Incredibly in love with an Aspie Man. Need tips
NT here, in a 6 year relationship with an aspie.
I can tick off every characteristic you describe for my partner too.
And we also had / have the same struggle.
For us, it tremendously helped to set up some sort of weekly schedule for which days of the week we are together, and what days we are each in our own home. It really lowered the 'ouch' or insecurity i had every time i wanted to do something together and getting a blunt 'no' from him. Even learning (by reading about AS) he was just honest and had something else in mind to do, so it wasn't because he didn't like me (o the insecurity!), or him being an as*hole, it often still hurt to hear that 'no'.
With our schedule, we know when we're together and when not. Gives us both rest, time for ourselves, and enjoy each other on the days we're together (can be just lazy on the couch, or doing something more active... doesn't matter).
That's one of the 'tricks' we now use to cope with each others differences. I think along the way we found out a lot more of how things work for both of us.
And besides that, i realised that i'm getting used to his way of doing things. Sometimes i almost forget that our relationship is a bit different from others. Until i see friends or lovers in public being so romantic together, or hear they can talk deeply for ours, or make plans for the future together. Then i can still hurt and long for more emotions, confirmation, warmth... but still.. i love my man and that is despite AND thanks to all his traits.
I can tick off every characteristic you describe for my partner too.
And we also had / have the same struggle.
For us, it tremendously helped to set up some sort of weekly schedule for which days of the week we are together, and what days we are each in our own home. It really lowered the 'ouch' or insecurity i had every time i wanted to do something together and getting a blunt 'no' from him. Even learning (by reading about AS) he was just honest and had something else in mind to do, so it wasn't because he didn't like me (o the insecurity!), or him being an as*hole, it often still hurt to hear that 'no'.
With our schedule, we know when we're together and when not. Gives us both rest, time for ourselves, and enjoy each other on the days we're together (can be just lazy on the couch, or doing something more active... doesn't matter).
That's one of the 'tricks' we now use to cope with each others differences. I think along the way we found out a lot more of how things work for both of us.
And besides that, i realised that i'm getting used to his way of doing things. Sometimes i almost forget that our relationship is a bit different from others. Until i see friends or lovers in public being so romantic together, or hear they can talk deeply for ours, or make plans for the future together. Then i can still hurt and long for more emotions, confirmation, warmth... but still.. i love my man and that is despite AND thanks to all his traits.
Thank you for this. I wish I didn't have insecurities because it gets in the way. I know and he tells me so that he loves me but the monsters inside my head often attack. I hide this from him because I find it irrational and it might scare him away. I think when it comes to normal romantic gestures, I often get affected by what I see on social media.
Some very good advice here so far. Let me reinforce it by saying a few of the same things:
Expect him to be distant. This doesn't mean he doesn't love you. He probably does love you a great deal. In fact, he may be doing things for you as an expression of his love instead of saying them.
Expect him to say hurtful things. He is probably not trying to be mean, he is just brutally honest and may not understand why someone would want anything less than honesty.
Be incredibly honest with him in return.
If there is a problem, tell him directly so that there is no chance of misunderstanding. If you need him to express more affection for you, tell him outright that once a day (or whatever you feel comfortable with) you need him to give you a hug and have him tell you he loves you. If you need him to spend a day with you, talking to him about setting up a 'Date Night' where the two of you can go do something romantic together. In short, tell him exactly what you need and be willing to communicate/compromise.
Basically, never assume he can read your mind. Just tell him.
When he does make a suggestion for a date or convey an expression of love, it has probably taken him an extraordinary amount of effort to be able to do this in the 'straightforward' manner as strange as it sounds, we often expend great energy finding alternative ways to push through how much we care and appreciate a significant other and don't understand why you need reassuring in the 'basic' way. I hope he shows you in other ways that he cares for you, I am not trying to make excuses if he does not display this.
Ban-Dodger
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That guy reminds me of me and there is no intent to hurt; I bet he's more concerned about ensuring a stable support-structure for your relationship, thus his focus on so much work, for he may have come across statistics about divorces or break-ups usually being over matters of money or lack-of-money, and he simply wants to ensure that the support-structures of sufficient finances are in place so that he does not risk letting your relationship crumble. I know it seems paranoid-like, but as a MAN, who seems to match closely with his description, this is one of my reasons. I know for a fact that it would be extremely painful for me to lose a woman whom I had chosen to commit myself 100% to and I would be willing to work like a madman to make sure that ALL of our «material-needs» were covered, for I know how unstable the economy is in a world of police-state interference, and any «risk» of «forced separation» would cause me to do everything that I felt necessary to reach self-made multi-millionaire status for our benefit.
