After an ADHD and autism diagnosis, I now find the world more confusing. How do I make sense of this?

It’s frightening to learn we’re not to similar to others, writes advice columnist Eleanor Gordon-Smith. One way to respond is to allow that feeling of otherness

I received an ADHD and autism diagnosis at the end of 2024 after a period of stress and depression. I thought that my profession was to blame (I work, however unfittingly, in finance) but have come to appreciate that I am sensitive to many kinds of environmental stressors.

It has been difficult to navigate the world since the diagnosis. At first I was ecstatic, finding many of my life’s complexities could be easily answered by a natural neurodivergence, but have since found the world to be even more confusing, especially where relationship dynamics are concerned. Some people I have told about my diagnosis have started to baby me slightly. Whereas before the diagnosis I might have struggled along in certain social situations, feeling myself a little bit slow off the mark, or bored, now I am starting to notice a pronounced sense of my “otherness”, which is quite scary.