Is extreme social isolation normal for Aspergers?

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Perhaps trust issues and the fact that i feel so comfortable living among "normal" people has lead to isolation for me. For me, having AS is like having a foot in each world and you constantly get the feeling that no one gets you. you sometimes feel ignored...even by those you trust.
you just want to live in a world like them. But, "normal" for you is only 50%. That's how it is everyday for me. I once told my high school counselor that things would be better without me here (obviously, something's keeping me from acting on those words b/c i'm still here typing this. that was back when i was getting bullied. )But, I've still got more inner demons to battle. such as infertility, depression, the fact my own family are still at war with each other. But I'm still young, I've got some fight left in me and in the words of my fave rock band, Black Veil Brides, I won't let these demons drag me to the grave.

I live alone. I do not attend any places. I do not work rite now. I have a friend I see once a month, and a boyfriend once a week. I see a social worker every two weeks. I don't really talk to anyone, small talk yea.

Most days I am alone w out communication. I work on my art do chores and try to be engaged in the world. I go for walks.

I used to read,

I'm always engaged in philosophical thought

Yes I do wish I was a member of someplace where I could do my art

Ever since I left school (over 7 years ago now) I have been socially isolated. I do, however, live with my mother and niece, the latter of whom I am helping to raise. Although I speak to my father a few times each week, I seldom see him; I interact with other family members no more than once a month; I have fortnightly face-to-face meetings with my affable employment coach, and I communicate with my ex on Facebook occasionally, too.

Does this constitute extreme social isolation?

I must have spent the majority of my life staring blankly into space, whilst not really thinking about anything at all. I remain convinced that I am mildly ret*d.

For the longest time, I was a recluse. I suppose in a lot of ways, I still am however I have been forcing myself out into social situations. Joining a club with like minded individuals helped immensely! I still enjoy my space and need downtime, but having friends motivates me more to get out and do things; most of them know about my anxiety issues, but they do accept me for who I am (They don't know about my AS, although I know they would accept me even if I was more outspoken about it!)

When I was in school, I would avoid social interactions unless absolutely necessary. And even then, I still didn't enjoy them. I found it best to keep to myself, I stuck close to the walls when I walked between classes, so that I was out of the main flow of "traffic". I sat, alone, at the table closest to the doors in the lunchroom, so I could leave before the crowds.

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Ya, I'm weird like that...

A lot of you posting here claim to be socially isolated but have husbands, wives, girlfriends, etc. How did you meet your significant other if you are socially isolated? I don't consider someone in a relationship truly socially isolated. Some people simply require less friends than others and are content with just one person like a significant other. Introverted would be a good description for these people.

I'm the most socially isolated person I know. I have casual contact with quite a few people but I'm not really close to anyone. Even my brother and sister I only see about once a year. I had closer friends in the past, but it seems I gradually lost them one by one over the years, I probably didn't do enough to maintain the relationships.

I was OK with it for the most part . I've always needed a lot of alone time. I only have so much mental energy, and I can either put that toward socializing or I can put that toward getting things done. That's been a conflict that has dogged me my whole adult life.

Recently though, I was part of a tour group, and I re-experienced the feeling of connecting with like-minded people. I had been missing that for about 15-20 years without realizing it. I guess it happened gradually enough that I didn't really notice. When the tour ended we all went our separate ways, but now that I realize what I've been missing I want to recapture that feeling somehow. That's one reason why I'm here on WP, giving it a try.

its a long story for me...

When i was young i would cry because of how lonely i was but whenever i would play or interact with my cousins or peers i would never know what to do and become intimidated and end up playing on my own, my father said that i was fairly independent and seemed very content to be alone. This lasted until i was in middle school, i had a group of friends i really loved, like i LOVED them to death. they shared a special interest and we would have awesome roleplaying sessions. In grade 8 i moved away from my friends and was bullied harshly by the kids at the new school, they would point out my autistic traits like my lack of eye contact, messy hair, sonic obsession and poor speaking skills, after that i kinda wanted to be alone... i also lost the friends i loved so much because i was too clingy and they grew out of sonic... i was alone,,, now im just content to be alone, i become overwhelmed more easily in social situations now and i crave social interaction a lot less.

Lately i guess ive been isolating myself more than usual.. i dont think its extreme i just dont allow company as often and sleep most of the day.

I've been socially isolated for a large majority of my life. I wouldn't say it's extreme, but I tend to enjoy being alone most the time. People just stress me out. It does get to me a lot, though.

