Gromit wrote:
...a subconscious feeling of trust that does not have to agree with your intellectual judgement.
This, to me, is what an emotional connection is. It's a positive feeling of connectedness and harmony with another person: you feel good about the other person and yourself. Your brain might not be aligned with this feeling though: for example, you have can good feelings towards someone you know is bad for you.
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Given a “tentative” diagnosis as a child as I needed services at school for what was later correctly discovered to be a major anxiety disorder.
This misdiagnosis caused me significant stress, which lessened upon finding out the truth about myself from my current and past long-term therapists - that I am an anxious and highly sensitive person but do not have an autism spectrum disorder.
My diagnoses - social anxiety disorder and obsessive-compulsive disorder.
I’m no longer involved with the ASD world.