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Hello all
After 50+ years of panic attacks and social insecurities coupled with massive depression and alienation, this is where I've arrived: Autism Spectrum Disorder diagnosis and awaiting further assessment for how deep the rabbit hole goes.

I'm more terrified than ever posting this. Sorry if the first paragraph comes off glib - I've rewritten it at least 20 times.

So, 55 years old and there's not a lot of support services I've found (so far) for adults with autism. Even tho everything is COVID-paused, still so many social programs and I'm *SO* not social - or rather, I tried but failed consistently and regularly. (after half a century I had to realise it wasn't what I was doing, it was probably something more with 'me')

Anyhoo, I don't have a good track record with online forums - sorry.
Social anxiety is worse for me online for some reasons.
I'm trying.

hello

Welcome to Wrong Planet.

Do not worry. No need to be scared to type. All is fine.

Welcome to WP!

Thanks Goat
Thanks Tim
Appreciate the welcome

(Further rambling redacted)

Welcome aboard

So, the board is a bit overwhelming.
Recently diagnosed Spectrum Disorder, although Ive grown to expect it the last few years. Still awaiting a deeper assessment to see how/what, but doc suspects not just (only?) Aspergers. (Sorry, still failing in terminologies)

As an adult, there seem to be few resources. Im not on FB (and wont be), so Im searching for support and info as an adult. Any directuons someone can point me would be helpful.

Locally in Ontario, Canada.

I continue to stalk on here. Tough to parse so many boards, personalities, threads, conversations, etc.

Welcome to WP! I think you will find some nice and helpful people here.

I have a high opinion of the WP community but I cannot compare it to other online forums. I'm not very social. I do a little e-mail and a lot of web surfing but I'm not on Facebook, Twitter, etc... This is the only online forum I've tried--and I like it. I hope you find that you like it, too.

Hello there and welcome to WP!

Hello and welcome. I like your username, by the way.

Hi and a warm welcome, Sinister Biscuit . Great name btw. I too experienced overwhelming social anxiety on this and other forums, leaving for many years due to the online anxiety being even worse than offline. It still amazes me how others seem to be able to post daily and multiple times in a day. I was only able to be free of that anxiety, since being prescribed prozac a couple of years ago(a miracle drug in my case).

For me, it was about coming to terms with the fact that being on the spectrum involves understanding that our “Sense of Self” is ever fragile. As such, we are referenced to settings/people/routines/objects. Building up layers of coping over time as we mature and progress in life can help us, but we’re prone to burnout and our health can be put at risk if we don’t learn to “work with it, not against it”.

In spite of the challenges, there are a great many positives in being on the spectrum. Rarely does the diagnosis not have accompanying issues(ADD/ADHD,Seizures, PTSD etc). Hope you find peace and acceptance in yourself as time goes on.

Hello there and welcome to WrongPlanet

Thanks again, everyone.

Juliette: thank you for the supportive words.
I've found that I have lived my life masking and compensating for my autism sans diagnosis. Now that later in life my cognitive abilities are declining, my ability to maintain masks is impossible and my panic attacks are so frequent I don't trust myself in public anymore.

So I guess I need to build up new layers for coping?
I'm out of my element tho - like how to rebuild social skills based on authenicity when I'm just getting in touch with the inside me. Crazy.

Not a lot out there for adults recently diagnosed, eh?
Doesn't help that I'm ramping up on anti-depressants and I hate hate hate them. Gah!

Anyhoo, one of the overwhelming things with the board is this PHPBB format. LOL
Oh - DRAMA!

I will pick up the pieces of my shattered life and move on.

Welcome to Wrong Planet!

Welcome to WPea!

This is the best handle I may have ever heard and a really funny avatar to match it. It's like your lipstick matches your nails.

I got nothing to help with because I'm new too. Agree on all points of confusion. That's ok though, I'm so broken right now that if someone told me to enact a Care Bear Stare at the moon and aim it's return beam on myself I'd consider it.

Forums, in my experience are fabulous though when you find a good one. It's easy for the medical community to be confused and assert that confusion on me. If it wasn't for speaking honestly with peers on a different forum I would still be inappropriately medicated and too miserable to figure out why my child didn't work in middle school and they ran us out on rails while smiling the whole time. I feel better now but figuring this out has taken mental power that I just struggle with. It doesn't help that zero people I have bounced my thoughts off of agree with me because I can speak coherently. The forum might not have known the answer, but they did know and help me understand that the path I'd been told to walk didn't match my circumstances and empowered me to quit therapy until someone finally knows more than I had to figure out. I am so resentful of the therapist telling me I didn't have to do her job for her and I could and should trust her judgement. I do have to do all the work diagnosing myself.

I look forward to getting to know you and learn this forum.

Hi! Cool name