Hypersensitivity to things like social cues?

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Obstinate
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08 Mar 2008, 8:31 am

I'm wondering if this is an Aspie thing or not. I know lots of people talk about not knowing if someone's bored with what they're saying, or understand what people are feeling. For me it's the exact opposite. Whenever I'm talking, I have this constant, repetitive thought that I'm boring them , or that I'm doing something wrong socially, or if I hear a certain tone I get really scared and ask what's wrong, and they usually say it's nothing but I can't help but think it is. And if someone says something to me, it runs through my head repetitively and gets me down. Is this AS? I mean it could just be OCD but just asking.



aries
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08 Mar 2008, 9:29 am

Oh yeah I get this all the time. In fact the main reason I hardly say anything with people I don't know about myself (I always ask them about themselves) is because I am scared of boring them. What you're describing I believe is social anxiety (SA). You're aware enough that you pick up on these cues but you may be misinterpreting them or exaggerating them. I am like you in that I think I have mild AS but that contributes to my SA. My SA is a symptom of my AS. I don't have OCD though.


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pakled
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08 Mar 2008, 11:31 am

happens to me all the time. I keep it short and sweet. Works...mostly...;)



Shayne
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08 Mar 2008, 12:42 pm

one thing that affects it is not knowing how necessay what i have to say is?

if its something that i know about then the person that im talking to could very well already have an understanding of what im trying to describe. but im trying to describe it accurately and precisely that maybe its taking longer than the person wants to stand there and listen to as they might already have the understanding that im trying to get to. so maybe it comes out to be like a bit of a rant. and i try to keep certain points in mind so i might keep adding details to make the point more valid and also repeat the point in the process. but if the person already understands the detail, then im just going of for no reason and they are being too polite to stop me, but none the less the more i talk, the more i suspect that im just going on about it way too much. but they are giving me a chance to say what i have to say even though that they are hoping that i will be done soon. so maybe if i summed up what i was trying to say it would be good. but often the point is a little more complicated than just to be able to sum it up and still feel that ive communicated well....



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08 Mar 2008, 1:35 pm

Obstinate wrote:
I'm wondering if this is an Aspie thing or not. I know lots of people talk about not knowing if someone's bored with what they're saying, or understand what people are feeling. For me it's the exact opposite. Whenever I'm talking, I have this constant, repetitive thought that I'm boring them , or that I'm doing something wrong socially, or if I hear a certain tone I get really scared and ask what's wrong, and they usually say it's nothing but I can't help but think it is. And if someone says something to me, it runs through my head repetitively and gets me down. Is this AS? I mean it could just be OCD but just asking.


this happens to me quite a lot. i think it's because you have at least some understanding of the social cues, but not as fluently or innately as the person you are talking to. so there is a tendency to over think the situation and worry that you might be over compensating for your lack of understanding of the situation. did that make sense?

the only time i don't start acting like this in social situations is if i've had alcoholic drinks, in which case the repetitive/obsessive thinking about what i said and did starts the next day or so.


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aries
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08 Mar 2008, 2:05 pm

peebo wrote:
Obstinate wrote:
I'm wondering if this is an Aspie thing or not. I know lots of people talk about not knowing if someone's bored with what they're saying, or understand what people are feeling. For me it's the exact opposite. Whenever I'm talking, I have this constant, repetitive thought that I'm boring them , or that I'm doing something wrong socially, or if I hear a certain tone I get really scared and ask what's wrong, and they usually say it's nothing but I can't help but think it is. And if someone says something to me, it runs through my head repetitively and gets me down. Is this AS? I mean it could just be OCD but just asking.


this happens to me quite a lot. i think it's because you have at least some understanding of the social cues, but not as fluently or innately as the person you are talking to. so there is a tendency to over think the situation and worry that you might be over compensating for your lack of understanding of the situation. did that make sense?

the only time i don't start acting like this in social situations is if i've had alcoholic drinks, in which case the repetitive/obsessive thinking about what i said and did starts the next day or so.


I don't think I've noticed it consciously but thinking about it that exactly what happens to me! Maybe because alcohol is a depressant and ret*ds those processes until a later time.


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Social_Fantom
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08 Mar 2008, 2:13 pm

I'm still learning what social cues are and how to detect them. It baffles me that people are born knowing how to do this, it is a lot of work. :?


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SilverProteus
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08 Mar 2008, 2:18 pm

Social_Fantom wrote:
I'm still learning what social cues are and how to detect them. It baffles me that people are born knowing how to do this, it is a lot of work. :?


Me too, I look for cues all the time.


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peebo
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08 Mar 2008, 6:44 pm

aries wrote:
I don't think I've noticed it consciously but thinking about it that exactly what happens to me! Maybe because alcohol is a depressant and ret*ds those processes until a later time.


yes. it's as if alcohol temporarily stops the constant stream of thought relating to how whether or not you are acting normally. i'm actually a lot more sociable when a bit drunk, although there have been a few times it's caused problems. if i am first introduced to people while having had a few drinks, then meet them again in the future, they seem surprised at how generally quiet i am, like a completely different person from who they had met previously.


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MissConstrue
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08 Mar 2008, 6:49 pm

OMG, I do this almost all the time. I think since I read about the symptoms of AS in connection to funny speach imppediments, I've become more self conscious about how I talk and sound. It drives me crazy. I don't know if this is an aspie trait or not.



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08 Mar 2008, 9:20 pm

I'm guessing that the hypersensitivity might be an over-reaction to not understanding the social cues at one point or another... There are many times in my life, looking back, where I didn't get the social cues at all -- never even saw them and suffered horribly because of it... Afterwards, I would tend to become almost paranoid and think that people were all just being nice on the surface but underneath they all wanted either to use me, make fun of me or basically gossip negatively about me whenever I left the room.. It's like, damn if I was going to fall for it again and think they actually accepted me... I got to where I suspected this alot and actually, maybe it's true.. Maybe they did gossip about me..

At one point, in school, I remember listening to conversations from behind the closed doors, etc.. and would here them a couple of times talk behind my back "She's good looking, but it's her persoooonnnnaaaaaaality!! !" and then they would laugh... They see my autism as a personal failing... instead of .. Oh, it's sad that she doesn't understand half of our communication... No, they don't understand and always laugh at the differences and tear them apart.. After years of that, a person really could become over-paranoid about social cues.. I think the truth is, I still miss alot of these social cues regardless of being overly concerned about them or not... It's neurological, right? Unless that neurofeedback or some operation or whatever could help restructure the wiring of the brain, it's always going to be like that to a certain extent... I'm starting to feel more like it's Time for some self-acceptance and to heck with those who don't understand..