Hello. I am new to this forum. I suppose I just want to tell you a bit about my problems and you can maybe offer your 2 cents on it. Maybe tell me if this sounds familiar? I believe I have Asperger's, and I've been diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder.
Anger problems. It varies, but every few months, someone is rude to me and I'm not very good at dealing with it. I don't feel as if I can just walk away and I don't feel inclined to diffuse the situation. So, I go in to rage mode, and I shout at the top of my voice, things that no-one should ever say to someone. It is definitely not the best way to deal with such situations, that's for sure. This has been mainly isolated to my family, but there's also been an incident with a bus driver and a university classmate. I'm worried that I might end up getting violent (which I've thankfully never done) or giving someone a heart attack, stroke, seizure, etc. I am told that this may have something to do with my Asperger's, and it does indeed seem to have roots in a miscommunication, someone being as I perceive rude to me, etc., and I don't deal with it well.
Yesterday, was the worst incident that I've had. I'm 27 and my grandparents are in their early seventies. I was getting along well with them and have been doing for some time. I helped my grandmother out with her computer, but I wasn't sure what she wanted help with and she was being rude to me and having a go at me whilst I did it. We had some exchange of heated words, but no shouting, then I lost my patience and shouted at her. Well, basically, it got really bad and I was worried about her. She was okay, but obviously, shouting at someone that age is never a good thing. I am going to struggle to forgive myself for that one.
Another issue that I have is: I have a weird sense of humour, which usually goes over very well and makes people laugh and helps me to make friends. But,. I sometimes don't know where to draw the line and it causes problems for me. The wrong people complain and I get in to trouble, and so on.
Another thing is that how I am combined with the internet can be a problem. When it's anonymous people who I don't know, who cares? It's just an argument over the internet: that's what the internet's for. But, I also find it difficult to hide my true feelings, and I don't draw the line at arguing with people with whom my arguments could hurt me, professionally. So, that's another issue.
So, basically, does this sound autism or Asperger -related? Have you experienced similar problems? And, do you have any advice on how I might deal with such problems?
I'm looking in to counselling services in my area and I've ordered some books to read on the subject, just so you know.
Thank you.