Autistic Emotions

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In your experience, how are AS emotions different from NT emotions? Are our emotions like that of a child? Do we only feel the extreme emotions and not feel the subtle ones? Do we go from 0-100 much faster than NT's?

I'm just curious about how ya'll interpret you emotions so that I can explain my emotions to NT's more effectively.

When I was a child, I only felt the simplest emotions. And I couldn't discern in others anything which wasn't absolutely "over the top."

By and large, I believe autistic people usually experience similar emotions to NT's. The difference lies in how we handle emotions, rather than the emotions themselves.

Very good question.
I was diagnostised with Asperger Syndrome, but still have a hard time to identify with it. One of the reason is emotions. It is commonly agreed that Asperger's feel very simple emotions and are not at ease with them. I know many aspies that suit this description.
However in my case i rather feel alot of emotions to a degree superior than most people. I have a hard time making a difference between them, it is like they all come together very strongly. Positives in good times and negatives in bad times. This is the source of most of my trouble, since i avoid any situation that can lead to strong emotions, which is the main reason i'am withdrawn.

I wonder if other aspies can relate to that and if it is common in the spectrum?

I believe the primary difference with our emotions compared to NTs are intensity and lack of control. Going from 0 to 100 is far more easy a task for ASDs than it is for NTs, that much is certain. And of course when we're at 100 controlling it at that level becomes next to impossible.

There's been many situations especially in workplace scenarios where I was unable to control what I said nor my actions and the NTs around me perceived me as a threat and I was drummed out of that workplace. That scenario has repeated itself more than a dozen times unfortunately because I couldn't control myself.

My weaknesses are anger and panic and I seem to have both of those in spades. If I did something wrong at work, I would apologize but then immediately jump to 100 in intensity for panic and I would turn into a basket case with my boss looking on with this shocked look in his eye. Usually he would try to calm me down but more often than not he would be unsuccessful. Then I would be labeled as someone with a bad attitude and a problem employee. Bye bye job, once again.

An ASDs emotional state is for the most part uncontrollable and those of us who can control it to a certain degree at least to the level where we won't hurt somebody are the lucky ones. I believe very strongly that the prison system is full of people with undiagnosed Autism and those who could not control their emotions and they turned ugly fast.

Anxiety is a weakness that we all have and the lucky ones have found coping strategies, pharmaceutical drug treatments and therapy. But Autism is a very expensive condition to have and utterly high maintenance to boot. Most do not have access to government programs and/or financial means, like myself, to properly take care of themselves.

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*** High Functioning Autism - Asperger's Syndrome ***

ADHD, OCD, and PTSD.

Keep calm and stim away.

I experience more intense and varied emotions than NTs. I also have a different belief system to them coupled with a curious mind rather than a judgemental one (although I can form judgements in some ways, especially in regards to behaviours and belief systems that I believe cause unnecessary suffering, as this is something I do not like to see), therefore my world is vastly different to theirs.

I am also more physically sensitive than the majority of NTs are.

I would say my feelings are more complex than theirs. Their feelings tend to be more basic and simplistic. They also seem to lack awareness of what they are feeling much of the time, whereas my sensitivity makes me accutely aware of what my feelings are.

^^^ yes. The stereotype of autistics having no emotion or empathy comes a lot from some people having a flat effect and not being able to convey what they think or also having alexithmia and not being able to identify what they feel. I also feel emotions, my own and from others, very deeply. To the point that I freeze and shut down and people ask me why I don't care. Very frustrating.

I don't react very much to anything that happens. I can be very blank and inert. This has often made my wife angry with me because she is very expressive. But I did not understand this about myself when we married twenty nine years ago . I was diagnosed in 2013, which helped me a lot. But surface emotion is something i struggle with and sometimes I feel like it is just an act to satisfy others...my wife mostly, but it's not her fault and I feel like I have ripped her off by getting me as a partner.
I don't express emotion very much but it does not mean that I don't feel it. It just seems to be an internal and mute process. I apologise to those people that I have annoyed because of it.

I feel pretty much all the emotions that others do, but generally more intensely. I get upset by things that wouldn't bother others, or not to the same degree. And sometimes I let them out in the form of crying or a meltdown.

I have a very marked inability to understand or express anything I haven't personally experienced firsthand. It's just how my brain works. So I honestly couldn't say, since I'm not NT, logically and specifically what the difference is. I do think though that NTs seem to have a little more insight and clarity to their own and other NT feelings. But that's about as much as I can say.

The subject line appears to have brought to light a very interesting point with regards to ASDs and their emotional states.

There seems to be a huge disconnect with what an ASD actually feels inside and what an ASD actually expresses visually for all the world to see. I've seen some here write that they feel no emotions at all and yet others believe that we have extremely strong emotions that are quite intense. But none have really stated whether it's what they actually feel inside as opposed to what they actually express for all to see.

Now I would agree with some that certain emotional stimuli causes me to express nothing at all and yet inside of me there is a raging torrent that I am unsure of what to do with as far as expressing myself. And yet other emotional stimuli causes me to react immediately and this mirrors what I actually feel inside which is again, the raging emotional torrent.

This appears to be part of our emotional struggle as ASDs with regards to emotional states of what we actually express and what we actually feel inside. Sometimes we react immediately and sometimes we react at the wrong times with uncontrollable intensity. This aspect of our re-active and inactive emotional states may hold the key to many other problems that we face on a daily basis.

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*** High Functioning Autism - Asperger's Syndrome ***

ADHD, OCD, and PTSD.

Keep calm and stim away.