Hi I’m new, anxious but I just want to say hello

Hi and welcome to the community! 

It can feel daunting at first here, but you're in good company and will, I hope, soon settle in. If anxiety is also a more general issue, then you might find the advice and suggested sources of support here helpful:

NAS - Anxiety

Huggybear said:

I was seeking some help with feeling lonely/ isolated and wanted to be engaging with others who may understand how I’m feeling.

Unfortunately, it's not uncommon for us to feel lonely or isolated. I’m currently working on the same thing myself.

In addition to hopefully finding some comfort in this community, you might find some of the advice in these articles helpful:

NAS - Loneliness - includes links to other examples of autistic people's experiences of loneliness and how they cope.

NAS - Making friends - a guide for autistic adults

You might like to consider asking your GP to refer you to your local social prescriber. I've had a course of appointments with ours, which I found very helpful. Their role is to develop a non-medical personalised care and support plan that meets your social needs, as well as your practical and emotional needs.

So this could, for example, include helping you to find local groups or socialising activities. The article below explains more (it relates to England, but the same model operates throughout the UK):

NHS England - Social prescribing

You might also be able to find some socialising opportunities via the the NAS's directory, or through a local NAS branch:

NAS - Autism Services Directory

NAS - Branches

As a final suggestion, you could search on Facebook and/or Google for any local groups that might fit with your interests and hobbies.

Thank you so much for all the info

Thank you so much for all the info