Recently diagnosed with autism as an adult

There's lots of good books - Luke Beardon's "Autism in Adults" and "Avoiding Anxiety in Autitics Adults" I found good as well as "Untypical" by Pete Wharmby, I related to these books particularly.  There's also a newer Dummies book on Autism which covers a lot of areas, so good for an overview albeit not all will be relevant

Thank you. I am going to check the NAS directory.for some therapy, probably just self funded as the NHS is always under pressure. I just purchased a book recommended by NAS. 

congrats on your diagnosis

Just take your time....

I'm 9 months in from diagnosis and now really only starting to understand more about it impact on many areas of my life beyond more of the obvious things like communication and socialising 

I think I largely carried on with no change, especially at work, but now I've requested changes "reasonable adjustments" but that's at request stage so early days.  I've also joined a Neurodiversity Network at work, again early days but hoping that will be of benefit.

I've had private therapy and from about a month ago NHS talking therapies , this I self-referred and there was a waiting list, which in my area was 3-4 months.

Also seek any local autistic adult support groups , use the NAS directory.  The local one to me has done some online workshops which were helpful, but my job gets in the way of attending any of their support drop-ins.  But I know they are there if I need some help via phone or email.

Wish you well !

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

There are plenty of late-realised and/or late-diagnosed people here, so you're in good company  

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 perspectives from other autistics

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

Danuk said:

I’ve been really struggling for the last few years to know how to function better in life as I feel like I’m getting worse.

You might find this advice helpful:

NAS - Autistic fatigue and burnout

Danuk said:

Does anyone have advice about how to approach my thoughts and how I can better interact with others?

Therapy (or counselling) is often recommended after a diagnosis, as a follow up action for your GP to arrange.  If you prefer, depending on where you are in the UK, you may instead be able to self refer for talking therapy on the NHS. 

Before arranging it, 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:

The Autistic Survival Guide to Therapy

Finally, I'll just mention a couple of books that I and others have found helpful early on in our post-diagnosis journeys:

Self-Care for Autistic People: 100+ Ways to Recharge, De-Stress, and Unmask!

How to Be Autistic (free download currently available via this page)