After diagnosys life - what changed?

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Hello,

As I said before I'm not 100% sure if I'm asperger (I'm or I've?), but I'm curious:
what changed in your life after being diagnosed in adult life?
Because I'm freaking out a little bit... like, when I read all this stuff, I'm losing the hope in myself (I thought it'll be the opposite.

What changed in your mind? There's any plan (medicine or stylelife) for aspergers?

I was diagnosed at the early age of 5. I didn't even know what it meant.

Although, if I had been diagnosed at an older age, I don't think it would really have made any difference if i'm being honest. Diagnosis isn't a cure. Instead, it just helps you and others to understand why you are the way you are and why you do the things you do. It's not something that ever stops.

Medicine and lifestyle changes can certainly help with things like stress, depression and anxiety. As well as any comorbid conditions you may have.

But Aspergers is what it is. It's part of your overall character and that will never change.

on your footer, you put treatments. Did you use since childhood?

These are just natural supplements I use. 5-HTP to boost Serotonin and help with sleep. Ginkgo Biloba to help aid memory and concentration. Omega-3 fish oils which also aid in healthy brain function and pro-biotics to aid the digestive system which can also have an effect on brain function.

Have only been using this combination for a week or so.

I was diagnosed in 6th grade. What changed? Barely anything. My mom stopped getting mad at me for my obsessions and I stopped hearing how I wasn't acting my age and things I would have gotten in trouble for I didn't because of my anxiety. I was also given an aid in school.

I wa diagnosed at age 55

I have a better idea of why things happened to me, what situations to try and avoid and if they are unavoidable to tread carefully. Knowing a lot of my issues are at least partially caused by my "condition" allowed me to not be so hard on myself, and to be proud of certain accomplishments that are "normal" for most people.

I was diagnosed at thirteen. Only noticeable change was my parents got less annoyed when i didn't do something that was expected of me. Say hello back, for example.

I think it's individual choice either way.

I'm 53 years old and I'm comfortably self-diagnosed. And if in some final analysis, I'm 'merely' Spectrum-lite or Spectrum-friendly, that's okay, too!

Thanks a lot.
I think there are positive and negative things to be diagnosed earlier. But I was wondering if you received help with theurapist or something. Or is just accept and live with that.

I was diagnosed in September with Aspergers. Right now I can only say that there have been 2 "major" changes in my life that I have been fully aware of. One being my mind has been more at ease lately as I now have a baseline to fallback on when I feel that I see/react to situations differently to most. I definitely try to avoid the route of using the diagnosis as an "excuse" for why I do/react to things in a certain way but it has definitely cut down on a lot of racing thoughts.

The 2nd major change I have been going through was cutting out all the pretend friends I had accumulated over the years who werent actually concerned with my emotional state & well being. Working on putting more emphasis on quality friendships than trying to fit in with the masses for attention. That alone has dramatically cut out a lot of anxiety in my life that I had known the cause of but have been unable to act on cutting it from my life.

I was diagnosed about 6 years ago and am 66 years old. I found that the diagnosis answered many questions about why life was the way it was for me. The doctor who formally diagnosed me said at the diagnosis that the self blame stops now. That's a big relief. I found with some effort to force my insurance to pay for therapy that I have begun to learn how and why my way of being doesn't work so well. I also found that after I understood much more about it that I could change at least some of the difficult things I have always coped with. I too found I was proud that I made it to 60 without outside help specific to autism. Good luck in any case...

What changed? Almost everything.

And some of it is positive, and some is negative. But, it's so worth it for the security and understanding it brings, I think.

I still go through a turmoil of emotions every week.

At times, it's so painfully negative. It brings despair. I went through nearly 30 years of my life believing that if I just kept trying, just kept making the effort, eventually I'd get better at the things I was no good at. Deep down I was probably beginning to accept that it wasn't true, but I always looked ahead at people a decade older and thought that they all had it so 'together' and I couldn't possibly reach their age and still be struggling the way I was, so my time would have to come. Being diagnosed was like the stamp that said "No. There's a reason you're useless at this stuff. And you always will be." That was very hard to come to terms with - accepting my limitations. I now know that I'm never going to be able to just have a smooth and comfortable conversation, or pick up the phone without fretting and planning for a day in advance. I now know that what I experience are shutdowns and meltdowns and are a part of my neurological wiring - I hate that I sometimes feel like I lose control, and that it's not something I can 'fix' even if I am now trying hard to manage it more effectively.

