Why do we do this?

Post Reply New Topic

I've made and looked at different topics on WP about how we analyze things and some of us think of the past alot but I was curious why do we do this? Surely NT's think of the past and rethink that argument with there boyfriend for example but why does it seem IMO (from what I've seen here) we as Aspies do it more? I can recall arguments and stuff from family from years in the past!! !! Sure there are the positives (just like everyone's life) but I tend to recall the negative. Does anyone know why we as Aspies/people on the spectrum do this?

I tend to see it as part of a larger phenomenon. Certain personality types [I name no names] tend NOT to have deep and abiding interests as I know them, tend NOT to feel as connected with their friends as I might expect, tend not to think to deeply or talk about much that is complex.

I [and the inner circle] go a lot deeper, look for more explanations. A teacher once sAid to me, You need to take course X because you are the kind isd going to want to know WHY it works, not just what works.

Fo true. And I need to know why I have the history I have had.

I'm sure NT's do it too. I try not to think of negative things in the past, unless it is something I have learned from.

I tend to focus on the positives more. I think some of the bias comes from the fact that many people use WQ as a way to vent. This could lead others to share similar (negative) stories more often than positive ones. Of course, "positive" and "negative" are somewhat subjective.

Recalling and analysing the past is one way to prepare for the future.

From some of the reading I've done it seems we replay scenarios in our heads much more then NT's.

Not only long past experiences but upcoming events, things that just took place or just imaginative things.

I find myself doing this all the time and have to watch that I don't do it driving, commuting on my bike and especially when my wife is talking to me.

I have horrible memory for experiences.
I cannot remember what I thought or what happened.
I can only read sort of status reports, analysing me.
And I, in turn, analyse those.
But I never analyse experiences.
Or conversations, for that matter.

Maybe part of it is that Aspies just think more than most people do, as we don't live our lives through other people so much. Good mental focus (under the right conditions) is one of our greatest strengths, so it's natural that we'll use it as a tool for self-improvement, just as we'd use it for any other problem.

Also, the "social ineptitude" thing - possibly for many of us, instances in our lives of social failure are important.......if we think enough about how and why those failures might have happened, then maybe we could do better next time.

I too am often amazed at the detail I can recall from past social situations, and particular relationships. I'm fascinated by the problems I've had - not in a morbid "re-living the pain" way, but in a good way.

Impairment in the regulation of attention and cognition; it's basically the same kind of issue as attention to parts, persisting in routines, and having all encompassing interests.

We do it with social situations to learn how to fit in and adapt more, whereas NTs do it very casually, quickly, and perhaps rarely to either share the "story" with other NTs or remember a random mistake they made.

So, the concept is the same, but the execution and purpose isn't.

Perhaps a big difference with NTs is that rather than shutting themselves away to ponder their mistakes in solitude, they'd be more likely to talk such matters over with friends? For example, personally I balk at the idea of CBT because I don't easily trust others enough to let them in on my self-improvement strageties, so I tend to practise my own, private cognitive therapy on myself, though I'm sure that others could give me a lot of insights that I'm blind to in my splendid isolation.

Well surely NTs do this as well. Maybe not as much as we do. We tend to dwell on the past more because of either or overactive minds or because we cannot easily forget past events, especially if the even had been an unpleasant one.
For example, I always think of the stupidest things I've said or done, or the worst things I have heard or seen other people do, even if they weren't directed at me.

Oh, dang! I've just did that in the Fake Personality thread. I've analyzed the time that I've identified with Sid. I guess that it's one of the many traits that a lot of us seem to share.