Newly Diagnosed.

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

Following a diagnosis, it can be common for us to experience a lot of emotional dysregulation - I've linked to an article below about this.

As for many others, my own late diagnosis turned out to be the start of a new journey of learning and adapting, rather than a conclusion with instant solutions. I suggest taking extra care to be patient to, and kind with, yourself - and to take your time with processing everything.

It's great that you have support from your brother and friend, but also disappointing to hear such ill-informed comments from your closest friend. One of the other articles mentioned below (Talking about and disclosing...) might also be of help, and includes insights from other autistic people.  

The NAS also has several other articles focused on "after diagnosis", including those  I've mentioned already. You might find them helpful as a starting point:

NAS - How you might feel after a diagnosis - includes perspectives 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

Therapy or counselling are 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 might 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)

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

Following a diagnosis, it can be common for us to experience a lot of emotional dysregulation - I've linked to an article below about this.

As for many others, my own late diagnosis turned out to be the start of a new journey of learning and adapting, rather than a conclusion with instant solutions. I suggest taking extra care to be patient to, and kind with, yourself - and to take your time with processing everything.

It's great that you have support from your brother and friend, but also disappointing to hear such ill-informed comments from your closest friend. One of the other articles mentioned below (Talking about and disclosing...) might also be of help, and includes insights from other autistic people.  

The NAS also has several other articles focused on "after diagnosis", including those  I've mentioned already. You might find them helpful as a starting point:

NAS - How you might feel after a diagnosis - includes perspectives 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

Therapy or counselling are 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 might 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)

Thank you Bunny for replying & for the articles to read.

I was feeling rather lost & find it helps to read up on things so I can start to have an understanding. Wasn't sure where to begin, I'll give them a read.