Before I was diagnosed, even when I was self-diagnosing, I wasn't fully aware of how much autism affected every aspect of my life. I genuinely believed that I was so high functioning I'd barely be diagnosed. Even when I was looking for every tiny sign to back up my self diagnosis, I missed so much. After being diagnosed, as well as accepting my limitations I had to come to terms with all of the 'autistic things' that I do. And there are many of them. And it's frustrating, upsetting and embarrassing at times. I am now acutely aware when I say or do something autistic, when I used to be so oblivious to it. It's like a screen has been lifted and I see what I'm really like, and that's very difficult to deal with.

But, on the other hand, it's brought self-confidence. It's a strange mix, feeling so much less and more confident at once, but that's how it's played out. I forgive myself, now. I know I'm weird, I know I say and do the wrong things sometimes and I know I have failings. I recognise them all. But they're not my fault. I forgive myself for them because I know that they're just who I am. They're not flaws - they're a disability. And, in turn, I've been more able to forgive others. After a lifetime of being bullied, excluded or simply treated in an unusual way, and fluctuating between 'there must be something wrong with me' and 'there is clearly something wrong with them, and they're all terrible people', I've learned to find the middle-ground. Yes, I am the issue with my autistic behaviours. Yes, they should be more accepting of difference. But, they don't know that I'm autistic and that's not my fault. And it's also not their fault, because they are NT and they're wired to struggle with people like me just as I'm wired to struggle with people like them.

And, more importantly, it's provided me with the opportunity to discover more about myself and to find ways to manage autism. I'm allowing myself a lot of accommodations that I would never have allowed myself in the past, because of my diagnosis. Accepting my limitations isn't just negative. It's not just a 'death sentence' for all of the stuff I wanted to get good at and never will. It's also a chance to stop trying so hard to achieve those things. To say that it's ok to struggle. To allow myself to take shortcuts and to get help with things that I 'should be able to do'. To not feel embarrassed if I need to take some time out in a busy place, or pull a stress ball out of my bag, or wear my sunglasses indoors, or ask my husband to make phone calls on my behalf. I can now reliably predict the situations that will give me issues, and find ways to manage that or to avoid it if possible. It sounds silly, but whilst I've always been upset by change and not being able to plan, and by busy and crowded places, I didn't actually realise those were the problems!

I found diagnosis to be so incredibly bittersweet, and it's the same every day. A constant mix of emotions.

Some moments, I feel absolute hopelessness. Others, I feel such incredible self-confidence. Sometimes, I feel so incredibly guilty for the things that I'm no good at and how they can affect the people around me. Other times, I feel so fortunate to have my answer and to understand why I am the way I am, and to be able to explain it to others if I need to. But most importantly, I feel hope for the future because the only way things can really get better is with me knowing and understanding myself, and forging a path with the right knowledge, instead of planning for a future that I was designing for the NT I thought I was.

I'm going to be assessed! If you've seen any of my other posts, most of them deal with my parents being unsupportive and in denial, but I confronted them the other day, so now I'm going to be assessed for ASD!

The reason I want an assessment, or diagnosis, is that it will be an explanation as to why I cannot communicate/interact normally. I don't want an excuse, just an explanation to show me that I have a concrete reason why I behave differently, and cannot be as most people are.

Whoa, how did you finally get them to agree?

Well I'm undiagnosed. But figured it out at age 36.
Kind of like being told I was adopted. Everything fitted into place, now I "know" why I've had all these problems.
I don't see any extra benefits so far - government aid.
But now I know where to focus my efforts on.
In the past I was trying to make friends LOL, trying to be sociable.
Being honest and caring about people.
Now I trust no one, and restrict the information I give out. I care far less now, and focus more on getting ahead so I do not suffer at the hands of the NT bully groups.

I confronted them about lying to themselves about my difficulties, and reminded them that, whilst denial might make things easier for them, it is damaging to me, because it makes them punish me for things which I cannot help as if I am doing them on purpose.