I’ve thought about this too! How much of our traits are the actual autism, and how much of our traits are a result of abuse and marginalization?

I wasn’t always afraid of meeting new people, but after enough bullying and being taken advantage of, I learned to not trust my ability to judge others unless I’ve known them for a longgg time. So, please excuse me if I’m not excited to meet you, but I don’t know if you’re going to be an asshole or not yet, and I’m not going to be insincere about it.

I would find it cute if a girl asking me out was that nervous but overcame it by planning out possible reponses.

Woah, that sounds rough. In my experience, when I have behaved like you described, I was burnt out and depressed. I’m currently recovering from a multi-month rough period, but with the help of an autism therapist. I’m slowly re-engaging in life while paying attention to how my body feels and accepting when I’m pushing myself too hard.

I don’t know if that’s relevant to your situation, but I hope things get better and more comfortable for you 🙂

I appreciate the helpful advice. I have tried those already, and when I did, it felt like I was trying hard, so it still was not an enjoyable experience. I think it’s just not my thing. Some people don’t like eating out just like others don’t like going to ice cream palors, coffee shops, or bars.

But, I still go sometimes because I know people I care about like it, and I appreciate the encouragement to continue trying and the considerate advice 🙂

I think part of it is a psychological safety strategy for people that don’t have the strength to look at their own issues. For them, it’s a lot safer to blame others than accepting any responsibility.

I don’t do it often either, but it came in clutch this week when I re-installed Linux Mint and needed to download the drivers for my wifi card via tethering.

But then how will people know I am willing to blow money, implying that I have extra cash to waste, if they don’t see a blue bubble?

Wellbutrin/Zyban/bupropion is FDA approved for smoking cessation. I was prescribed it for depression and found it helpful for that. At the same time, I was smoking and didn’t know that it worked for smoking cessation. Shortly after starting it, I noticed that cigarettes no longer gave that calm feeling and tasted extra disgusting. I eventually stopped smoking because it wasn’t enjoyable anymore and seemed pointless.

Bonus: it can make orgasms insanely intense

I get this, and I think the root is that I’m overlooking something that will be “too much” and others will ridicule me for it or make some meaning out of it that isn’t there.

lol, I have carried out this situation quite a few times. Interestingly, I do not particularly enjoy going out to eat. People take too long to pick something from the menu, the talk about food is shallow, I have to interact with a waiter that’s sick of their customers but acts insincerely nice because their pay depends on tips, there’s nothing to do besides looking at each other, talking about how “delicious the food is” despite it tasting generic and salty, and I have to be extra considerate of how I eat. The worst part is when someone in the group wants to review the menu out loud and take their sweet time choosing what to order, asking the waiter for “a few more minutes” to place their order 😩

I know I’m being ridiculous, but it’s my experience.

San Francisco is a major city

nobody fucking say it

little me fell for Fantasia’s trailer like it was going to be the best Disney/Gisnep movie ever, only yo find out it was a scary musical before I knew what was “trippy”

that’s whack

My anger says that if they want to be violent towards children, then we can throw them in with a polar bear to see what they think about stronger and larger predators attacking smaller more vulnerable people.

I think it’s part of their style. A considerable portion of Apple owners use Apple products for the social look. I have heard many people say they like Apple because it’s the fancy luxurious phone/computer which makes the owner/user seem more fancy and cool. The blue bubble is a social indicator to them. Computer games are for nerds. I don’t agree with any of that, but I have known people that do.

“I hope you didn’t just shit yourself on my couch. 😐”

yes!! lol

Those sound like traits/behaviors common with autistic people. You might find the self-assessment scales in the helpful resources post that you can find via the sidebar insightful.

i dont get it. what’s “natural scrolling”?