Social skills are worse

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I think my social skills are getting worse now than they were a year or so ago. Quite a bit worse. Is this unusual/odd?

What else has changed recently? They wouldn't normally just start getting worse all by themselves. There are usually triggers or other developments that cause changes in behavior.

Anything happen that may have caused you to withdraw some?

Not really. I was really depressed a couple months ago but have been on anti-depressants, and now my mood is not down and negative. That would make me think that I would be MORE social now, but I am not....I am just becoming more withdrawn....OR maybe I am just realizing it now more than I have before because since my diagnosis things have been on my mind quite a lot. Not sure though.

"I am just becoming more withdrawn"

How so? Spending less time with others? Any particular reason for this?

Don't take this the wrong way, but one doesn't "just become more withdrawn." One withdraws more. In other words, it doesn't just happen. You have to withdraw yourself. You may not have taken the time to think about it, but if it's happening, you are doing it, and there is a reason you are.

"Since my diagnosis?"

What diagnosis? Autism? Was it recent? If it was recent, this could be related.

Antidepressants might make you more aware of certain things you weren't aware of before, but it wouldn't change the amount of time you spend alone. Argh. That's not quite right. What I mean is, if the amount of time you're spending alone has increased, you probably would have notice that with or without the meds. With the meds, some behavioral changes can happen.

Are you really spending more time alone? If so, how does it feel? Are you okay with it? Or is it bothering you? If it's bothering you, you probably should bring this up with your doctor. The meds could be causing you some undesirable side effects.

What’s up, Lily?

I noticed to that after the diagnosis I allowed myself to accept my autistic behaviors and that led to me becoming more reclusive and more social mishaps. I think it's natural, but I decided after awhile that in order to maintain relationships I had to go back to suppressing some of the stuff (i.e. talking about things that nobody else wants to hear about, not saying things when I'm not sure whether they are socially acceptable). It's probably just a phase that most of us that learn about autism later in life go through. I wouldn't worry about it too much. About the anti-depressants: they are bad news. They prescribe them for just about everything now. You go in with the sniffles you come out with anti-depressants. JK But I dealt with depression till a couple of years ago, when I finally admitted to myself that it was what it was. I think finding out about autism and realizing that I was depressed was enough to make me change things to pull me out of it. I wish you all of the best luck and don't worry there is light at the end of the tunnel. It wasn't until I was thirty one that things got better for me, but I wasn't aware of what was going on. Once you have knowledge you have power over it.