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Nostalgia and obsession with the past

Hope

I live in the past. I fear the responsibilities that adult life brings; I endure bittersweet nostalgia for my childhood and schooldays, when things were safe, predictable, structured, choice was limited and my anxieties were safely contained. My past seems like a golden age, a perfect time, like a perpetual summer.

I am immature, emotionally, that is. I don't feel my age, and I am anxious nearly all the time. It is because of my anxiety that I yearn for a simpler time.

Are there others who are trapped in the past?

Parents

  • On a similar vein, I would like to bring to your attention a slightly related topic that I have just posted - http://community.autism.org.uk/discussions/health-wellbeing/living-spectrum/advice-sought-aspie-suffering-also-adult-separation-anx

    It is kind of relevant in terms of love of routine, dislike of change, and anxiety issues that relate to these. 

    * * * *

    But back to the topic in hand.  I describe myself as a man-child; 35 years old, going on 16!  I am 4 and a half years away from turning 40 and yet I do not feel like I am fast approaching middle age.  I still feel like I am in my youth.

    My feelings of still being in my youth and not approaching middle age are further enhanced by the fact that I can afford to do things now (thanks to my job and salary) that I could not afford to do when I was a poor student.  In a sense, I have been doing things that I could not afford to do in my youth.  This further enchances my feelings of being a man-child. 

    Personally speaking, I love being a man-child.  I love doing the same kinds of hobbies that I did in my youth (roleplaying games, video games, Doctor Who, etc).  However, I do feel a sense of slight embarrassment of the fact that I moved back in with my parents aged 34 and cannot cope living on my own (adult separation anxiety disorder - see the link above).  What has made me feel less embarrassed and more accepting of my living with my parents in my mid-thirties is the fact that I have a neurological reason for doing so; Autism / Asperger. 

    When asked where do I live or similar, I tend to be honest and tell people I live with my parents and then explain to them my Autism, depression and anxiety issues.  I feel less embarrassed and they tend to feel form understanding. 

Reply

  • On a similar vein, I would like to bring to your attention a slightly related topic that I have just posted - http://community.autism.org.uk/discussions/health-wellbeing/living-spectrum/advice-sought-aspie-suffering-also-adult-separation-anx

    It is kind of relevant in terms of love of routine, dislike of change, and anxiety issues that relate to these. 

    * * * *

    But back to the topic in hand.  I describe myself as a man-child; 35 years old, going on 16!  I am 4 and a half years away from turning 40 and yet I do not feel like I am fast approaching middle age.  I still feel like I am in my youth.

    My feelings of still being in my youth and not approaching middle age are further enhanced by the fact that I can afford to do things now (thanks to my job and salary) that I could not afford to do when I was a poor student.  In a sense, I have been doing things that I could not afford to do in my youth.  This further enchances my feelings of being a man-child. 

    Personally speaking, I love being a man-child.  I love doing the same kinds of hobbies that I did in my youth (roleplaying games, video games, Doctor Who, etc).  However, I do feel a sense of slight embarrassment of the fact that I moved back in with my parents aged 34 and cannot cope living on my own (adult separation anxiety disorder - see the link above).  What has made me feel less embarrassed and more accepting of my living with my parents in my mid-thirties is the fact that I have a neurological reason for doing so; Autism / Asperger. 

    When asked where do I live or similar, I tend to be honest and tell people I live with my parents and then explain to them my Autism, depression and anxiety issues.  I feel less embarrassed and they tend to feel form understanding. 

Children
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