I, too, will have difficulty initiating any kind of contact with others, when I feel under pressure or obligation to try and get things straight or properly settled and organised in my life, otherwise I may feel uncomfortable with any kind of communication until sufficient work has been completed and gotten out of the way.
Yes. Repeat. See my above response.
And my AS-logic tells me that if I told you I missed you, I probably do think about you all the time, and maybe I have a very difficult time trying to understand how you have an interest in someone like myself. I may not necessarily be able to bring myself to go to see and be with you and confront you, especially if I am a virgin, but I would definitely feel all kinds of joy in the world if you were somehow around, even more so if you came to visit me.
Loss of job/work/self-support-structure would make me feel too worthless to be worthy of you.
Your man is simply not experienced with women. Like it or not, you are going to have to train him like a puppy dog, and he is not likely to do much «initiating» anyway, with anything, unless you somehow manage to find some way to arouse his libido into seemingly insane levels with various forms of aphrodisiacs.
The most important piece of advice that anybody can give you is to keep your emotions under control as much as possible. Absolutely do not direct any angry emotions towards him (surely he is not abusive and does not intentionally try to hurt or harm you otherwise why would you be in love with him). Why not try offering to help him with his work or his tasks or take on being a «secretary» for his scheduling if you're qualified for the job ? If you're not qualified for the job then try learning how to be able to be of assistance to his career, what skills you might need, and this way you will be able to spend more time together, working towards his career-goals and stuff together.
Besides that... working on your own emotions becomes one of your few alternative-options.
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Do you mind citing some examples of non-traditional expressions of love?
This gave me whole different perspective to one scenario I had with him. We don't see each other often because he's busy with work. I offered to fix his schedule for him. He told me if I fix his schedule for him, I will end up making everyday "our day". He said he''ll end up not working and we'll have nothing to eat. It totally makes so much sense now.
I've tried visiting him but it didn't work out well. It interfered with his schedule and he got stressed out.
Besides that... working on your own emotions becomes one of your few alternative-options.
Will definitely take note of not directing any angry emotions towards him. Thank you very much for all your advice. This truly made me understand my partner more.
Ban-Dodger
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Actually, yes, this would also be sensible. I should remember that this is adult-life and not adolescent-life where everyone is still being forced to attend pris... ahem... school (i.e.: open-prison). The stress can also depend on his social-status, whether or not he is already popular with his peers/colleagues/etc., for he does not necessarily know how they will treat you, whether their treatment of him might change upon seeing that you are his relationship-partner, etc. I would suspect that many AS have gone through negative social-experiences in their earlier school-life, and may still be affecting the adult-life, such as if one were the target of bullying (consider what it is like for a guy, who gets targeted by bullies in school, how embarrassing it might be for him to be mistreated by a group of mis-fits in front of the very girl that he has feelings for).
Would I be correct to say that when you two spend any time together, that time is generally always «alone-time» with just the two of you, rather than you two interacting with each other amongst large groups or crowds ? You might not be bothered by having a bunch of your friends and family and stuff around when you're with him, but I do know that I would be bothered by the presence of other people, especially if I just wanted to spend the bit of free-time that I had with you without the unnecessary distractions or even interference of other people being around. What I do with any S.O. is entirely my business and, unless he's some sort of porn-star or voyeur who's comfortable with the entire world watching him interact with a lady, you should probably consider yourself lucky that he even bothers to hold hands with you in public (one trait of the AS man is that PDA is one of those foreign-territories that we will typically never be crossing... such activities are personal to us).
Certainly. If something does bother you, then you can certainly voice it out, stating or saying or even writing down that when he does X it makes you feel Y, and you can ask him to help you come up with a solution for his X behaviour causing you to feel Y, or of course I can also be reached via PM directly if I am not actively participating in the forums (assuming that I haven't been kidnapped and locked away as some hostage for frivolous charges by dishonest police & prosecutors of course). Also, regardless of NT or AS, all relationships work best when you keep any potentially negative-emotions under control, and stem any possible out-burst that might otherwise result (one's actions are never «rational» when in anger after all).
