Published on 12, July, 2020
So I got diagnosed last year at 32 and even though it has answered a lot of question and explained why I react a certain way to things, I’m finding it very difficult to see the positives of having it.
What I mean by this I don’t seem to have any of the positive/useful sides of aspergers, I don’t have hyper focus, well I do but it’s never directed at anything useful, more like a want to play on my pc, I really want to play on my pc, I REALLY REALLY REALLY WANT TO PLAY MY PC! Lol. Also my memory sucks, like I’m always reading/hearing how fellow aspies have a super subject or special interests that they obsess over and know everything about said subjects and can draw on facts about said subject on demand. I lack this, in fact I find it very hard to retain information, I’ll have to repeat a 5 item long shopping list over and over and over from being told what the items are I need to buy up until paying for them. And this goes with everything, making learning something new very difficult.
I have all the negatives though, the social anxieties, the overthinking/over analysing, procrastinating, avoidance, and the many more that come with the condition and it’s really getting me down and making life very difficult. I want to be more than someone who’s on benefits and struggles with everyday simple tasks like bathing, eating, or even just getting out of bed. I want to add just something to the world, I want an ASPERGERS SUPER SKILL! Instead I have nothing, absolutely nothing!
Original Prankster said:Try to be kind to yourself, don't take on too much on days when you're struggling and don't overdo-it on days you feel good - balance is key
This is something that I am definitely realising and is great advice. Thank you
The problem with 'superpowers' is you can't always 'see the wood for the trees'...
Does a bird think of its ability to fly as a superpower? Does an extremophile shrimp that can dive in and out of undersea thermal vents without being cooked think of that as a superpower?
No. Because that's just 'how they are'...
We're the same... think of something you find easy to do that other people seem to find really difficult = superpower...
Do you have an acute sense? Smell, hearing, touch - in everyday life it might drive you mad that you can smell someone's lunch several tables away but sometimes superpowers don't seem that 'super' - Cyclops from the x-men has to wear a visor lest he fry everything he looks at, Rogue 'steals' the powers of any mutant she touches and so has to avoid physical contact with people lest she harms them...
However, not everyone on the spectrum will have any kind of 'super' power... sometimes the result of being bitten by an irradiated spider is simply some kind of painful, debilitating reaction to the radioactive venom.
Try to be kind to yourself, don't take on too much on days when you're struggling and don't overdo-it on days you feel good - balance is key
Best of luck
Xbox One :)
What platform do you play on?
I get so overwhelmed with all the negative stuff and my anxieties that I tend to miss the little things, wish I could just switch off and see the beauty in everything.
Well i am 55 and recently diagnosed with Aspergers (ASC level 1).
A bit peeved that i didn't know earlier in my life (might have saved me a lot of grief) but at least I am getting work place adjustments.
Completely crap at games every Friday a group of us go online and get thrashed at Battlefield V.
This made me laugh.
Sometimes I congratulate myself on still being alive too.
I get obsessed by things like TV shows - not useful at all... especially as Telly Addicts finished about 25 years ago. I've always considered myself a jack of all trades, master of none.
The one thing that seems to apply for all autistic people that I've come across is the lack of slyness. We might make mistakes and accidentally offend but generally it's a genuine mistake. I'm not sure if being inherently kind actually helps me at all, as I get walked all over, but at least I can live with myself.
My other favourite autistic quality that I have is being able to find the joy/interest in things that most NTs see as boring. I can watch an insect for ages or a river. I spot little things that others miss.
Again, not helpful for fitting in or "getting ahead" but they make life a bit nicer.
I have nothing useful to say except me too, I can relate
This has made me laugh a little thanks for that, also I’m sorry for laughing. Maybe our super skills are being utter derps! I’m quite good at that lol
Ha. i hear you. I'm like you. My ASC superpower is still...missing. Same place as my cape I guess. I was watching a vid about gamers on the spectrum. This guy knew all the strategies, moves, abilities, stats...He was amazing. Computer games may be my special interest but for the most part i'm crap at them. I want to be that guys so bad it hurts. Instead I have the ability to: experience the equivalent of hysterical blindness when there is too much going on on the screen, spend years (YEARS) aiming wrong until my son said "you know, you should use the reticle instead of aiming down the barrel", have my headphones back to front for years meaning all my sound queues mixed me up, performed so badly during a raid that there is an actual joke named after me.
Like you I'm trying to pull some positives out of the whole experience but as far as I can tell being alive for 45 years is my greatest accomplishment. Take the small victories...
In regards to the honesty section, I wouldn’t say I tell white lies(unless it suits me) but rather just I wouldn’t say what I’m thinking as I know it’s probably going to be hurtful for example “do I look fat” my brain says yes my mouth says nothing.
I’m the opposite, couldn’t relate to most of it, maybe I’m a broken aspie lol
Just looked at the positive -aspects -of aspergers-autisum , makes excellent reading and so nice to see so much positivity in autisum ,also as I read it I kept saying yes that's me ,yes that's me ,yes that's me over and over , we all have some great positive traits ,its easy to be negative about our self's sometimes .
I am terrible at shopping lists. Always miss a few things even if I write it down. I'd like to see a person without shopping list challenges.
Seriously though, words like 'everything' and 'nothing' are too absolute to be real. I don't want to throw platitudes, but when I am depressed, everything is dark and nothing is well. That tells me I am depressed and should take a little step back and treat my nothingness with a pinch of salt.
We all grow with our challenge and at various points hope it wasn't that hard. I do.
My daughter has poor memory. What helps is visualising a sequence as you would visualise a storyboard of consecutive images.
But in the final analysis, you are who you are and you are certainly lovely and lovable and full of good qualities. You depression is playing tricks on you. there isn't a you without your various genetic developmental conditions, so you can't blame your left hand for non perfect handwriting mistakes by your right hand. Don't be hard on yourself, period.
You are good at reaching out for support, clearly. Keep talking.
Whoops, just saw Your reply...
Whats-His-Face said:I’m not that good at gaming lmao
...Everyone enjoys doing something, as I said. It may take time to find, but it will become apparent through enjoyment at the skill, it matters not how "trivial" it seems to others. Good Luck.
Greetings From Me. As You are upon the Internet, You may like to simply try putting into the Browser "Positive things Aspergers" & a great slew of things appear. There are also some Threads here about it. Have a go at this Website for a small start:
https://the-art-of-autism.com/positive-aspects-of-aspergers-autism/
...If You 'really want to play upon Your PC' then there is maybe a skill there trying to tell You something. Have a think about what is enjoyed, and work outwards from that.
I’m not that good at gaming lmao
Hey Whats-His-Face, you already have a super skill, YOU. I have only been diagnosed with Aspergers 3+ months and i'm no spring chicken but one thing i've found out being unique means you have something to offer that nobody else has. It might be a good idea to ask others what is special about you without criticising as we often are our own worst critic. As for computer games wasn't there a case recently where someone won loads of money playing computer games and his parents stopped complaining about his time being wasted. Best wishes...