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Jayo
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24 Jul 2016, 7:44 pm

I know that those of us with ASD like myself have been called lots of labels, such as "weirdo", "freak", "spaced out", "not all there", "has some sort of problem", "clueless", and a whole thesaurus of such pejoratives...but did you ever called called insane?

I can only recall being called "insane" on two occasions, once in early high school, and once in my 20s by a former house-mate, who also told me that "you need to be put in a special place where patient people can take care of you." - this was just an emotionally abusive a***ole though, as at the time I was gainfully employed in CS/IT and had a social and love life, and I could tell he was just pissed off that a "different" person got the same things others took more or less for granted.

That's one of the reasons I've historically try to avoid meltdowns when dealing with social frustrations, lest I get called "insane" for the reaction. 8O



MissAlgernon
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24 Jul 2016, 7:49 pm

I got called "insane" many times. Including by people who knew my disability, but they still expected me to behave like a NT person, and when I didn't, this is how they called me every time. Either "insane", "psycho" or "ret*d". One of those 3.



Alexanderplatz
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24 Jul 2016, 7:57 pm

"Emotional Cripple" was my starkest one - this was long before diagnosis.



somanyspoons
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24 Jul 2016, 7:59 pm

I got called scary. And my "friends" sat me down and told me I needed help for my bi-polar disorder. Does that count?



AnaHitori
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24 Jul 2016, 8:28 pm

Yup, particularly in elementary school.


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feral botanist
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24 Jul 2016, 9:45 pm

I have been told by numerous people that they have "never met anyone like you before." I always took it as a compliment, but that is probably not how they intended it.



SH90
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25 Jul 2016, 1:28 am

Back in high school I didn’t have any friends really; but I did try, just never connected (I felt different). My first and only crush back in high school told me I was a “crazy person.” Well he claimed his friends said that; but I am sure that was his opinion also. Those words really hurt me…



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25 Jul 2016, 2:07 am

lots of people have called me some variation of "crazy" over the years, but i don't remember any instance when it was mean-spirited. i'm sure there were plenty of times when it actually was meant as such, but it's not something that offends me, so it doesn't really get to me, or i don't even notice it to begin with. i don't like to draw attention, but i do enjoy being different (i don't know why though. i just do)

my close friends from high school did treat me pretty badly though when they saw i was actually going through an unstable phase in college (i was later diagnosed with a thyroid disease). i opened up to them, and instead of offering me support, they left me behind and made it sound like it was my fault. not long after that, one was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and the other one with schizophrenia. the irony...

on the other hand, i've also been implicitly or explicitly accused of being either arrogant or insensitive, in several different contexts by several different people, when i was trying my best not to be either of those things. that actually does bring me down


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EzraS
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25 Jul 2016, 8:00 am

I probably get called weird the most. But I'm sure have been called crazy a time or two.



kraftiekortie
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25 Jul 2016, 8:44 am

I've been called "insane" at least a hundred times in my life.



Redxk
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25 Jul 2016, 9:37 am

I have wondered about my own sanity and called myself insane.



TheSilentOne
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25 Jul 2016, 11:51 am

I used to get called that all the time in grade school.


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TheAvenger161173
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25 Jul 2016, 3:27 pm

"Insane" "crazy" "nutcase" "mad" "mental" "fruitcake" "psycho" :0/



Jayo
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25 Jul 2016, 6:18 pm

I suppose it was sort of expected that at one time or another, we'd get called "insane", even if we are not psychotic.
Those abnormalities in thought processing, like not being able to tell automatically when someone's upset or uncomfortable, and WHY, when everyone else does, could indeed lead to a label of "insane". I've actually said things in situations like "I get the feeling that so and so is angry, but I don't know why" - when others in my peer group *knew* it was something I said or did (albeit unintentionally) to trigger it.

ASD is unfortunately regarded as "mental illness", not mental handicap, and we get treated like such.



xile123
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25 Jul 2016, 6:43 pm

I've been told I'm scary (or look scary) and i've been called "mad".



kraftiekortie
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25 Jul 2016, 6:45 pm

I've been called many variations of "insane" on many, many occasions.

The intent of most of the people doing the name-calling, most of the time, was at least somewhat malicious.