I actually enjoy being social, people to me me can be sooo funny and random, and that makes me laugh...
But the feeling of getting lost in it all creates social anxiety for me, spending most of the time with no clue as to what's going on, and having information overload from all the conversations that people have around me, makes it all hard to cope with, but that's life and even if it does make me withdraw from time to time, I prefer to try and have a life outside of my little internal safety zone.
Would it be wrong of me to say that putting a large potato in someone's mouth when their talking too much for me to cope with, would be emensly helpful?

It's pretty normal for me but I do not always enjoy it. Periodic isolation is required for sanity... but I tend to take it a bit too far. Sometimes I don't leave my apartment for days on end and when I finally do speak to somebody, my voice seems "out of practice". Social engagements? Negative.

I wouldn't call my experience extreme social isolation but there is a marked difference in the amount I socialize and the amount some/most friends socialize. Now that I'm out of school, even more so.

It was a surprise to discover I had AS a few years ago. I never could figure out why I wanted to be utterly alone so much. I DON'T KNOW why people enjoy socializing. Like if you have a choice, why would you choose to socialize? Don't know. So I guess I don't understand why AS people are sometimes depressed about the social isolation. If I was different and liked socialization, parties, etc, then I would do that. But I don't so I won't. I don't really miss that part of my life. It's like, someone doesn't like tomatoes......so, don't eat them. I don't like to ride horses, so I don't. Yes, I am sure I am missing out on benefits of friendships (love, clarification, laughter, meaning) but it doesn't hurt all that much b/c if I was really lonely I would just go out and meet with people.

I go through phases where I hyperfocus on something so much that I forget about people (usually work). Then once the project, job, whatever is finished I realise I haven't socialised properly in ages and feel pretty terrible about being a weird loner. So I try to seek out new people by joining groups, meetups, etc with 'nerdy' types (tech meets, coding, etc) that don't really mind or notice if my social skills are a bit odd. I do well for a while and feel almost 'normal'. But then I end up finding a new focus and invariably I will self isolate again without thinking. I can't seem to balance work + hobbies + socialising + other things all at the same time. It's all or nothing. For example, I recently ended a contract job and immediately realised I'd been working 80 hour weeks and was really unfit as a result. So I went on a strict healthy diet and exercise regime that took up all of my focus and have fixed that issue. But now I need to focus on looking for another contract/permanent job, which will take up all of my focus writing CVs, cover letters, speaking to agencies, planning interviews, travelling, etc. Nothing else will get my attention until I have a new role and routine. I'll then probably end up isolating myself again as I'll focus on the new job. Fortunately, my family are willing to put up with my irregular communication or I wouldn't have anyone to speak to outside of work.

Saying that, even during my 'sociable' periods I still need a lot of regular time to myself. I've also noticed my sense of time is totally off. I can go 3-4 years without speaking to someone that I used to know quite well, and speaking to them again feels exactly as though we spoke just yesterday. But I've been told that's weird. I spoke to an old colleague of mine on facebook after not communicating for 4 years (just to comment on a DIY issue she had posted that I had a solution for). We got on very well as colleagues and she was the one who added me initially. So I messaged her in the same way I had always done and she said it was a bit awkward and OTT since we hadn't spoken in ages. She was polite but has now blocked me. So I think other people need more 'relationship maintenance' to continue feeling the same way about a contact. Whereas for me nothing changes. Once I build up a relationship with someone that relationship is fixed unless something drastic happens to alter how I view them. This seems to be an autism-related issue, as one classmate of mine contacted me a month ago and mentioned she had been diagnosed with aspergers as well and we both continued chatting and teasing one another just as we had 15 years ago in highschool.

Lastly, there are certain things I do normally that I have to remember not to do in front of other people (like rocking, tapping or twirling things, remembering to speak and make the right gestures, etc) and although I'm quite good at this now and can be almost an extrovert on the surface, I get exhausted if I have to 'perform' for too long. So I need time to be either completely alone or just around people that know me well enough not to be annoyed/confused by my behaviour. If I'm in an office all day 'acting normal' then when I get home I can't speak for up to an hour and need to listen to music, rock/tap, do routine things until I calm down. That doesn't leave any time to go out and socialise.

I do worry that I will end up an old cat lady later on in life!

Extreme social isolation normal for this aspie. Does it bother me? Every once in a while. Do I get lonely? Hell, yes! Is there anything I can do about it? I could, but won't. Why? Past experience tells me that I'll just get burnt, AGAIN!