Anthropophobia and autism

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"Anthropophobia, or the fear of people, is a commonly misunderstood phobia. It often resembles social phobia, but is not precisely the same fear. Depending on the severity, anthropophobia may cause a phobic reaction even when in the company of only one other person. In extreme cases, those with anthropophobia may withdraw altogether, communicating with others only through snail mail letters or such electronic means as e-mail or text messaging."

Source:
American Psychiatric Association. (1994). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (4th Ed.). Washington, DC

I found this interesting and I was wondering if there's other people who can relate to this. Do you experience a consistent, irrational fear around humans (whether they are strangers or relatives) and if so, do you think your autism might be the cause? I found that I developed this fear after having my parents divorce at a young age, turning into a more silent, anxious person and losing most of my friends as a result. I was quite sociable before that, despite being diagnosed with ASD. My fear of people has been haunting me ever since.

Any similar experiences?

Mostly I just fear stupid people.

And there seems to be quite a few of them wandering around in public.

I completely relate to this. Often, I feel scared to talk to even my own parents. I don't answer my phone, unless I know who's calling, and even then it still takes some effort to not ignore it. I have failed several classes, simply because I was so afraid of having to do a presentation I just stopped going, and was simultaneously too afraid to talk to my professor about it, and too ashamed to tell my friends or family--who probably could have helped. Even worse, I've walked out on several jobs, because I felt so uncomfortable just thinking about giving notice to bosses I was afraid to talk to; and, never finished the only "two weeks' notice" I ever gave, simply because I couldn't bring myself to say goodbye to coworkers. It's actually become a tremendous problem for me, as I am trying to become an independent adult, and productive member of society.

I definitely suspect my Asperger's and childhood experiences have influenced this. I've always just thought it was just social anxiety or shyness, but this sounds much more accurate.

I get that way on and off throughout my life. Sometimes I can handle social interaction for years and other times I'll hide myself away at home for months at a time only going out to buy groceries and I have to psych myself up for that. I skip out on many family holiday dinners and they're mostly kind, loving people. The weirdest is I get uncomfortable around my dad and he has always loved me unconditionally and supported any crazy thing I've ever wanted to do in my life. I just went through a burnout at my last job and couldn't bring myself to tell them what was going on either. I just went home in pain one day and wrote an email to them a week later once I'd calmed down enough to do so. I've done CBT treatment for social anxiety which is what I've been diagnosed with and it helped at the time but I've still gone into a couple of bad episodes since then. I've read a lot about AS and am pretty certain that's what I am. Not sure I'll ever get a proper diagnosis or if that is the cause of it for me. I do know that ongoing stress brings it out in me and so does hormonal birth control ( various birth control pills and the Mirena iud ). My parents also divorced when I was 5 and my mom lied to me about it at the time. I don't think I ever really trusted her after that. I do remember already being anxious even around close relatives before that. At university lectures I had to sit in the front to pretend there wasn't a room full of people behind me making my cheeks hot and still I wouldn't retain much information from the lecture.

I think I have a phobia of strangers. I think it's because strangers can only see me on the outside and they judge without considering my feelings on the inside. You can't exactly verbally express yourself as easily with strangers as you can with relatives or friends or colleagues, etc. I just see most strangers as judgmental hawks that have no understanding or empathy.