I'm not sure where my social skills are, I think they fluctuate. That, and when I look around in public places it seems like most people here have lousy social skills. Of course, there are exceptions. Is it possible for an entire area to have lousy social skills? It's not because they have autism, it's because they never really learned how to be polite. The place I live is the type of place where people don't want to be polite. They don't see the need. I've often thought this is one of the rudest places in the US and I've lived other places. This is definitely one of the rudest places I've ever been.
Because of this, I wonder if there's any point to improving my social skills, The ones who notice my mother's social skills aren't from here anyway, mostly they moved here from other states and they stop by where she works and that's when they notice how "friendly" she is. The ones who live here don't really care. If they see someone being polite they call it "snooty" and dismiss it and get offended. It really is a weird place to live.
I went to a therapist once, it was one my mother had been going to. The therapist wanted me to read a book titled Self Esteem but most of it was about empathy. I can remember finding the book at a local bookstore (where the therapist said I would find a copy) and skimming through the chapters and marveling that the subject of empathy kept resurfacing throughout the book.
It left a profound impression on me and significantly worried me at the same time. Is this really what people think of me? That I have no empathy??? I instantly thought of all the times throughout my childhood my own mother didn't seem to care what was happening to me and dismissed the hell I was experiencing. I couldn't help but think that after noticing the emergence of a le motife. All I could think of was how unfair it was and I began to cry. Then I felt a sense of indignation. In my mind, I started counting the number of times I could remember where no one and I do mean no one had absolutely no empathy whatsoever for me and what I was experiencing. Time and time again I recalled specific incidents and I felt even more indignant. It was so unfair to me. Why weren't these other people given copies of empathy books explaining it to them? I was so distraught I couldn't go thru the therapy sessions. My feelings were hurt and I felt once again I had been taken advantage of.