Who can really explain loneliness?

It's a shame the support group wasn't very helpful. Hopefully a new support worker will make a positive difference for you.

Please don't ever think that you're a burden - there are always people out there who care.

Thank you. There is a local support group here but I went a few times and didn't really feel the chemistry was right between the others and me. I felt like I was waking into a stranger's living room and outstaying my welcome.

My mum said she is going to help me to try to get a support worker, it's just waiting for now. She can't do it til she's back from her holiday. I just didn't want to burden people here, that's why I apologised. 

I appreciate your reply, I think you understand where I'm coming from. I like how you contrasted Monroe and Garland with the Autistic masking. That makes sense. I feel under pressure to be "on" all the time with a lot of people.

Like Trogluddite says, there's no need to apologise. If there's anywhere you can come and talk about your feelings, it's here.

I'm sorry to hear you're feeling lonely. In terms of Marilyn Monroe and Judy Garland, I suppose they had to do a form of masking; they were forced to conform with society's idea of what it was to be a star. That type of pressure must have been unbearable, much like the pressure lots of autistic people feel when trying to conform with society's ideas of how we should appear/behave.

There are people here who care about you, so don't be afraid to talk to us when you need to. Have you had a look at the NAS' list of local support groups? Sorry if I've mentioned it to you already - I found it recently and have recommended it to a few people here.

Take good care of yourself, Roswell. Hope things improve for you soon.

I see no reason to be apologetic - I don't think that feeling lonely is something we should have to justify to each other. And I don't think that it's healthy that there seems to be a social taboo around admitting to feeling lonely and discussing it.

There may be parallels between the loneliness that many autistic people feel, and the problems felt by people like Monroe and Garland. Were they really loved for being the people who they felt themselves to be inside; or only for the public personas which they projected? They may even have felt their success to be somewhat empty, precisely because much of it was based around their physical attractiveness rather than their personalities or intellectual achievements. Too often we're made to feel that we have to fight against our autism in order to be deemed worthy of being cared about. And if we manage to hide our autism successfully, then who is being loved? The true "me" or just our masked alter-ego? Being surrounded by adoring people is no guarantee that we'll feel loved.

Apologies. I am struggling due to lack of support from social services. My mother put in a complaint. It's taking ages to get a care assessment. My mother and father are on holiday. Have no offline support at the moment.