You can also distract yourself with more knowledge/learning during the time that you are unable to see/meet/be with him if your schedule isn't keeping you busy with errands. I might suggest reading such as the material found on Saint Clemencia's web-page which is largely based on the Writings of The Messiah (I realise that this latter part may seem like an incredibly big claim, and I do not expect most people to believe it just because I say it is so and believe it to be true, but I am working on organising and being able to present the evidence that what Terence writes is true, and that his style/personality is indeed indicative of what I would expect out of a modern-day Jesus or reincarnation thereof, especially amongst his written open-letters where he invites the police and treasonous judges/magistrates to his own always unlocked home/house for a meal or some tea, even though they have mistreated him and falsely arrested and falsely imprisoned him and falsely tried to force him to cough up coins into the system of Caesar; this is a classic modern-day version of how Jesus sat and ate and had meals and tea with tax-collectors and other forms of sinners... they were the most-hated types of people in society at that time and, similarly, the police and judiciary of today are amongst the most-despised tax-collectors in society right now, too).
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Wow, Ban-Dodger. You gave me a totally different understanding on one of my tiny concerns with my partner. Before he told me that he doesn't bring girlfriends when he goes to parties with his friends. He told me that he doesn't want to parade me to his friends unlike other people do. He said that he wants to put his full focus on me so it would be hard to do if he needs to focus on other people. I get to hangout with his family every now and then but never his friends. I just met them once but that's it. I was hurt by this. I thought he wasn't proud of me, or worse... I would think worst case scenarios like what if I'm just a side chick so he doesn't bring me along. Now it makes perfect sense.
We hold hands in public, by his initiative. Other than that he said that he's not a fan of other PDA but being the affectionate person that I am, I hug and kiss him in public and he lets me do so. I just realized how lucky I am that he allows me to do that even if it's outside of his comfort zone.
You can also distract yourself with more knowledge/learning during the time that you are unable to see/meet/be with him if your schedule isn't keeping you busy with errands. I might suggest reading such as the material found on Saint Clemencia's web-page which is largely based on the Writings of The Messiah (I realise that this latter part may seem like an incredibly big claim, and I do not expect most people to believe it just because I say it is so and believe it to be true, but I am working on organising and being able to present the evidence that what Terence writes is true, and that his style/personality is indeed indicative of what I would expect out of a modern-day Jesus or reincarnation thereof, especially amongst his written open-letters where he invites the police and treasonous judges/magistrates to his own always unlocked home/house for a meal or some tea, even though they have mistreated him and falsely arrested and falsely imprisoned him and falsely tried to force him to cough up coins into the system of Caesar; this is a classic modern-day version of how Jesus sat and ate and had meals and tea with tax-collectors and other forms of sinners... they were the most-hated types of people in society at that time and, similarly, the police and judiciary of today are amongst the most-despised tax-collectors in society right now, too).
I am guilty of doing/saying things at the peak of my emotions so I'll really make an effort in this one. Yes, I have plenty of free time so I will look at your suggestions. Thank you again. You've been really helpful! Truly a mind-opener!
I and my Aspie girlfriend broke up a few weeks ago. I'd say initiating and maintaining a relationship is hard no matter who you are with. Our problems came from my need of being acknowledged and appreciated (meaning: I wanted her to let her parents know about me which she didn't want to do even after being together for a year and a half). I apparently broke her boundaries, but otherwise my boundaries would have been broken, so it was kind of a lose-lose situation.
Like others said before, I suggest to be blunt, direct and talk about your needs, and hope for the best. If he's a real Aspie, then he probably lacks the empathy that would tell him about your feelings based on your gestures, so you need to use words instead. There's a chance that he might take it as too much, but not being fulfilled in a relationship isn't good either. You should not give up your basic needs, and he has to understand. If he really loves you, he'll find a way to adjust without giving up too much of his private space. If he doesn't, then you're giving up too much of yourself and you won't be happy.
I wish you two better luck than I had.
Good to read all these views...
but i agree in the end with auswolf: don't give up too much of yourself. Instead: try to get more confident.
If there's one thing that i learned from being with my aspie, is to be ME without his affirmation. And i even try to be more ME than ever.
Express bigger, say whats on my mind... try to explain what i feel, so he can understand. (So not using subtle hints or expect him to understand me)
He will be blunt, he will not give you as much affection as you wish, but still, you are you. And you are a fantastic person. That new clothes look very good on you, even if he doesn't give you a compliment. And if you want to do something together but he is not enthousiastic about it, still do it. But go with a friend, your mom or your sister if you have one.
