Does having Asperger's make it hard to think positive?

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I wonder if TechnoDog is simply referring to the fact that not being an optimist can be a significant limitation – particularly in the working world (unclear if he also extends this to other social areas including school, family, friends, etc.).

In my experience, the working world seems to favor the optimist. The optimist is a “Go Getter”. The optimist is someone who believes that no challenge is insurmountable. The optimist can, if given power/authority, get others to do whatever it takes (i.e. “jump through hoops” – LOL) to get the job done according to his/her vision of reality. The optimist does not care if the proverbial emperor is naked.

The optimist sees the realist as a naysayer and a negative influence on others. Unfortunately, it seems that the only thing the realist can do is “play along” waiting for the optimist to fail. Then (and only then), the optimist is seen as being incompetent and/or delusional.

I think a lot of it is chemical/genetic and maybe some people are more prone to being negative and depressed than other and some people are prone to be more positive. I don't know if it has any relation to having Aspergers or not. I've never struggled with depression. I've had times when life wasn't so great but there was a real reason, like a death in the family or being in a bad marriage. I've always managed to bounce back and be pretty content with life and it's not because I convinced myself to think happy thoughts.

Yes, I'm a realist. The mortality rate is 100%. I'm probably more cautious because I'm well aware of how close we cheat death some days, but I also know there really isn't a whole lot you can do other than live well and be happy in the meantime. I have an awesome 5 yr old and a great partner and we have a good life.

IME, yes, for all my life. I wonder if it interferes with my ability to get a better job, to move to a better area, to be able to accomplish anything. I think I'm just f****d half the time.

I also don't feel like real change can come from within, but I need specific support from without, support that seems to be perpetually lacking. Because of that I hate everyone and everything and I constantly have fantasies of the United States being bombed to the Stone Ages like Germany and Japan in World War II, and then I relish the thought of the American people finally being punished for their crimes.

According to Tony Attwood in his magnum opus "The Complete Guide to Asperger's Syndrome," the answer to the question posed by this thread is a resounding YES.

I've been told I'm a pessimist. I was also told growing up many, many times "you're too young to be this jaded." I just think I'm a realist, and definitely not a "jump off the cliff and build your wings on the way down" type of guy. This can be misread.

Yes, I think it does.

Right now I am in a negative loop, thinking about failures of any attempt I've ever made to try to make close friends. I feel making close friends is impossible for me. I think this because all of the failures come to mind(negative thinking). I have plenty of evidence that my attempts to build friendships have failed, and no evidence that they have succeeded. Though, I wonder if this is because NTs get constant nonverbal reassurances that their friends like them and want to spend time with them. I am horrible at reading nonverbal cues, so I get no positive feedback, and only receive the negative feedback. I think this is why I think negatively about building friendships, and why I always fail. I never see the subtle positve feedback, but always see the obvious negative feedback ( someone not talking to me as much, not inviting me over anymore, etc.) There might be more positive feedback than negative, but since I never see he positive feedback, I think there is more negative feedback. Therefore I think negatively about that friendship. The other person, an NT who can read nonverbal cues, sees that and distances herself further... I see more negative feedback... the other person distances... this continues until the potential friendship falls apart. That reinforces my thought that close friendships are impossible.
This is just a theory though.

i can't do anything with the environment that i live in... i'm surrounded by mean two face selfish neurotypicals who just want to ruin your life. they rant on every little thing in your life as if it was big... example cleaning dishes.. see the fact was that there was a couple of spoons, forks and knifes with some bowls and cups... not much. but the neurotypical goes nuts and goes on a ranting spree on how you ruined there life...
it can be anything....

the people who are around me are backstabbing idiots who just bully you on everything. i don't believe my friends and family care about me.. especially my family... no phone calls in real life from your brothers or your mom or your dad... i think they got separated because of the fact that i have autism (asperger's syndrome). i found evidence of the fact that they hate that i have this disorder(in my reality it ain't a disorder, just a label on you)... this evidence was notes that he wrote for his boss explaining the difficult task of raising an autistic p.o.s. i guess he got rid of them now... since i found them.. and now since they have been touched. the evidence has been recycled or thrown out..

see the fact is that people hid their true self... it only shows once in a while... but you got to understand that neurotypicals are terrible people. unless they change heart... which is impossible for most of the flock.

I've had all the usual problems dealing with everyone and everything my entire life. I decided to look into Buddhism to see if it would offer any relief, and found it was all started by someone with the same questions we have.

The man came from a rich family and noticed how unsatisfactory life was. He saw everyone, rich and poor, suffered from anger, greed and unhappiness and he wondered how this could be remedied. He left his rich family and became self educated and eventually puzzled out the route to personal freedom, and they called him Buddha.

The idea is to be able to see suffering and what causes it and how to end it. Not a bad idea.

denny

Depression does. Asperger's itself doesn't.

I found it next to impossible to think positively for a while, even when I was filling my head with positive self help books etc.

I went through an extremely dark period for several months before I figured out that my depression and negative mindset were being chemically caused - by my sensitivity to salicylate acids*, which was quite extreme at the time. It took me several months to detox the acids via no longer eating or drinking anything that contained them, as well as not using any products on my skin that contained them + using a lotion I made that's saturated with epsom salts in order to absorb the magnesium sulphate** that allows the body to detox the acids via urination.

I've read that 70% of people on the Autism spectrum are sensitive to salicylate acids. This may be the most common chemical cause of it being difficult for AS people to "just think positively."

*Salicylate acids are plants' natural preservative & pesticide. They're in almost all fruits, vegetables, herbs, spices, oils, coffees, teas etc. They're boosted sky high in GMO foods for both their preservative and pesticide effect. They're also have pain killing & anti-inflammatory properties. Aspirin is a strong salicylate acid, so if you react negatively to Aspirin or have an Aspirin sensitivity - then you're sensitive to salicylate acids.

**If you take stimulant drugs for ADD/ADHD, these meds leach magnesium & sulphur out of the body and create a deficiency allowing salicylate acid levels to build up and wreak havoc on the brain.

For the record, I didn't consume any of them for several months, but on the herbal treatment diet protocol I've been following for the last several months I've absolutely overdosed on them without having depression or executive function issues return. In part it's because I've continued to use the epsom salt lotion daily, discontinued the ADHD meds and all other stimulants, and also have become less sensitive to them as my digestive tract is healing. The only real symptom of salicylate sensitivity that I've noticed at all over doing this extremely high herb content diet has been some days of nearing excessive urination, which is defined as peeing 8x or more in a single day. I don't think I've quite hit 8+, but some days I've had to pee often, and I'm sure it's because on those days I consumed mass quantities of spices that are high in salicylate acids and my body was trying to detox them out of me asap. A very small price to pay for the benefits I've received for doing it.

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