• Replies 5 replies
  • Subscribers 33 subscribers
  • Views 706 views
  • Users 0 members are here
Options
Related
Hints and tips
  • To quote someone's message, first select/highlight the relevant text, and then use the Quote button that appears
  • To "mention" someone, type @ followed by the start of the forum name, and choose from the list; that person will get a notification of being mentioned

Struggling with symptoms since diagnosis

Oslo

Hi all,

Recently diagnosed and starting to get my head around it *a bit...* but struggling and wondered if anyone has found / is finding this?

I've realised I've camouflaged extensively over the years, haven't really stimmed and my meltdowns [with a couple of exceptions] seem to have been more internalized and appeared as shutdowns, in that I just tend to withdraw completely.

As I've learnt more about autism and how it can manifest, I find I can't camouflage as much, it's not that I haven't tried to just 'carry on as normal' I just don't seem to be able to. I've found I've noticed myself stimming for the first time but yesterday I was in the supermarket with my wife and got way over stimulated and was being asked the same question several times and felt like I either wasn't explaining very well or just wasn't being heard - either way I had to close my eyes and it was excruciating to hold an outburst in - I'm still feeling the stress of it this evening.

Can I please ask you guys if you found an increase in symptoms after diagnosis and if you found it harder to regulate, how did you manage to overcome it? My wife and I are both still getting our heads around this thing, she's supportive and brilliant and doesn't deserve to be on the back end of any of my frustration.

Cheers

  • Now that I know (to a certain extent) what stimming/ meltdowns are and what autistics find most challenging, I have definitely seen a change in the way I perceive things and act. I think on the "being overwhelmed by things I didn't used to be overwhelmed by" front, I think it was me finally knowing that feeling like and experiencing that wasn't the norm for everyone. Just being aware made me understand my own limits more.

  • I certainly FEEL like my autistic traits are more obvious since diagnosis, yes. I don't think they are though- I just know what they are so I'm a) more aware of them and b) less inclined to try and hide them.

    I'm finding that being here helps, as does reading books and watching documentaries made by other autistic people- just knowing that certain traits are normal for autistic people helps me to feel a lot less self-conscious about them. I'm also finding therapy helpful for emotional regulation, though I should note that my therapist is neurodivergent herself (most likely AuDHD) so she understands what types of therapy actually work for autistic people rather than just throwing CBT at me and hoping it sticks!

  • Hi Oslo,

    Speaking from my own experience (also recently diagnosed in my late forties) I think that it's more a case of identifying and noticing your autistic traits more than them increasing. 

  • Hi I’m bipolar type 2 as well as autistic. What I find helps is chanting but it doesn’t have to be chanting - singing probably helps as well. I admit I do it more for my bipolar than my autism but it probably helps with the autism as well.

    in particular I try to do 8 minutes of chanting, followed by 8 minutes of meditation followed by 8 minutes of tai chi / chi Kung exercises 4 times a day 6am / 12pm / 6pm / 12am. Life invariably gets in the way and I rarely if ever manage to do it 4 times a day but even once or twice helps. The theory is that the chanting stills the mind which helps the meditation to still the body which then enables you to get the most benefit from the tai chi / chi Kung exercises.

  • Hi, It does take some time to figure things out after you have realised you are autistic. It could be that you are just more aware of some of the differences and challenges- I used to feel like I had just been told that I had been speaking a different language all my life. 

    In addition after diagnosis, you may feel less inclined to mask, though this is not necessarily a bad thing. 

    I think with time you will figure this out. For me knowing that I am autistic has helped a lot. However I also had moments where I felt broken or less able to cope than before etc. 

    You are still the same person that you were before diagnosis. Just in process of becoming more self aware. 

    I can't really offer much advice. I'm also still learning and figuring things out (I got diagnosed a year ago).