Is this okay?

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Ever since it was suggested to me that I may have AS, I've been learning an incredible amount of things about myself by reading about AS and reading and relating so much with what people here have posted.

Now that I have a better understanding of my brain and why I have problems doing certain things, I'm doing things (and have stopped doing things) that reduce anxiety in my daily life.

I'm not forcing myself to make as much eye contact as I used to. I've started listening to my ipod any time I go to the store so I have an excuse to not interact with anyone. I've started to let myself rock back and forth more (mainly when I'm alone) because it feels natural. I guess I could say I'm letting myself be myself much more than I used to, even it it goes against the "norms of social interaction".

I'm not exactly sure how to explain it. I feel like the more of my aspie traits I let show, the better I function. I think it may be because I'm not trying hard to act "normal" just to appease others.

That's the way to go!
Just be yourself - forcing yourself to be something you are not will tear you to pieces.

I started doing the same thing-not hiding it and putting on a normal act- do feel better now a lot less stressed out.

I'm doing the same. I don't feel so bad about myself anymore now that I am beginning to understand myself.

Me too it's good

Yeah, all of the "faking it" stuff that so many of us spent years trying to master is really draining and stressful. If you can let your "real" self show without any serious negative consequences (ie at work or school), go for it! I've been doing the same and it's very helpful. Every little "one less thing to worry about" helps.

It's good to be able to fake it when you need to, but that doesn't mean you have to do it all the time.

The problems will start from a fresh perspective when you start singing without realising it when you goto the store with your ipod on

Oh and related to that - if you DO happen to sing, dont do the moonwalk in the bread isle of the local shop - no matter how deserted you think it may be...

Yes, this is absolutely OK.

Yeah it's okay, I'm doing the same and feel much better for it.

Actually as long as you guys are on the topic maybe I'll ask a question here instead of making a whole new post. I'm not sure if I have AS or not, but ever since I became suspicious I've been noticing more traits. The issue is that I'm not sure if I'm just noticing thing's that I already did before, or if I have subconsciously started doing the things after reading about them. For example, I've noticed that whenever I go up or down stairs I walk on my toes. My mom told me that I walked on my toes 24/7 when I was 5 but then gradually started walking "normally". I guess that I still walk on the tips of my toes while walking or running on stairs. I hadn't noticed until I learned about AS so now I'm concerned about whether or not I always did this. Or like if my mom hugs me. It had always annoyed me, but now she's convinced that it's because of AS that I don't like it. I don't know if this is true or not. Sometimes I like touch like if someone I know starts rubbing my shoulders, and sometimes... say if they bumped into me, it nearly enrages me. I've been avoiding eye contact far more. I'm worried now that I'm only avoiding it more because I heard that AS people dislike eye contact. I've always hated it to be honest, but it just depends on the situation. I hate eye contact more than anything if someone is mad or yelling at me. Then I used to look in the opposite direction. Now I think I might be avoiding eye contact in general more than I did before. On the flipside, I've noticed that my dad has been telling me to make eye contact more since he became suspicious. It's irritating, because I quite honestly don't like eye contact, and he knows it. My mom on the other hand, has been avoiding touch more and telling others to not touch me, which is very nice, but sometimes she overkills it. Maybe not, I don't know. It worries me, because I don't want to subconsciously express traits that I didn't already have. Maybe I'm just noticing things I already did. I'm just really confused now. d

R84shi37, I went through the exact same phase after I learned I may have AS. From what I've read, its relatively common to become "more aspie" for a while after learning about it. I've also worried that I'm just subconsciously inflating those traits and not knowing if I'm actually doing that, or just recognising them as aspie traits and noticing them more.

I think its just we're questioning why we need to try so hard to fit in and be "normal", and by letting our aspie traits come out, we're trying to see what its like to really be ourselves. At least that's how I feel about it.

OMG, when I read your post it sounds exactly word for word what I am saying and thinking about myself. I have been learning a lot about myself since being diagnosed with Aspergers, and I've also been feeling more free to do self Stimming. I started rocking back and forth when I was 12 years old, without even knowing what Autism is....and when I heard about what Autism is, I stopped doing rocking back and forth because I didn't want people to label me as Autistic, but after being diagnosed now I feel more allowed to do that. I don't use it as an excuse to interact less with people or to stim when I don't need to...but I am more comfortable with myself.