Published on 12, July, 2020
I'm not sure if this an autistic thing or a "me" thing but I am find it really difficult comforting people when they are upset. I find this especially difficult over text (in person less so). I just don't know what to say and when I think I do I end up saying the wrong things a lot of the time. This is particularly true when dealing with friends who have chronic mental health issues. I feel like there's only so much I can say "I'm sorry you're feeling this way" before it sounds like an empty statement. I think sometimes I come across as cold or not understanding when in fact the opposite is true, I just don't know how to show it.
It's the 'ape thing', hugging, that I have difficulty with. Though other people's emotional distress affects me greatly, I would only hug someone from my immediate family or a very close friend. Physical contact with strangers or acquaintances I find highly unpleasant. I would tend to dissect the problem causing the distress and suggest remedies, useful, but not in the 'there, there' way.