feeling lost

Most certainly is :) 

It's nice to just focus on the things you enjoy

I'm glad to hear it! I've been doing similar to you just focusing on things I enjoy. It's great you've got supportive family too. It's relieving to hear you are doing better

I'm feeling better thanks, been doing things I like and my parents and brother have been supportive keeping on dipping what we normally do. 

Hey pinkchocoholic ! It's been a month since your post. How are you holding up? 

Hello pinkchocoholic 

Thank you for sharing how you're feeling with the Community. I'm really sorry to hear that you feel lost and this is making you feel low in mood.  You may like to have a look at the mental health section of our website which has useful links to information and advice about a range of mental health issues: https://www.autism.org.uk/advice-and-guidance/topics/mental-health   

The following information may be of particular interest: https://www.autism.org.uk/advice-and-guidance/topics/mental-health/depression   

If you feel that you might need some support with your mental health, you can find advice and information on how to go about seeking help, including links to other resources and details of helplines and listening support services, here: https://www.autism.org.uk/advice-and-guidance/topics/mental-health/seeking-help

Please do reach out for support if you feel you need it.

All the best,

Chloe Mod

I think I'm in survival mode at moment, it's weird because I've already been through all these so going back to survival doesn't make sense

Thank you I'll try not to do too much in a day

Thank you I'll try to focus on day by day and little things 

I've wondered about this.

I think it is related to a number of items. If you were recently diagnosed:

1. Identity not fully stabilised. Being diagnosed is a change to how you view yourself.
2. Past not fully re-framed. You are shaped by your past and experiences, if your interpretation of these changes it unbalances you.
3. Being in survival mode. Just making it through each day or week is a strategy, but it lacks a goal. Often you may not have the capacity to define a goal, due to overload. Focussing on the here and now pushes it out of your mind so you keep functioning, but it is there in the background.

Once you address 1 & 2 and make accommodations to get out of 3, you then face what now? What am supposed to be doing, where do I want to go, what life can I have, should I have, do I even want?

The confusion has gone, the diagnosis helped with that, but it doesn't tell you what to be or what to do.

You have to find these. They may be constrained by various things, which can be frustrating, but working them out is the solution.

This is a transitional phase I think, going from the old you to the new you.

Drifting is what contributes to the lost feeling. The problem is there is no easy answer as everyone is different. 

I understand this feeling. For me it’s like my internal state can’t seem to settle down because it doesn’t have anything solid to hold onto.

I’ve started to break things down into 24 hour chunks. I wake up and think I’m okay today I can do XYZ and that’s much more manageable for me.

I hope this helps

I think that "just going about life" may be the right thing to do when things are heavy.

I’ve found that when the fog is too thick to see anything, I have to stop trying to map the path and just focus on the ground under my feet. My therapist once told me that when the mind freezes, sometimes just moving physically can help.

I try to pick tiny, simple tasks, things where I don't have to prioritise or think, just do. Sometimes that little bit of movement helps the fog ease just enough for some clarity to return. It’s not a fast solution, but it helps me feel less stuck in the paralysis.

I think it's okay not to know what to do and take things slowly, without trying to have it all figured out instantly.

Best wishes.

I'm not sure how to deal with this, at the moment I'm just going about my life as it is

This is like similar to how I feel 

Take off care yourself too 

I'm unsure if we experience the same thing, but I have a feeling that, at least for my brain, life is a constant hike. Some people just go for a trip to a particular place, but for me, there is no one specified direction.

Once I reach one mountain, I can see another one and start charting a new map to get there. When I get there, the process repeats. I’m constantly lost in a new environment, trying to make sense of it. But as soon as I feel I finally know the place, I walk into something new and I’m lost all over again. It’s exhausting. Life seems to be a process, rather than something one can achieve. I'm lost and utterly tired.

Just a thought.

I'm sorry you're feeling lost and low. I hope it gets better for you soon.

Take care too 

I'm going through the same thing and I just can't shake it. I've got a lot going on at the moment but it just feels endless. I'm doing all the things that are supposed to help but that just don't.

Take care and hopefully we'll both turn the corner sooner rather than later.