For us, the first year i constantly felt as if he'd rather see me go. In the beginning two days together meant he needed some serious 'recovery' time. But that is not anymore. He got used to me and my presence around him. And the same time i got used to give him some space (by eg not talking all the time , but often just do our own things, but in the same room, or next to eachother on the couch)
And if you are sad. Be sad. Don't hide it. But say to him that you are sad and that you need a hug. Or a cup of tea.
When we had a fight, or i was sad about something for example, it may look as if he turns into stone. But after a while, he's suddenly in the kitchen making tea for me. Or he is doing something in the house he knows i wanted him to fix for a long time... I guess that's his way of saying: i do care.
Last edited by Coccinella on 26 Jan 2017, 5:23 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Haha we sometimes end up in conversations like this:
Me: "i'm insecure about this, it would help me if you give me a compliment now and then today'
Him (after a few hours): 'You're doing great!
Me: 'thank you for remembering to give me a compliment '
My NT mind immediately says: you don't mean it, you only say this because i asked you to. I might even not be doing great at all. But i learned to appreciate it that he remembers it, and wants to help me by saying what i asked.
It does require saying what i need, though. So i'm learning to be more aware of myself and speak up
Me: "i'm insecure about this, it would help me if you give me a compliment now and then today'
Him (after a few hours): 'You're doing great!
Me: 'thank you for remembering to give me a compliment '
My NT mind immediately says: you don't mean it, you only say this because i asked you to. I might even not be doing great at all. But i learned to appreciate it that he remembers it, and wants to help me by saying what i asked.
It does require saying what i need, though. So i'm learning to be more aware of myself and speak up
LOL I just had to comment on this one. My Aspie does the same thing - I don't have to ask for it, but he does remember to give me compliments when he knows I'm down for whatever reason. It's just his compliments aren't always quite - um - appropriate, and I know he's just grabbing from the Canned Compliments Bag.
For example, on a day when I've had a really tough day at work, and something has gone really wrong, and I've had just about enough of everything, and I'll be on the couch basically just sulking in my sweats, my hair all askew because I feel like crap, and he'll come out with "Your hair looks nice!" And it's just about all I can do to not laugh because I darn well know my hair looks like garbage, but he's tried and it does cheer me up, not because it makes me feel good but because it's so ridiculous I can't help but giggle to myself.
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May I ask how long was his recovery time? And when he was recovering, would you still hear from him?
Ban-Dodger
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I see that a post that used to be on here is gone but as I recall she said in another thread that she deleted her response on some other thread (she must have been referring to this thread... probably).
Anyway, one more thing I need to add, I usually try to be fair, but my fairness may not be or seem immediate or obvious. When I do favours for someone or what might appear to be a favour, I am not doing it for any kind of ulteriour-motive, such as expecting that I will now be owed something for doing said favour. You do not owe me anything just because I am doing something for you. When I bother to take the time or energy or effort or resoruces to do something for you, I am doing something for you because I feel/believe that it is warranted for some reason, for fairness purposes.
Perhaps I may have been inadequate with contributing my fair share some time ago. That might be a reason why I am trying to balance the scales-of-contribution towards any particular relationship/association/acquaintance/etc. The flip side of that «Coin» is that I do not owe anybody any favours just because they thought that they did something for me which I did not ask for; this is a bad habit of many NT-types who think that a «recipient (such as a Target ASD)» of unsolicited favours suddenly owes the NT something just because «NT did X for ASD» (even though the ASD never asked for such things out of the NT). Unless I have specifically requested that you do something for me or my benefit, I do not «owe» you anything, and if I am «lambasted» with any kind of negativity, then it counts as nullifying any possible value that any so-called favour may have had (even worse if the perceived favour is being used against me in some way, like as if I owe the world to you, even when I never even asked for such unsolicited favours, for then it communicates to me that whomever I am dealing with is full of manipulative ulteriour-motives and those are the kinds of people whom I know from experience need to stay out of my life even if it requires that I quietly pack up all of my bags and stuff and just move away to some foreign-location whilst changing then cutting off all of my contact-information from such people).
Now if everyone will excuse me I need to go back to doing such things like gloating about how great I am and tooting my horn and randomly strutting my stuff about how incredibly popular I am with the women of W-P.
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Pay me for my signature. 私の署名ですか❓お前の買うなければなりません。Mon autographe nécessite un paiement. Которые хочет мою автографу, у тебя нужно есть деньги сюда. Bezahlst du mich, wenn du meine Unterschrift wollen.
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