Socialising hangover

I was out yesterday with a person whom I met for the second time in my life. We watched a documentary in cinema, called The Cathedral I'd recommend it, and chatted afterwards for 2 hours in what seemed to me a very noisy place, which is a regular bar without any loud music. Sometimes the noise seemed unbareable and sometimes I was focused on the discussion so I didn't notice it much. I had one beer and didn't find our discussions very interesting, they were just ok. Maybe because it's a new person to me and I'm not sure how meaningful, personal discussions can be. I tried my best not to mask, which means I didn't put lot of effort to smile at whatever is said to me or try hard to seem engaged, interested and come up with topics. I was just trying to do what makes sense to me. This is all new to me..

Today, It's like I have a hangover. I can't handle listening to music while working, even tho I usually do. I don't want to socialise with others. I feel like someone who can't even smell alcohol after a long night of drinking. I am drained and slightly out of energy. Like a down mood. I am even bit tired to work as well but I still can handle it.

I'm very new to the realisation that I probably am on the spectrum. I'm very new to unmasking and realising all thess things while and after socialising in public spaces. I have planned meeting with a friend tomorrow and I'm not sure if I can do it! sorry if you find this story boring or without any interesting content, but it would mean a lot if someone can relate to it, maybe tell me about how you experience these situations or give me some info so I can research more and maybe understand my needs better.

Parents
  • I get the same reaction as you. I agree with what others have written, especially having recovery time built into your schedule after socialising.

    For me, even though it's unconscious, the masking tires me out. Also, I have verbal communication problems and I find it hard (and tiring) trying to understand and process what someone's saying.

    Personally, when possible, I don't schedule more than one interaction per week. Any more than that stresses me out before and afterwards. [I'm housebound so I can do this, it's not realistic for everyone, but perhaps think of your personal limits on interactions. It's important that we do interact but that we do it in a way that's hopefully more comfortable.]

Reply
  • I get the same reaction as you. I agree with what others have written, especially having recovery time built into your schedule after socialising.

    For me, even though it's unconscious, the masking tires me out. Also, I have verbal communication problems and I find it hard (and tiring) trying to understand and process what someone's saying.

    Personally, when possible, I don't schedule more than one interaction per week. Any more than that stresses me out before and afterwards. [I'm housebound so I can do this, it's not realistic for everyone, but perhaps think of your personal limits on interactions. It's important that we do interact but that we do it in a way that's hopefully more comfortable.]

Children
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