Looks like I might have the privilege of being the first to reply.
I am in my early 70s and have just been diagnosed. There is an amazing similarity between your experiences and my own. I too, am taking my time as there is so much to feel and think about. However, I have never felt more generally relaxed and at peace in my life. Oddly, nothing seems like it has actually changed: the past is another place, the present is very much the same and the future quite unknown. I think that the only thing that has changed is I now have "a new ruler" to measure everything by. So, nearly everything has to be re-evaluated. As I said to someone recently "my shadow has at last caught up with me". I feel that shadow was my autism that was missing from hospital and doctor appointments, work, relationships, friendships, counselling and therapy sessions, etc. It always kept its distance because I didn't quite know it existed.
So, I hope you find this community a good place to be. I do.
Looks like I might have the privilege of being the first to reply.
I am in my early 70s and have just been diagnosed. There is an amazing similarity between your experiences and my own. I too, am taking my time as there is so much to feel and think about. However, I have never felt more generally relaxed and at peace in my life. Oddly, nothing seems like it has actually changed: the past is another place, the present is very much the same and the future quite unknown. I think that the only thing that has changed is I now have "a new ruler" to measure everything by. So, nearly everything has to be re-evaluated. As I said to someone recently "my shadow has at last caught up with me". I feel that shadow was my autism that was missing from hospital and doctor appointments, work, relationships, friendships, counselling and therapy sessions, etc. It always kept its distance because I didn't quite know it existed.
So, I hope you find this community a good place to be. I do.
