Top 5 Strategies for Navigating a Later in Life Neurodiversity Diagnosis
The rise in later in life neurodiversity diagnosis is significant. If it's happened to you or someone you love you'll know just how complex this process can be.
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Many people with a later in life diagnosis have spent many years misdiagnosed with other conditions including anxiety, depression, bipolar or BPD.
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Some things you might experience with a later in life diagnosis:
-relief
-grief
-the need to recalibrate your identity and expectations of yourself
-a need to un-shame and reprogram your past beliefs to align with your new approach to life
-educating your loved ones and colleagues on how best to support you with this new knowledge
-understanding the many co-morbidities that can come with neurodiveristy such as: hyper-mobility/eds, POTS, MCAS, impulsivity, dyslexia, dyscalculia, dyspraxia, misophonia and many more...
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Here are 5 strategies that can help:
1. Educate yourself: There’s a plethora of resources out there, it will take experimentation to learn what works for you. Get curious!
2. Allow yourself to feel: Know that you might move through a wide range of responses from relief at finally having a ‘reason’ for your lived experience to grief and anger for all you’ve had to endure up until now without the right support
3. Validate yourself: One of the most powerful validation statements is ‘I make sense’. It’s likely you’ve learned to ‘gaslight yourself’ or ‘mask’ over time - to fit in, to cope. Or you were taught to suppress parts of yourself for the convenience of others. Unlearning these survival strategies takes time and starts with YOU beginning to offer yourself honest and compassionate acceptance of your own feelings and experiences
4. Recruit: Enroll the most supportive of your inner circle to be on your team as you navigate life with a new lens. If they’re not on board, start to build a new team of people who are.
5. Seek support: A diagnosis can cause a significant identity shift that sends shockwaves through every aspect of your life. Navigating this period of transition with a trusted guide can help lessen any challenging impacts and provide a sounding board as you courageously explore your new life and integrate new skills.
If you’ve had a later in life neurodiversity diagnosis and are looking for support to navigate your new identity and learn practical skills that you can integrate into your life, I offer support packages of 3, 5 and 10 sessions to help you with your unique and individual needs.
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Please reach out to Live Well reception for more details or to book, I'd love to connect with you!
