Hi, hope I'm doing this right

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Hey everyone, my names patrick. Im from san antonio texas, and I work as a chef in a hotel rooftop bar. I've noticed more and more lately how odd I act in social situations. People very often joke around that I'm really quiet and serious all the time, and that I get annoyed/frustrated a lot. I hate people I don't know talking really close to me or even looking at me, and I get extremely uncomfortable looking at someone while I talk to them. I find myself struggling really hard to be honest or open with new people. And I live downtown, so I am trying exposure therapy by walking around but I notice I get super uncomfortable when I walk around without earbuds in playing music I like. I've always had a super vivid imagination, and I often dissociate during conversations I don't find interesting and imagine cool stuff like worlds I make up and all the lore that could go behind it. And I can't really socialize or be open to it without drinking. I'm basically just saying all of this to state I really do think I'm on the spectrum. I was diagnosed as a kid, but then apparently they took away my diagnosis stating I was just a rude bratty kid. But I don't have health insurance to find out if I do have it or not. I just hope I can talk to people more on here and find out more about myself and others. Thank you!

Hello Patrick and welcome. I can definitely relate to many of your struggles. One being the eye contact. When being spoken to I try to aim for somewhere else on the head besides the eyes. lol And when I'm doing the talking, forget it, I dart all over the place

Welcome to WP!

Ahoy-hoy, you're certainly neither the first nor the last person to mention issues of this sort. As with many things, everyone has their own strengths and weaknesses in dealing with these issues that sometimes fluctuate with time. There are still somethings I dread doing such as cold calls and being paranoid that I'm either calling the wrong person or emailing the wrong person. However, just talking to people in general doesn't bother me as much. I'm still not an extremely outgoing person, but it isn't difficult for me to continue most conversations or exchange simple remarks with strangers. Life has interesting ways of offering us opportunities and challenges to test ourselves. The difference for most people here is that we tend to be a bit more perceptive than ordinary people.

Hello and welcome to wp and thank you for joining

I hope you can find some answers

pjisdatboi, Welcome to Wrong Planet.

You wrote that you are trying to find out who you are?

I am not sure. But one of my differences is that I do not perform eye to eye contact. I always look a little off to one side but not directly into a person's eyes. Most people can recognize that trait within a second and label me a weird.

I purchased a special pair of glasses, one way polarized sunglasses. I could look out but others could not look in and see my eyes. This was the type of glasses that police wore when they performed traffic stops many years ago.

What I found very interesting was that total strangers would come up to me in public and begin conversations when I wore these glasses. This was a very strange experience for me.

Hello, I can definitely relate. I’ve always used music/headphones to help deal with my environment. Is the exposure therapy helping you?

Welcome to WP!

Welcome to Wrong Planet!

I hope you've found AQ. It won't give you a formal diagnosis but might indicate if you should be looking for some other explanation.

In any event:
- Welcome to WP! I hope it is helpful, ASD-or-not.
- Could you cultivate a dry humor? I find that if I can get them to smile, afterwards sometimes goes better.

Hey the way you described yourself almost sounds like me and I've recently been diagnosed with ASD so it's still a possibility. I'm new here too. Isn't it refreshing have others relate?

Heya PJ,
Welcome to the planet.

Hello and Welcome to W.P. .Yes indeed can recognize the symptoms you describe .. As I aged, I became alittle better at engaging in conversations . Hope you can find some feelings of friendlyness here on WP

Welcome to Wrong Planet!