Did I become subconsciously self-destructive?

Context is here: https://community.autism.org.uk/f/adults-on-the-autistic-spectrum/32158/i-m-in-an-incredibly-isolating-situation

I've spoken about it quite a bit since then, but an angle I had never really explored until recently was whether I wanted all of that to happen.

I wasn't making friends for most of my life, I didn't find a community I belonged in. Things were looking up in my early 20s when I met a few people through work, and particularly about 2 years ago when I joined the autistic community on Twitter. Directly and indirectly, I began forming connections from there.

However, I still felt lonely. It's not their fault. Yes, most of them were quite far away from me geographically but even when one of them wasn't, there was still that. I had my own issues with self worth and self esteem and would constantly seek validation. I would always worry that if I didn't hear from someone for a month or so, they've decided they don't want me anymore (which was true in some cases - had no issue with that person telling me that but I became more sceptical).

The problem was that even when I had these connections that had been developed on a deeper level, I still made a mess of it. In a way I was like "now what?". I found myself still speaking to a lot of acquaintances and often giving them the same energy, which is therefore being spread rather thinly. In a way it became a case of me 'cheating' on my friends - I didn't come to them to discuss my needs and things and ended up going elsewhere for some kind of gratification/satisfaction. I knew it was wrong but I didn't have the maturity or the self control to get out of it.

I regret taking them for granted, for not allowing myself to be vulnerable in front of them. I think it's because I spent so long spilling my guts (basically) about my past and things to people I wasn't connected to (work colleagues) and understandably not getting support in return, I wasn't sure if it was appropriate or not. I do have the tendency to put my foot in it.

I guess I wanted it all to go wrong because I always felt that I didn't deserve friends, and almost as though I wanted to go "see? I was right". Everything I feared would happen did happen (that I'd lose everything) and in a way I was validated. Unfortunately I wasn't prepared for how utterly horrendous it would feel on the other side.

Sometimes I would deliberately message someone constantly (if they hadn't responded in a while) and I was hoping they'd basically snap and tell me to *** off, because not knowing is actually more hurtful than that.

It's the same with all my negative self-talk. I always told myself "I'm a waste of space, I'm never going to make something of my life, I'm a failure" and maybe all of that became a self fulfilling prophecy. It's like it felt right to ruin everything cos I ruined everything else in my life. That was validated by what happened, plus the hundreds of strangers online calling me every name under the sun.

I don't know if I'm reaching here but that's what I began to think. 

Parents
  • maybe having friends and relationship is perhaps too different and out of your norm and feels weird, your used to not having that so you perhaps push them away, in fear of the difference, not knowing how to handle or to know how your friends feel about you perhaps putting too much anxiety and stress in dealing with having friends that you automatically go to the easiest route of being alone, as its easier than juggling friendships. we perhaps naturally pick the path of least resistance, and the path of least resistance to a person not used to having friends is to push people away and to still have no friends and keep that standard norm your used to and can cope with?

Reply
  • maybe having friends and relationship is perhaps too different and out of your norm and feels weird, your used to not having that so you perhaps push them away, in fear of the difference, not knowing how to handle or to know how your friends feel about you perhaps putting too much anxiety and stress in dealing with having friends that you automatically go to the easiest route of being alone, as its easier than juggling friendships. we perhaps naturally pick the path of least resistance, and the path of least resistance to a person not used to having friends is to push people away and to still have no friends and keep that standard norm your used to and can cope with?

Children
  • Yeah it didn't feel like I deserved it, even though I wanted nothing more than friends who liked me. Now that I'm alone again I hate it, although it is forcing me to get used to my own company I guess.

    I didn't realise I ended up pushing them away but my anxiety definitely got the better of me there.

    I wanted support with friendships but I just didn't know how to do it or what to ask people.