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Highly_Autistic
Deinonychus
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28 Jun 2023, 8:37 am

Nowadays I started overthinking some stuff about my life.

I'm 25 years old and aspie, and constantly trying to get my life in order, I couldn't though

First I dont have any friends, so i feel like missing out on a lot of things, activities. At the same time I don't like people and they mostly seem a lot different than me. Their words, behaviors, mimics look annoying to me. Thats stressful. I struggle to find like minded guys and that leads to loneliness

On the other side i don't have a regular job and couldn't get successful in career path also

So that feeling of staying behind in life and not being successful disturbs me.

Now put yourself in my shoes and give some advices honestly please. I can't see anyone that resembles me so i feel lost



Double Retired
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28 Jun 2023, 8:48 am

Making friends was never my strong-point, either. However, I am very introverted so I rather like living like a recluse. I figured I should have some social interaction, though, so I joined a social organization (in my case, Mensa, though churches and volunteer organizations come to mind as other candidates). Just by being routinely around some of the same people on a recurring basis I made a few friends.

Parade: "Making New Friends as an Adult Isn’t Easy, but..."

Getting your financial situation in order, though, would seem more important to me. Not only will it improve your life, it might make it easier to make friends.


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KitLily
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28 Jun 2023, 8:53 am

^what Double Retired said.

Also, if you have a job/hobbies, you can find friends there. I count it as a success if I find one friend at a group I visit. I don't hope for more than 1 these days. Then if you find 1 at each place, you'll gather a group.


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bee33
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28 Jun 2023, 9:58 am

Depending on where you live, you might be able to find autistic meetups on meetup.com. You might be better able to make friends with other folks who are also on the spectrum. Or it might just be nice to interact with them at the meetups.



notSpock
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28 Jun 2023, 4:14 pm

Do you have a strong interest or interests? I have usually best connected with others and found friends through shared interests.

I totally relate on the job search stress front, even though I have managed to work most of my life (it's still a struggle, dealing with some of the people).

Is there any chance of finding something that would connect at least partly with an interest you have? Have you considered temp work? I got a permanent job from a temp job. The key for me was finding/creating a niche that suited me.

Sounds like you have a bit of resentment against "people". That's natural if you've had bad experiences. I still don't relate well directly to the great majority of people, but somewhere in my 30s I began to get slightly more comfortable (or less uncomfortable) in situations I would have wanted to just avoid earlier. This allowed me to feel less alienated. If someone bothers me, I do my best to avoid them. But it's always specific individuals who do those things. I try to always give new people the benefit of the doubt, while at the same time keeping watch for concerning signs that might actually appear. Actually most people are decent, but just don't understand us.

Connecting with other aspies may also be good, if you have the chance.



skibum
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28 Jun 2023, 5:22 pm

Highly_Autistic wrote:
Nowadays I started overthinking some stuff about my life.

I'm 25 years old and aspie, and constantly trying to get my life in order, I couldn't though

First I dont have any friends, so i feel like missing out on a lot of things, activities. At the same time I don't like people and they mostly seem a lot different than me. Their words, behaviors, mimics look annoying to me. Thats stressful. I struggle to find like minded guys and that leads to loneliness

On the other side i don't have a regular job and couldn't get successful in career path also

So that feeling of staying behind in life and not being successful disturbs me.

Now put yourself in my shoes and give some advices honestly please. I can't see anyone that resembles me so i feel lost
A lot more people resemble you than you realize. You have to change your expectations. You can't judge yourself by neurotypical standards.


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Highly_Autistic
Deinonychus
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Joined: 22 Aug 2018
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30 Jun 2023, 10:49 am

Double Retired wrote:
Making friends was never my strong-point, either. However, I am very introverted so I rather like living like a recluse. I figured I should have some social interaction, though, so I joined a social organization (in my case, Mensa, though churches and volunteer organizations come to mind as other candidates). Just by being routinely around some of the same people on a recurring basis I made a few friends.

Parade: "Making New Friends as an Adult Isn’t Easy, but..."

Getting your financial situation in order, though, would seem more important to me. Not only will it improve your life, it might make it easier to make friends.


I rather like living isolated too. But it makes me feel disconnected from the world.



Highly_Autistic
Deinonychus
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Joined: 22 Aug 2018
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30 Jun 2023, 11:04 am

notSpock wrote:
Do you have a strong interest or interests? I have usually best connected with others and found friends through shared interests.

I totally relate on the job search stress front, even though I have managed to work most of my life (it's still a struggle, dealing with some of the people).

Is there any chance of finding something that would connect at least partly with an interest you have? Have you considered temp work? I got a permanent job from a temp job. The key for me was finding/creating a niche that suited me.

Sounds like you have a bit of resentment against "people". That's natural if you've had bad experiences. I still don't relate well directly to the great majority of people, but somewhere in my 30s I began to get slightly more comfortable (or less uncomfortable) in situations I would have wanted to just avoid earlier. This allowed me to feel less alienated. If someone bothers me, I do my best to avoid them. But it's always specific individuals who do those things. I try to always give new people the benefit of the doubt, while at the same time keeping watch for concerning signs that might actually appear. Actually most people are decent, but just don't understand us.

Connecting with other aspies may also be good, if you have the chance.


I'm interested in tech and programming. Also graduated from that field. I don't like most of the people but staying away from everyone, not doing anything socially and inexperience bothers me

skibum wrote:
A lot more people resemble you than you realize. You have to change your expectations. You can't judge yourself by neurotypical standards.


So, you say I have to lower my expectations? I don't really have high expectations. Problem is I don't want to live like this forever



notSpock
Blue Jay
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30 Jun 2023, 12:41 pm

I'm a severely socially challenged software engineer myself, I get it.

In each situation I'm in, I try to identify one or two people I might have a better chance of connecting with. I'll never really feel like "part of the team" as they say, but I have varying degrees of rapport with various individuals.

When I used to work in-office, there were also a number of people I just regularly exchanged friendly greetings with. I would be awkward in a real conversation with them, but a smile and a greeting can generate good will.

I know I sometimes make negative impressions because I frown and talk too loud and interrupt, and cannot control those things. But I have found that at least with some people, I can also generate good will by being positive, and that helps to balance things out. And some of those people never see me doing the "bad" behavior.

Tech work may also give you the opportunity to find a balance of independent work and some interaction. I have worked mostly remote for most of the last decade, which has been very helpful for me. Especially now with video conferencing software, my current closest collaborator and I agree there's really no need for us to be in the office.

For me at this point, being able to work remote is my requirement. Another thing I know little about is that depending on where you live, there also may be a legal requirement for an employer to make accommodations allowing remote work, if you have a formal diagnosis.