Is it IMPOSSIBLE for an Aspie to be himself/herself?

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Adrie
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09 Jan 2008, 12:08 pm

I mean, as an Aspie, when you first meet somebody new, is it even possible to be yourself?

I have met new people lately and no matter how I try to relax and be myself, the point is that when I do this, I always say the WRONG THING - the thing that stops the conversation, that is. The only way to really get to know them is by NOT being myself, and trying to say the right thing. I know everybody - Aspie and NT alike - must feel this way to an extent, but Aspies probably feel it a lot more, and maybe in a different way. I think I am Aspie in that my conversations with people are misaligned. Most people have a conversation pattern where one says A and the other says B, etc., but I always jump around and say X, or go back to A again...

Does that make sense? Do you think it's possible for an Aspie (or for anyone) to be himself/herself when meeting someone new?



poopylungstuffing
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09 Jan 2008, 12:27 pm

I find it hard NOT to be myself....I am often instructed to "pretend"...i.e. go along with this imaginary script for standard social interractions....But I always draw a blank....and if I don't withdraw....then I immediately become hyper-divergant....and am always going on tangents.....(The victim makes polite pleasantries followed by hasty retreat)
OR....victim notices that I am "different" and the candied kindergarten teacher tone of voice is taken with me (sometimes with females)...."I have to go over there now and talk to someone else..okaaay?".....(I am exaggerating)...sorta....



deadeyexx
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09 Jan 2008, 12:35 pm

Being outgoing enough to meet new people in the first place is something out of character for me, and talking to them in a way that builds rapport, even more so.

So no, being myself does not work for meeting new people.



MeshGearFox
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09 Jan 2008, 1:36 pm

No, it is not impossible. If you want to get along for the sake of getting along in the short term, then be superficial with the knowledge it's an act. But you need to be yourself at some point during a relationship, why not start at the beginning? If you're aware of your conversation patterns, why not use it to your advantage? Dare to be different.

My contributions to a conversation go off the road and people will give me an incomprehensible look like they're listening to a surrealist poet. I no longer pay any attention to them. It's much worse to be too self-conscious and try to be what I think people expect from me. I misread those cues and make matters worse. It's like lying. One lie leads to another towards the road to ruin.



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09 Jan 2008, 2:19 pm

I can't be myself when meeting a new person. It's like I put on a mask, and I'm never really myself. In fact the only person I have ever been comfortable enough with to be myself, (I mean fully and truly my self) is One-winged-angel. Nobody else knows the real me. (except maybe other family) people who have been my friend in the past *think* they know me, but they don't.



Adrie
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09 Jan 2008, 5:32 pm

poopylungstuffing wrote:
...and am always going on tangents.....(The victim makes polite pleasantries followed by hasty retreat)

Haha, that is my problem, I'm always going off on tangents and I seem to leave no comfortable way for the other person to respond. I guess I'm too in my own head for people to relate to what I'm saying.

But that's what I mean. If I do that, people back away and I don't get to know anyone. So being myself just doesn't work. :?



Brittany2907
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09 Jan 2008, 6:07 pm

Adrie wrote:
I mean, as an Aspie, when you first meet somebody new, is it even possible to be yourself?
Do you think it's possible for an Aspie (or for anyone) to be himself/herself when meeting someone new?


I find that even meeting new people is out of character for me. I rarely do it and when I do, I conciously tell myself to "act" like everyone around me...still, I come accross as "odd". I think that most people, if nervous about meeting someone at first, will put on an act...I think for aspies that may be more so true as to try harder to fit it.


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siuan
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09 Jan 2008, 8:03 pm

Quote:
Is it IMPOSSIBLE for an Aspie to be himself/herself?


No, it's just impossible for people to accept it.


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nekoguy
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09 Jan 2008, 9:07 pm

MeshGearFox wrote:
No, it is not impossible. If you want to get along for the sake of getting along in the short term, then be superficial with the knowledge it's an act. But you need to be yourself at some point during a relationship, why not start at the beginning? If you're aware of your conversation patterns, why not use it to your advantage? Dare to be different.

My contributions to a conversation go off the road and people will give me an incomprehensible look like they're listening to a surrealist poet. I no longer pay any attention to them. It's much worse to be too self-conscious and try to be what I think people expect from me. I misread those cues and make matters worse. It's like lying. One lie leads to another towards the road to ruin.


I agree with you, very well put. I personally have trouble getting along with new people because of my unusual interests.



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10 Jan 2008, 2:51 am

Adrie wrote:
that is my problem, I'm always going off on tangents and I seem to leave no comfortable way for the other person to respond. I guess I'm too in my own head for people to relate to what I'm saying.

Me too !
Adrie wrote:
I know everybody - Aspie and NT alike - must feel this way to an extent, but Aspies probably feel it a lot more, and maybe in a different way. I think I am Aspie in that my conversations with people are misaligned. Most people have a conversation pattern where one says A and the other says B, etc., but I always jump around and say X, or go back to A again...

Does that make sense? Do you think it's possible for an Aspie (or for anyone) to be himself/herself when meeting someone new?

That makes sense. I'd say that all people, in the eyes of another (external) person, are going to seem (more or less) distorted-not quite how he/she feels one really is.
Some people are much different in private than in public, other people are more similar across contexts. I feel very comfortable (able to "be myself" for the most part) around a few familiar people that I've known for years-but I'm thrown off-balance by strangers & people with whom there's lack of shared meaning. Makes it hard to meet any new folks who could become potential friends...


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Danielismyname
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10 Jan 2008, 3:32 am

You mean, there's the possibility that I could be someone who I'm not?

I talk and walk like Daniel no matter where I am; which isn't much, and I kinda sway like an ape, but hey, not all of us can fit in the "normal" box.



MsBehaviour
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10 Jan 2008, 3:49 am

Only around people I know and trust.


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psychotic
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10 Jan 2008, 5:23 am

no, cause an "aspie" is always someone else. its an interesting property that only "aspies" seem to have. strange breed, huh?