Making Friends

HI Danny my name is Mark I would also like to make friends. Please reply back.

Hey, that's actually the reason why I decided to sign up for N.A.S so that I could actually talk to people and talk about stuff, you know? I've lost my Dad this year as well so I guess I'm just feeling really lonely right now in my life I guess. Loneliness is a really difficult thing as I've been struggling with it for like a year and a half now only when I realised how lonely I was when comparing myself to my neurotypical peers at college. I just don't really know what to think sometimes and it can hurt. To say that I'm not coping during these difficult times couldn't be more accurate. 

welcome to the forum Yanania  so many new people here recently 

if you can add some details to your profile eg hobbies , favourite music, art, books, TV, films etc  

Hi, I completely understand the whole fake friends, at my old secondary school from Y7-11 I was very weird, I’d get paint on my face on purpose, and twirl around our common room with a piece of string, although i had very few friends, in classes I felt well liked because of the attention I drew from my weirdness. I was alone, but surrounded by people who were interested in me, I can’t help but think of the Truman show. I was voted prom Queen, as well as being a council rep, i felt popular, but at the same time in a downward spiral state where I was alone at lunch through no fault of my own, and crying because of it. I was diagnosed with Asperger in Yr5/6 and was fortunate to be sent to a private school where my classes would be smaller, my parents hoped it would minimise bullying, ignoring someone and being isolated is still bullying even if there are no words. My school lacked a good SEND department though, and I never understood what a ‘meltdown’ was until right before I started writing, I had had them before and just felt like an emotional wreck and no one knew what to do. I have one great friend who is like me and so greatly understands, but I hope for a future where I can make friends who don’t know I’m autistic or at least like my best friend, has little knowledge of the world and enjoys my company for me, and less like some circus act to be gawker or admired, but everyone leaves once there is no show. Believe me you are not alone, we are all ships lost at sea, surrounded by planes in the sky, and unless we turn the lights on our ship on, us lost ships can never find each other. We will not crash against the rocks. I think I am better than the Titanic.

YANANIA

I feel very much the same way, especially about people not understanding why I get so excited about my special interests or getting upset about certain situations. It's hard. I just wanted to say that I'm glad you posted this, because I feel less alone at least from reading it, so thanks for sharing it.

please make sure that isnt your real name  !  we cant be identified in this forum.

other than that welcome to this forum I think u are new

its difficult isn't it!! well done to you tho it must of been difficult to even find someone that understands autism, going to the shop makes me extremely stressed, and I can't cope with this social distancing so I tend to do all my shopping online, my only release was to go for a drive and spend time with myself going to various walks and stop off at coffee shops and a place to eat but that has also been removed plus my job so it can be very isolating, but if anyone ever needs a chat about any of their struggles my messages are always open, helping people is what I've always loved to do.

what a nice start u're welcome here for sure

Hi! I find making friends very difficult. I've always found people seem to operate differently from me, and I don't always get what they want or expect. I am married now and I have family, so there are people around me who care,  but I still feel very lonely a lot. People don't seem to understand why I get so excited about certain interests or so anxious and distressed about various situations. I think this year with all the social distancing and lockdowns has made it even harder. A lot of things, through necessity, got moved across to Zoom or Skype, which I find very difficult and make me extremely anxious.