you were before diagnosis and there is no rush to ‘do anything’ .  In fact you don’t have to ‘do anything’ unless you want to and I think at least for me coming to terms with what being autistic means happened gradually over time. 
in terms of your question around masking and trying to unmask, I think it is important to remember that even though masking can be detrimental and exhausting it is in a way also serving a function and can protect us from unwanted attention and standing out. There are good reasons why we may feel we need to mask and it’s not always safe to let the mask drop unfortunately- at the very least it can be confusing for people, if they have know the masked you all their lives. That doesn’t mean I’m not for unmasking and trying to be yourself more- i do think I mask less since my diagnosis as I’m much more aware of it. It’s hard to predict other people’s reaction to the unmasked you and you probably have a better sense of how safe it might be to do so in certain situations. But it’s not like you can’t mask anymore now. and it’s not an all or nothing thing either- ie completely masked vs completely unmasked- I think it’s a spectrum and you can also just relax the mask a little around some small things. I think what does really help is to at least create some time where you can be yourself. For me I think I really tried to be myself much more when it comes to friends because there is really not much point if I completely exhaust myself to mask to connect only to then have the other person become friends with the masked me. I wish we lived in a world where it was safe to unmask everywhere but sadly in my experience that’s not true. So I don’t think you need to put yourself under pressure to unmask especially at work etc. I think it helps to be aware that you are doing it and that it can contribute to fatigue. Over time I think you will figure out more ways to relax it a little or to find some more time where you can let that mask drop. the first step is noticing it is happening and I think these things take time to figure out and it’s not always a conscious thing. 

I hope you don’t feel too much under pressure to ‘do something’ now that you have the diagnosis. You can take your time to process and I think you will gain more insights into what works for you. Fingers crossed! 

Hi, I can relate! I experienced a lot of mixed feelings and feelings of imposter syndrome initially. It’s been 3 years now since I’ve been diagnosed and I’m still figuring things out but I do think I understand myself better. 
There’s no simple one size fits all answer to your question ‘what do I do now?’- it is up to you! But I think it’s important to remember that you are still the same person that you were before diagnosis and there is no rush to ‘do anything’ .  In fact you don’t have to ‘do anything’ unless you want to and I think at least for me coming to terms with what being autistic means happened gradually over time. 
in terms of your question around masking and trying to unmask, I think it is important to remember that even though masking can be detrimental and exhausting it is in a way also serving a function and can protect us from unwanted attention and standing out. There are good reasons why we may feel we need to mask and it’s not always safe to let the mask drop unfortunately- at the very least it can be confusing for people, if they have know the masked you all their lives. That doesn’t mean I’m not for unmasking and trying to be yourself more- i do think I mask less since my diagnosis as I’m much more aware of it. It’s hard to predict other people’s reaction to the unmasked you and you probably have a better sense of how safe it might be to do so in certain situations. But it’s not like you can’t mask anymore now. and it’s not an all or nothing thing either- ie completely masked vs completely unmasked- I think it’s a spectrum and you can also just relax the mask a little around some small things. I think what does really help is to at least create some time where you can be yourself. For me I think I really tried to be myself much more when it comes to friends because there is really not much point if I completely exhaust myself to mask to connect only to then have the other person become friends with the masked me. I wish we lived in a world where it was safe to unmask everywhere but sadly in my experience that’s not true. So I don’t think you need to put yourself under pressure to unmask especially at work etc. I think it helps to be aware that you are doing it and that it can contribute to fatigue. Over time I think you will figure out more ways to relax it a little or to find some more time where you can let that mask drop. the first step is noticing it is happening and I think these things take time to figure out and it’s not always a conscious thing. 

I hope you don’t feel too much under pressure to ‘do something’ now that you have the diagnosis. You can take your time to process and I think you will gain more insights into what works for you. Fingers crossed!