Receiving a neurodivergent diagnosis can feel validating, it can help you to feel connected with a community of people with relatable experiences. It can help you to access support and accommodations within your personal life and professional life. But it can also feel like an earthshaking shift in your understanding of who you are, your relationship with yourself, others, and the world around you.
You may start to look to the past and question your experiences, grieve for the person that was misunderstood and unsupported. You may reflect on your life currently through this new lens of understanding and look to the future measuring your life now against a future life that meets your needs.
Here are a few ways you can navigate the search for meaning following diagnosis
1 Reframe the Narrative:
When reflecting on your past experiences you may identify a deficit focused narrative around how you see yourself which can impact your self-esteem. It may have been communicated to you that your neurodivergent traits are “bad” or “wrong, is this now an internalised belief that you hold of yourself?
Take some time to reflect on these past experiences. What energised you? Evaluate your environment. Notice your physical responses, how you felt and behaved. What relationships have felt safe?
Making connections with your past and how you feel about yourself in the present can help you to identify your needs in your personal and professional life and decide on whether your current life or career are serving your needs.
2 What matters to you?
After your diagnosis you may question what you want from life. You may have spent years trying to fit the image of who you felt you should be. You may ask, what does my authentic self look like? Connecting with what is important to you can help you to answer some of these questions.
Write down your core values and compare them to your life now. Your current relationships, career and personal life. Do they align with what is important to you? If not, it may be time to explore what you need to live a life that meets who you are at now.
3 Redefine what success looks like for you
Society has this habit of telling us what it thinks we should be. Whether that’s working 9-5, dressing in a particular way or having socially “acceptable” interests. You now can redefine what success means to you. This may be building a life that prioritises your health and wellbeing or expressing yourself in a way that feels authentic to you. I know that may feel scary and involves change. But you have lived too long appeasing society and others and deserve to live the life you want that is meaningful and fulfilling.
The journey to finding meaning after your diagnosis can transform every aspect of your life both personally and professionally. It is a journey that involves shedding societal expectations and embraces your unique identity. By building a life with authenticity and courage you open the doors to thriving.