First thread here so first of all hello.
Wondering if anyone else gets stuck in the odd social rut that I get in.
I'm extremely hit or miss in exhibiting neuro-atypical-ness first of all. I'm fairly social relatively speaking, communicate relatively well, and do like to go out make friends etc. I do have great issues most particularly with sensory issues and I wasn't really diagnosed until I was 22. Because of this going out is a whole process to prepare for and often I either choose to stay in or simply don't make it to my plans.
The two things above make it so hard socially in a really odd way. I became very inconsistent in social life but struggle for the best explanations for it. But there's so much misinformation and simply hysteria and stigma (thanks Adam Lanza! *sarcasm*) around the topic that my attempts at explaining the issues have been really misunderstood, gaslighted, or simply derailed, even by people who genuinely care but just don't get it. (Well the people that care misunderstand, idiots and sheltered people gaslight)
Everything feels like such an act. Everything feels like I'm such a Don Draper case with my disappearances, odd history, gaps galore on social media, mysterious history etc. I've made a lot of friends over the years but the problem is keeping them. And the ones that I do keep typically always sense something else is up with me. I make the efforts to explain always when I feel it's necessary but again, when they are unsuccessful it just leads to a social life that's still in its own right so isolated. I feel trapped in this and it's so frustrating to watch it happen despite your best attempts.
I understand it's best to surround yourself with people who get it and are supportive of it. But truly it's not necessarily a lack of supportiveness as it is having friendships fade because of how people misunderstand the spectrum. And I also think it's only fair that we are able to choose our own isolation as we please or need to as opposed to having it be thrust upon us by where general society currently has a lack of knowledge.
Does anyone else experience this? What did you do if so? I'm so sick of this feeling...
07 Mar 2016, 10:25 pm
