New late diagnosis

What you have described is so familiar to me.  At ten years older than you and diagnosed less than three months ago, I, too, went into a very dark place for a couple of weeks.  This was extremely surprising, as I had suspected my condition for a few years, but it seems that suspicion and confirmation are two different things in my head.  Now, with the benefit of time and reflection, I am back on track, and even happy with my lot.  Knowledge, as they say, is powerful, and my period of self-analysis of the past was pretty self-destructive; now I know it was completely pointless.  Today I am able to see most triggers coming and deal with them before they become an issue, or remove myself from the situation.  That does not mean everything is hunky dory, far from it, as a recent foray through an airport proved, but having a diagnosis and following that with reading on the subject and joining the NAS website has been valuable in helping me navigate a neurotypical world.

Your confusion will dissipate, if it hasn't already.  Similarly, next steps will reveal themselves; in fact, I'm betting you are well on the way to finding your place by now.  Take care of yourself and remember that there are plenty of people here who have been where you are and can help.

Hi Jamie,  just wanted to say hello. This is my first post, I have just joined the forum. I completely relate to your late diagnosis. I am 64f had my diagnosis of AUDHD few weeks ago and I to feel so overwhelmed and totally burnt out. 

Thank you for sharing and making me feel understood

Hi Jamie, welcome. I recieved my late diagnosis in February of this year. I felt the jigsaw pieces falling into place and everything made sense whilst I was coming to terms with the possibility of being Autistic and whilst waiting for my assessment. When I received my diagnosis I was not expecting it to impact me so severely but I had an immediate crash and wasn’t able to return to work for 3 months due to burnout. Everyone’s experiences are different but it does seem to be very common to initially experience a challenging period. I found it helpful to acknowledge what a big discovery it was and why, and also that a diagnosis is a starting point (which is often disguised as an end goal if you have had difficulty accessing diagnostic services). Acknowledging this helped me to treat myself compassionately and take things slowly. I found there was lots of great resources available to help me understand Autism more and prompt thoughts about my own Autistic experience. For example YouTube videos, TV documentaries, books and resources on local and national charity pages. It was helpful for me to take it slow and not overwhelm myself when seeking out these things though. Now I feel grateful that my body forced me to take the time to understand myself better, I still feel a bit lost but things are much less overwhelming and I’m comfortable to do further exploration at my own pace and able to do this alongside work and other commitments. One thing is for sure, having a diagnosis feels very positive now but initially I was struggling to see any positive. I hope you are starting to feel better since writing this post and something I have written might be useful to you. 

Hi Jamie,

I have been recently diagnosed with autism too over the last week. Welcome to the confusing and lonely part is what I call it. You’ll find that a lot of people feel the same way about a diagnosis. I still am trying to figure it out, I’ve had a lot of advice from people on here and it can be very helpful!

its totally normal to spiral even in every day life, I’ve been spiraling too, thinking about the past, and now what to do it’s very overwhelming. But the best thing I can say (and still learning) taking baby steps. I like to read new information every day (not all at once) about the diagnosis and all the sub groups and guidelines on how to help and move forward in life. 

please give your self some grace and patience and it can be a slow process to understand everything. I’m not on that path yet but I’m trying. Keep your head up, your not alone here.

Hi Jaime

I was diagnosed at 62, two months ago, so can relate.

Just let yourself process it in your own time.

BTW love the bionic woman handle :-)

Feel like I'm a bit of a cyborg myself at times.

Thank you

Thank you

Hi Jaime, welcome to the community and congratulations on your diagnosis. In my personal opinion, what your experiencing at the moment is fairly normal after receiving a diagnosis. As Alexa has mentioned, many of us go through a readjustment period after a diagnosis.

Our website has an advice and guidance section among other resources that may be use to you https://www.autism.org.uk/advice-and-guidance 

Also, the following link may be of particular interest as it addresses some of the feelings your experiencing with regard to the crash and burning, etc. https://www.autism.org.uk/advice-and-guidance/mental-health/autistic-fatigue

All the best,

Paul

Your reaction sounds fairly normal to me. Congrats on your diagnosis. Many of us go through a readjustment period afterwards. Just give yourself time.