Recent diagnosis

Welcome. I got late diagnosed as well.

I developed a number of coping strategies before I even knew I might be autistic, and looking back on it, I basically created a life for myself where I am protected from sensory overload and avoid social situations. This allowed me to be happy for the first time in decades, after a life of struggle and not being able to cope with the demands of life.

I still wonder if it's bad because I have completely isolated myself, live alone, have no friends, and never interact with anyone. But it was my choice to do that because of repeatedly having issues around social interaction and failing at it and becoming depressed and demoralised no matter how hard I tried. Due to having undiagnosed autism for so long and not having any support, I got Pavlovian conditioned into avoiding all the situations that I struggle with.

When I had my diagnosis I was told I should try to seek out groups for people with autism, but it doesn't seem like there are any near where I live, and it's also not the sort of thing I like doing (interacting with strangers in groups!). The doctor told me I would find "people like me" and that I would find it easier to talk to them.

Hi! Congratulations! I'm similar to you.

Stick around here. Give yourself a profile picture and change your username from NASnumber. Join in discussions and fun threads. It all helps.

Welcome to the community - and congratulations on your diagnosis!

The NAS has a newly refreshed set of articles focused around diagnosis, including one covering how you might feel during the subsequent days / weeks / months - you might find them of interest and/or helpful:

How you might feel after a diagnosis

Other advice covering post-diagnosis