Is It Likely I Have Asperger's Syndrome?!
Question: I used to be normal when I was younger and had a lot of friends but now I'm not like that so much. I get really nervous around people and I never have anything to say. Its not that I don't want to have friends I just can't work out what I'm meant to say in a conversation. I do have friends, but I'm the odd one out, and I know they think I'm weird. I always feel awkward in social situations and my friends have complained because I don't say anything to anybody other than them and because I don't look at or have contact with anybody I don't know. Just walking past people makes me feel nervous. People always seem to think I'm unfriendly because I won't talk to them if they are with people I don't know, even if they are my best friend. I took an online screening test, but I thought people were born with aspergers, so why have I only been bothered by these things recently? And is it possible to have ocd as well as aspergers as I am already diagnosed with ocd.
Answers: I used to be normal when I was younger and had a lot of friends but now I'm not like that so much. I get really nervous around people and I never have anything to say. Its not that I don't want to have friends I just can't work out what I'm meant to say in a conversation. I do have friends, but I'm the odd one out, and I know they think I'm weird. I always feel awkward in social situations and my friends have complained because I don't say anything to anybody other than them and because I don't look at or have contact with anybody I don't know. Just walking past people makes me feel nervous. People always seem to think I'm unfriendly because I won't talk to them if they are with people I don't know, even if they are my best friend. I took an online screening test, but I thought people were born with aspergers, so why have I only been bothered by these things recently? And is it possible to have ocd as well as aspergers as I am already diagnosed with ocd.
I agree with Majnun99 - this really does sound like a social phobia Have a read of this and see if you recognise yourself:
http://www.rcpsych.ac.uk/mentalhealthinf...
Don't despair - there are definitely things that will help you, and some excellent support sites on the net.
Asperger's Syndrome involves fear of smooth white things a few inches long with rather tasty heads. Do you have such apprehensions?
It doesn't sound like Asperger's Disorder if you didn't have these symptoms since early childhood.
You might have some social anxiety.
I definitely don't think its Aspergers... you'd need a host of other symptoms, first.
I am quite similar, socially (most of the time. There certainly are time where I become something of a socialite.) As I grew older I grew more apprehensive of people and far less trusting, and I have found that life is much easier lived removed from all of the social interaction. I am HORRIBLE with eye contact, to the point it is a bit ridiculous- yet when I feel threatened by someone or I feel the impending need to make a good impression, I have a strange way of staring dead into someone's eyes until they look away. It scares me, even- I'm not sure how well they like it! :)
I am NOT a talker at all (again, most of the time...) I am a very quiet person...
I get called all sorts of things... coward, retarded, bold, arrogant, conceited, demeaning, loser. Any name covering any personality, and I'm labeled as such.
Again, I don't believe it is Aspergers. I am bipolar type 2, so my 'personality' or state of mind is subject to change, but I am never sure quite how much my mood effects my true disposition... whether my personality IS the bipolarity or if it simply influenced by it.
Although it feels like autism I would agree it is actually social anxiety disorder most likely evolving from depression.
With the proper help it can be beaten im told
I agree with the guy above who said its a probably a social anxiety disorder. I've worked briefly in mental health too. Autism is more of a disability rather than a disease. You need to get to a psychiatrist and let him have a talk with you. The nice thing about having SAD is that its generally treatable. Autism isn't.