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Highly_Autistic
Deinonychus
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30 May 2021, 10:15 am

I (probably) have aspergers syndrome and severe social anxiety. Because of this, my appearance, walk style, facial expression is also weird. I thought this is related to social anxiety but no, im usually like this, even at home in my room when nobody is around. I mean i dont look and act like other normal people. Please help me :( Will i ever get rid of this abnormality, this is so frustrating.



Mountain Goat
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30 May 2021, 10:51 am

I don't know the answer. I can pray that anxiety does not hit you so much? How one looks differe t is something that puzzles me because today someone mentioned that his new girlfriend said I was autistic, and I was puzzled how she knew? (I have not been assessed).
While I do not mind someone saying that. (In the past it would annoy me because I did not realize I could be because what I thought autism was, I later discovered that my perception of autism was based on the worst cases which are seen on the TV news). It just leaves me a little puzzled how they can tell. Haha. It does not matter. It just puzzles me.

But the answer is do not worry what others think about you. You are fine just the way you are. Do not try to be anyone else. Just be you, as I have spent a lifetime of trying to be like everyone else and it never worked, and I was often told off for being different, despite my best efforts I just couldn't be the same.
So the answer is to like yourself just the way you are and be happy, and not to let others try to make you conform. They should be learning to understand you, not trying to make you be like them... And why wants to be like them anyway! :D



Mona Pereth
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31 May 2021, 10:47 pm

Highly_Autistic wrote:
I (probably) have aspergers syndrome and severe social anxiety. Because of this, my appearance, walk style, facial expression is also weird. I thought this is related to social anxiety but no, im usually like this, even at home in my room when nobody is around. I mean i dont look and act like other normal people. Please help me :( Will i ever get rid of this abnormality, this is so frustrating.

What specific kinds of unusual behavior, mannerism, etc. have you noticed that you have?

I've been told that I look weird too. Among other things, I can't do normal eye contact.

Trying to look "normal" is called "masking." Some autistic people are better at it than others. But, even if successful, masking is notoriously bad for the mental health of autistic people. See:

- Autism Masking: To Blend or Not to Blend
- The costs of camouflaging autism

And, for a humorous video about one aspect of masking, see:

- Inside my Autistic Mind: Active Listening

The alternative to masking is to try to arrange one's life so one doesn't have to mask. This can be difficult, especially for people from relatively non-privileged backgrounds.

What we need, in my opinion, is to build a bigger and better-organized autistic community (subculture), so that more of us can safely live in the world without having to mask. (See Longterm visions for the autistic community and Autistic Workers Project.)

EDIT: In the meantime, one thing that helps me in the here-and-now is living in a highly multi-cultural neighborhood with immigrants from all over the world, including people with a variety of different kinds of traditional body language. This can greatly lessen pressures to conform to anything beyond basic courtesy.


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Last edited by Mona Pereth on 01 Jun 2021, 1:40 am, edited 2 times in total.

funeralxempire
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31 May 2021, 10:56 pm

Me too.


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