My shrink Said I was strange...part two

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Ladysmokeater
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24 Feb 2006, 1:59 pm

I dont htink im gonna go back to the shrink. I havent decided totally yet, but Im leaning hard toward just forgeting the whole "offical D'x" thing and being content with just knowing that I am an aspie and leaving it at that. here's how yesterday went down:

I prevouusly cancled the appt with the phyc that wanted to load me up on meds and then medicate more for the side effects the first pill was gonna cause. NO thanks.

SO, I go on into the "counciler" office (this is the one I was handed off to) and we talk about this and that. And we got to talking about how I have difficulty in social situations. I explained that I have to force eyecontact with people, and that I dont like to be touched and that attempts to flirt are clumsy at best. And my "I dont date firefighters" rule.
And then he proceedes to tell me that I appear to have a natural eye contact with people and that the way people behave with others is generally left to "good breeding". He also went on to tell me that my "quirks" and social anxieties were totally normal and that I aparently set my standards for relationships too high and that I was paranoid about my reputation being tarnished over something like sleeping with another firefighter. To be more specific about the quirks, he stated that everyone has problems with eye contact and that was normal. He said, in so many words, that my sensory issues with being touched were, and he didnt use this word but he was getting at this, silly.

"good breeding"? I explained that many of the things that I conciously work on like eye contact, and not stiffening up when touched, are delebrate concious efforts, not natural in the course of things. He said that he didnt notice them seeming anything but natural and then launched into a dissertation about human behavior. I was also told that my no firefighter dating rule was crazy (my mom agreed with that) and that I needed to get out more and meet people (social anxiety, duh) and that it was my own fault that I never went on dates because of my no firefighter rule (that may be in the fire service, but what about other venues?)

Was he way off base here, or am I? I thought that the "good breeding" comment was condecending and almost as bad as suggesting that I was white trash because I didnt have the social skills most people have at this age. The smirk and tone added to that effect.

I'd really love some input. This has been a waste of time and money.



AbominableSnoCone
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24 Feb 2006, 2:26 pm

The thing about him smirking while saying this seems to imply that he doesn't take his job as seriously as he should (to me anyway). Psychiatrists should show nothing but compassion for their patients.

I wouldn't totally discount the thing he said about your relationship standards being too high... My psych (who diagnosed me) said basically the same thing... Except the way she worded it, she said I needed to accept the fact that I was a little socially disabled and stop beating myself up over not totally adhering to NT behavior. Maybe I'm misunderstanding you though


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anandamide
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24 Feb 2006, 3:11 pm

I have only visited two psychiatrists. The first psychiatrist kept popping in and out of her office to check to see if the man fixing her radiator had finished the job. At one point I was left in midsentence and waited for about ten minutes for her to come back into the room. That was my first and last session with that psychiatrist.

Years later I went to see another psychiatrist. In an almost exact repeat of my previous experience, I had to keep stopping what I was saying because the second psychiatrist kept popping in and out of his office to check to see if his coffee machine had been set up by his nurse and was finally finished brewing. That was my first and last session with that psychiatrist.

Psychiatrists are trained to analyze people based on psychodynamic theories that have to do with pathologies caused by parental and other early influences, aren't they? I don't think they are very capable of treating people who have biological differences such as Aspies.



Farsight
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02 Jan 2012, 8:42 pm

He doesnt seem to understand asperger.
Asperger is very subtle and when people see that you seem perfectly normal they assume there is nothing wrong with you. I assure you those wierd illogical rules (im pretty sure not all firefighters are the same) are not unusal amnong aspies.