Stranger Phobia

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I dont know if theres a word for this but I was wondering if anyone out there really hates talking with or even being near strangers (which will be defined as people you have never met before/ interact with regularly) generally at school where the strangers are my peers I can handle it but like for example tonight I am supposed to go to this yearly roast thing and Im dreading it because I dont know any of the people there (outside of my family of course.)

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At one time I got so petrified I could not go to a store alone. Now I can go to many places alone and cope but if I have to go to a work function or something similar I can only go if someone aware of my condition goes with me.

When I first meet my husband he did not understand he had to be in my line of sight for me to remain calm and he walked out of a bar leaving me alone. I ran across the bar so fast (and apparently hurtled a short wall) that everyone stopped everything and followed me out of the bar.

I am generally okay with strangers...just as long as they ignore me completely. Since I have not yet started college, I still have my mother to support me and do things like order for me at restaurants. For some reason, I have an inability to order food by myself. The combination of having to make a quick decision and the interaction with unfamiliar people is just too much.

Social phobia; agoraphobia. *Waves to fellow sufferers*

It seems to be a common trait among aspies. I have it too... This is why I have so far been unable to get a job, and probably also why I am single and have no friends.

I have no problem. If the person seems nice enough for me to talk to them, I can carry on a conversation.

BTW, the fear of strangers is called xenophobia.

What is being described here is a general fear of any person that one isn't personally familiar with. Xenophobia, on the other hand, refers to a fear of unfamiliar types of people (e.g. fear of foreigners). If you call someone a xenophobe, it will often be taken as a grave insult, because 'xenophobe' is often used as to refer to racism or irrational prejudice. For example, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xenophobia . I'm just mentioning this so you don't get accosted due to calling someone a xenophobe

I don't like strangers. My mum has to communicate to any strangers for me. I am much more confident online though.

Oh, so there is actually no name for the fear of strangers. I understand.

I have it bad sometimes.

I am often shy around strangers and I do not talk much.Whenever I meet people for the first time my anxiety level goes up.It's like,"What if I say something stupid?" or something like that.

SpaceCase

"Neo-phobia"- fear of the new/unfamiliar. Avoidance of novelty (layperson's definition).
Am plagued by agoraphobia, though. Leaving the house is a huge production number for me. Example of one pitfall is getting stuck (appearance insecurity) in front of the mirror because people will see me & that's threatening, that's the "avoid" side. Feel invisible and want to go out in the world where people are and want to be noticed, that's the "approach" side.
Hence the awful conflict and frustration w/self, back & forth between motives/drives/intentions.

when in a crowded subway I'm very paranoid and annoyed about having to be crushed in this sardine can with these people.

When walking down a hallway or street, on my way to class... I'll be very afraid of eye contact with strangers, but then I'm also very paranoid about not saying hi to people I know. This leads to behavior like staring at my shoes for about 5 seconds as a I walk, slowly glancing up to see if there's someone I know, then immediately snapping my eyes back to the ground again. If its someone I know, I'll typically try to wait until they're close and then pretend I just noticed them, slap a BIG FAT FAKE smile on and say a "What's up?" type greeting. This undoubtedly has made some people feel a little strange... but before that there were some cases where I would stare off at the distance thinking "do I know this person?" only to suddenly realize its no one I know, just some poor girl who's scared out of her mind thinking I'm some kind of crazed lunatic for staring like that So I think this is the better alternative.

I would really enjoy having lots of contacts with new people. But as I know that I don't master the "technics" it is so stressful that I do my best to avoid such situations. Having no innate knowledge about opportune handshaking, thouing, introducing me, about how to remember faces are for me the most disabling features of AS.

I was alot like that when I was younger.