Newly diagnosed & scared

Post Reply New Topic

Hi everyone, I'm in my 30s and have just been diagnosed with autism (severity to be established). Feeling very overwhelmed by it all, and the couple of friends I have told haven't been overly supportive ... they try but they already worked out I was autistic so for them it's old news, and I don't think they realise the anguish that's going on in my mind. So grateful we're in the internet age where I can connect with others who know how I feel

Welcome. I am glad you have an answer. I am still processing mine, too.

Hi there. I received my diagnosis a week and a half ago and felt just like you at the time. I am feeling a great deal better now and am beginning to get my life back together.

Hope you feel better soon.

No worries. The tentacles and third eye don't start to show until mid 40's.

Actually you are no different the day after you find out, then you were the day before you found out. Its very hit or miss as far as telling people, well, mostly miss. I think its one of those things hard to really understand unless you have been there. A few people do.

Welcome to WP and I hope you can find useful conversations.

In a way, I see your friends' reaction as kind of reassuring. I don't have many friends right now, in part because my insensitivity drove a lot of them away. Your friends already get it, and still remain your friends. I can see where you would want some emotional support, and I hope you can talk to one of them and get what you need to make you feel loved and accepted.

I got a lot of inner peace from my diagnosis, but I had spent a lot of my life wondering what was wrong with me and never finding an answer that seemed to fit. Reading this site helped me identify some of my issues, and learn some ways to deal with them. Some members here struggle a lot, and others have really got their lives together, so you can see the kind of attitudes and actions that will lead to either situation.

Welcome to WP!

What are you scared of?

[/fixed] Besides finding out you are condemned to a lifetime of struggling in social situations in a society that is nothing *but* social situations, what are you scared of? [/fixed]

Okay, I'm kidding a bit here, starkid has a point. The label hasn't changed who you are, it's just identified the area where you have challenges. Really, I can understand being scared, you might have hoped for some treatable condition. But speaking for myself, I'm now 37 and from childhood until now I've struggled socially. Deep down inside, I knew something was wrong. Maybe, if you really think about it, it's a good thing you've found out what you did. There are folks who have died not knowing.

No, I didn't have a point. That was genuine curiosity, not a rhetorical question.

In that case, I very deftly made it into a point, I'm sure you'll agree.

Welcome to WrongPlanet forums! Know that we are all here for you. We will be your support.

no one really understands what we go through. That's what this site is for--to express our frustrations and find help from others who have been there. Good luck.

no one really understands what we go through. That's what this site is for--to express our frustrations and find help from others who have been there. Good luck.

Hello, I was not diagnosed until I was in my mid-thirties. Weird, since when I read about AS, I seem like a textbook case (well, maybe not as extreme as some) and I'd been seeing shrinks since my teens.

Try to appreciate that there is a "label" for what makes you different from most other people, and you can use this to find people, support groups, online forums, and books you can read that may help you.

Welcome to WP, maybe you had a bit of time to visit different discussions and hopefully are feeling better already

It is scary. I get scared of the future because of the loneliness I feel now. It is nice to know that I am not alone, really; that there are a lot of people that struggle with the same thoughts that I do. It is nice to meet you. Hopefully we can make some friends on this site.

Thank you everyone for your replies ... it is so nice to be understood and to have support.

In answer to Starkid's question about what I'm scared of, I'm not sure I can verbalize it all though Businezguy certainly stated my main fear of constantly struggling in social situations and never fitting in. I yearn to have friends and feel at ease in company, but I just don't. Before diagnosis I thought I would learn to fit in somehow someday.

And Toy Soldier is also right ... I am still the same person I was whether I've got a diagnosis or not. Good point.