Wow. I looked away and looked back and there were all these messages! Thank you all so much. It does help to read them, and even just to know that there are people who understand and care.
It also makes me wonder if any of you have the experience of doing well enough socially to be ok, feeling pretty steady with things, clear and focused... And then hit an unexpected social challenge that throws you altogether off the boat for a while. Like maybe a day, or perhaps a week or two, of feeling confused, depressed, disoriented, off your game - just in response to that one emotional event. I'm guessing that's not uncommon, but I think I just need to hear it from some live folks out there, 'cause I get way more thrown that any of my NT friends seem to. Life can be a real lifeboat experience at times...
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Newly diagnosed Asperger's, also Bipolar II. Ready to stop fighting who I am.