People seem to cough around me..

Post Reply New Topic

First off, I have to say I just joined this forum because I wanted to comment on this topic (even though sometimes I've suspected I have some mild form of autism). For the last few years I've noticed the same thing. Just today though felt pretty bad, I got up from my desk and literally three people in my immediate vicinity coughed. And like other people have said it's not that sick cough it's like a one time cough that is clearly in direct reaction to my presence.

So I wonder what am I doing? Is it like vibration or vibes you know or the fact that I think I don't smile a lot perhaps?
I can't say for sure it's people don't like me, one of the people today for example that has coughed in my presence or walking by me, has invited me to parties. It really bothers me though because it's a reaction i know other people don't usually get. Whatever it is I definitely feel it's a reaction to some kind of anxiety or uncomfortableness. Not necessarily hate or dislike of me maybe but it's like this "not normal" feeling I get when I encounter it so often. Again though this applies to people who continually approach me or seem to want to engage in conversation with me.

I also think if you look at scripts for like movies or tv shows, you will see this kind of cough or throat clearing written in to reflect some kind of nervousness or disbelief maybe. Am I overreacting? Lots of conflicting stuff here but defnitely has bugged me.

I have ALWAYS wondered what the cough means and if it is just random and has nothing to do with me. Usually, I notice men doing it. I have wondered many times if it is some strange code they are using to express dislike? Or, is it just them clearing their throat or their throat being itchy. I never know what to make of it. Men have looked at me in the past, then immediately coughed or cleared their throat and I doubt it was because of what I wore.
I know it sounds a bit paranoid, but they look at me, then immediately cough or clear their throat or make some other weird, loud noise. That's the strange thing about it. Other people do it but not right after they look at me so I pay them no mind.

Oddly, I have had the opposite problem. I have had times where I have an irritated throat and so I will occasionally cough once, and I know some people wrongly took this as a non-verbal language cue, when I really just had a sore throat.

So maybe some of these people just have sore throats.

I think you might be over-reacting to some things. There may not be a hidden meaning between a cough or ignoring your presence.
The people with the coughs may just have sore throats and the people ignoring you may have other things on their mind. The simple explanations are often the correct ones.

It is possible. That's why the majority of coughs don't appear on my radar screen. However, there are times when I do wonder if the cough isn't just a cough.

you can email me if you like, but it happens to me all the time, i think i either have a serious presence or people think i'm bullshitting them or lying, whenever they get into a conversation with me, or i know their bullshitters, so they know the only way to approach me is with a serious question, or a real not fake bull crap, regular how you do, and how you feel today,

its been bothering me, people act this way around me too, and quite frankly, now when it happens to me, i'm like yeah, **** you too, cough your ******** lungs out, i do not give a **** you get tired of this behavior after awhile, so who *********** knows why people do it, what the ***** ever

Children cry when they see you? How old of children?

If they're between 1-3 years old, they're probably just scared of strangers. Kids that age tend be easily frightened by unfamiliar people.

If they're younger or older than that, though, then maybe you tend to look hostile. Which could be why people are coughing around you, too.

My first reaction, was the same as simon_says, that perhaps you have a hygiene issue. However, having thought more about it, I don't think it can be that because surely they would move away if you had an unpleasant smell.

So that leaves three likely possibilities if they truly are coughing in reaction to your presence:

1) they are trying to draw your attention to something
2) they are trying to draw one anothers' attention to something that might be related to you
3) NTs tend to follow the pack and apparently subconsciously mimic one anothers' behaviour, so it's like an epidemic, one starts and they all follow suit.

...otherwise, perhaps you are being paranoid, by that I mean that they are really coughing, but it's absolutely nothing to do with you and nothing more than a coincidence and you are hypersensitive to it (especially if you have auditory sensitivity).

1. Lol embassyboi that's how I feel too

This is a very interesting topic so far. I may have some answers or help, wish it had come sooner. I have seen this a lot and can also maybe provide some help on the children crying in your presence too if you haven't uncovered this phenomena yet.

For me, I am a 27 year old female, introvert, tall, 5'10" and get the coughs mostly from average height guys in their low 20's to 30. They are 100% fake coughs. I do not present myself flashy and dress very moderately in neutral colors. The others are average height women or average height larger girls that dress way beyond what they should be, never had another tall girl or guy cough at me or even shorter folks. What I perceive it it be is:

1. insecurity/immaturity condemning someone not average
2. vying for attention
3. intimidation

Children crying? I have the exact opposite effect. I am Terrified of children, very young ones under 8 years old but they like me . It never fails when I'm at the mall some woman will leave her baby stroller at a table near me while she makes her order and that baby will be screaming one second then looking at me with a happy drool smile the next. It happens everywhere at family get together, the mall, restaurants, airplanes. Science calls my personality type the Artisan Composer. It is something interesting to read. Some of it even goes off to say it could be related to spirituality and some of these people are closer to the earth, animals, or very small children.

You are not just imagining it it's just ignorant people being ignorant. It also seems to be a extrovert quality. Being an introvert is highly underrated. We notice things that others will not. It's just how we are.

The coughing is quite often pathetic, weak NT bullying. They are in seventh heaven because they have identified someone that doesn't fit in, and they can make their stupid noises to each other to communicate their togetherness.

My immediate thought was hygiene as well or some other issue they are trying to get you to notice without outright stating it and then wondering why you don't get the hint.

To those people I say wear a mask, thanks.

True, not unlikely at all....one shouldn't be naive...if someone senses this is what is going on, that's probably what is going on.

Hi All,

Signed up to this site to comment on this topic. I am aware and believe the same thing is happening to me and it's concerning.

I believe people (majority of people I come into contact with- no matter who they are to me relatives/strangers/friends/associates) fake cough at me. It started when I was a newcomer to a workplace (in my early 20's- and it never affected me prior to that) and has went on everywhere since. Basically, I think they do it to send a vibe of hostility, that's certainly how it feels. I'm not sure why- maybe I would like to know why but if it's because people don't like something about me then I couldn't care less. What does seem to bother me about it is that I get a shock when people do it- it seems to go right through me repeatedly- I have heard people refer to this as 'trembling' or such like where it can frighten them it feels like their Heart is skipping a beat.

I absolutely believe that the simple explanation of people having an allergic reaction or a cold is genuine because it happens that frequently- and was done by the same people for over a year- if it was that bad- they'd seek medical help, yes??

So I believe this happens and it started when one particular individual in that workplace took a disliking to me- for whatever reason- again, not sure but not really bothered. But the worrying thing is not that people can/want to irritate me but that this actually affects me- it can disturb me to the extent that I struggle to concentrate and maintain composure. I have actually sought help for anxiety and panic but to no avail.

Does anyone have thoughts? I've heard about sensitivity to sudden noises etc.. but I find it hard to accept that all of a sudden these things bother me in this way when they didn't for the majority of my life! To summarise, I believe it's far too much to be a coincidence given that it happens in and out work now but I don't really care about the meaning of these gestures but I do however, worry that they could have a lasting/worsening effect on my health.

Thanks.

I suspect the reason people cough around me is because they're trying to pass on their germs to me and make me sick. It's amazing how many people are out when they're sick. They do it as an act of aggression so they'd see less of me. It rarely works, though.

Last edited by CockneyRebel on 08 Dec 2013, 8:03 pm, edited 2 times in total.

^ If they're well enough to be out and about coughing at you, why would their germs make you sick enough to be forced to stay home?