More literal when nervous

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I notice I am more literal when I am nervous. Every time I see my doctor or my shrink, I notice I am more concrete because I seem to take things more literal than I do usually do. Is anyone else like that?
I wonder if this happens with NTs too.

Me too, mostly because then I can't really put my mind to work in order to come up with dozens of possible non-literal meanings and tick them off through a process of elimination, let alone create my own.

Same here, it can make for dry conversation.

Anxiety/stress affects neural coordination, so many autistics actually do become more autistic when stressed. That includes maybe being more literal, increased stuttering, poverty of thought, increase seizures, poorer coordination, poorer multitasking, etc.

This happens with nonautistics too, but since our brains tend to be poorer coordinated in the first place, AND we tend to have greater issues with anxiety, it becomes more obvious in us.

It all occurs because the interneurons in the brain which mediate cortical coordination are GABA based and stress affects the GABA system. So you see an immediate direct effect on neurological coordination (I say coordination not in a gym class sense but as in neurons working together and communicating fluidly).

In the end, the more anxious we are, the more autistic we get. So don't ever think you're faking or crazy because you notice you get more autistic under stress. There's a verifiable scientific reason for it.

Although don't expect people to not look at you crazy if you mention this, even to professionals. The concept isn't well understood.

Yes. If I am feeling the social pressure, I definitely take things more literally. When I'm more relaxed, I have fewer problems.

OK, Tell the truth! You've been watching me!! !! Naw, I'm just kidding, but you NAILED it with me! I am more literal, stutter sometimes(I generally DON'T), don't think clearly, words and ideas may get jumbled, and I want to just work on the task at hand. Luckily, I don't have seizures.

Soph ya beat me to it. When under pressure I become not only more literal, I become far more autistic.

Since I know who I am, I am happy with this.

I don't think that I have more or less problems when I am nervous or calm. Infact, I think that when I am calm, I just don't notice them as much and don't really care.
I do notice, that when I am nervous, I am A LOT more self-critical than when I am calm.

With ME it is OBVIOUS! When not stressed, my job is childsplay, somewhat fun, I can state a whole paragraph without missing a beat, I can plan things out. I can program and plan out my day, and even talk to someone, etc... I don't stutter.

When I get under stress, I don't even feel like doing my job, FORGET IT!

If the stress is removed, I QUICKLY do the SAME problem, and things return to normal.

Frankly, If I were my boss, I would probably FIRE anyone putting me under stress, because it just costs the company money. Ironically, THEY are the main culprits.

Yeah, same here. The word "bumbling idiot" usually springs to mind when I'm nervous like that.



Me too. Although the ONE THING I do admire about some other people is their ability to have quick comebacks. Instead, I stutter, mix up nouns, mix up phonemes, and sound like a general idiot! ::sigh::

When I'm in a social situation and I'm nervous because I need something to say, I often get too literal. Like if someone starts teasing me by being like "Oh, ignore me why don't you.." or just a joke like that, while I recognize it as a joke, I don't know how to banter back, so I go "oh no, I was just zoning out, I'm sorry!" And then they look at me weird because they were just joking around. Or if people are joking around and bantering, I often have trouble joining in, so I veer the conversation in an oddly serious direction. For example, someone says "Oh man, I have to go to Church," and another person says "I'm so sick of religion..." - then I suddenly say "I think Romney's speech on religion was highly inappropriate..." lol! It makes me sound so odd and I kill the conversation - but I don't know what to say, and I always want to talk about something in a kind of analytical way instead of a casual way. I understand jokes and have a sense of humor and I do make a good crack every now and again, but I just prefer to explain things all the time, and it really stands out in certain situations.