Has anyone done anything that made them more social?

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From kindergarden to fourth grade I would not talk to anyone at school. If they were not the kids that I have been playing with since I was four years old I would not have anything to do with them. When I was in fourth grade we use to play hockey or basketball everyday. But one day it was raining like crazy, we were all jazzed up to do something so one of the kids said he had a game that was like nothing we ever saw before. That game was Dungeons & Dragons. At first I only played with the close knit group of friends I had. I loved the game it allowed to create whole worlds, societies, races, and cultures in the game world. So I became a Dungeon-master, There was a shortage of good dungeonmasters so people kept asking to join my game that I was running. My friends talked me into letting new people to join the group. I also had new game groups going. I slowly became a little more social, people still thought I was weird but I was at least talking to people I did not know. As an added bonus my reading and math skills improved greatly since I was using them to play the game,

Anyone else ever do or joined something that made them a little more social? D&D has greatly improved my life for the better. Its funny how the little things in life can make a big difference.

Not me....I really don't care to be social.


I'm pretty asocial. For the most part, i'm just indifferent to
other humans.

My social deficits really aren't what bothers me about my neuropsychological
issues.


As long as people leave me alone and don't harass or bully me, i'm perfectly
fine.

I prefer to be ignored in fact...i'd like it very much if most people in the world
(with some exceptions) would just act like i'm not even there.

I get nothing out of most interactions with other humans.....nothing but anxiety, stress,
boredom, etc....

Working at a fast food place will do one of two things: improve your social skills or send you running for the nearest exit.

In my case, it was the former.

Yes, Im in a rock band and a music engineer for musicians. I have developed better social skills from working with people all the time.

Being more social would not make my life better.
I'm in an orchestra and I love it, but I go for the music, not to socialise.

I used to have a job (lawyer) that required me to be very social. I worked with people in an office who were just very charming and sociable, and I copied them. The "social skills" (for lack of a better term) stayed with me so now, years later, I can use them when I need to, but I don't really like being very sociable. Its pretty draining.

I've found that I've become more social, in the fall of 1998, going to my clubhouse. It's not a place for druggies to hang out. It's a club for people, who need a safe place to hang out.

The aspie I know did Rocky Horror.

Also, he is a schoolteacher. Nothing like middle schoolers to socialize you better.

Well, just being forced to interact with people really does make it easier for me to do so, but there's a cost in the effort expended, and I find it's really not worth the trouble anymore. Something that doesn't require effort is acupuncture, which I use as a sedative of sorts before any social interaction that makes me particularly edgy, like doctor and dental appointments and social events which involve many people.

All through school, once I was being counseled by psychologists and psychiatrists, I was forced to have "peer interactions". DUMBEST thing ever known to mankind, in my opinion. At age 43 looking back, it did absolutely nothing to help, in fact it made things worse. I will assume, had I been properly diagnosed, the peer interaction campaign might not have happened the same way. All it did, was force me to be weird around other kids who otherwise wouldn't have known me at all. The result was that more kids found out how different I was, and all the more teasing and bullying. My instinct to choose friends carefully, was correct, and the compulsory (blundering) attempts at popularity were detrimental mistakes.

Charles

I think work has been the main catalyst for me doing anything social. I won't say it didn't have moments where I said something that made sense to me but came across pretty badly, and the social events with colleagues usually ended up with me mortified and embarrassed,. In fact that happened every time but I managed to teach myself from it. It's been like building myself by myself rather than turning up fully formed, but it's really helped.
I did try to join a few social groups or activity classes, but I never could fit in. I tried karate once and the noise of everyone shouting in unison stopped me going back again. Other than that it was trying to force myself to strike up a conversation with people around me, although I always went from 0-getting it wrong in about two minutes! But it taught me as well so I'm sure it had benefits...

I actually credit the evening out of several areas of weakness to my playing videogames. I could watch the interactions the characters had and see what they did, how they spoke. It also helped my reflexes and fine motor, and the skills have stayed with me and are probably making me a better typist. (I seem to have a genetic predisposition toward marginally faster than average reflexes, though.)

I can recall arguments with my OT about that. I don't think many people are willing to give games enough credit. That was better than any single therapy since, producing a long-lasting alleviation of suffering in a humane and enjoyable way, without changing who I am as a person.

At work, I am forced to be social every day and I hate it. Luckily, it's not customer service, so I don't have to be nice, but I have to be civil. On days when my mood is low, I am completely miserable.

Most people try to make me sociable or feel they have to punish me for not be sociable. I have learned to be sociable enough when I really want to be and NEED to be, but I would rather not.