Published on 12, July, 2020
Hi, this is my first post on here! But would just like to hear other people’s experiences with loneliness while being neurodivergent. I’ve found that after I received my diagnosis I have gradually started to unmask little by little and now the limits to what I can and cannot do without exhausting myself are becoming a bit clearer. Because of this I think I have inadvertently/accidentally isolated myself, I also feel as though the friends I had before do not necessarily understand the change. However, this could be due to my own anxieties about the matter, whether they are based in fact is another thing in itself. I would like more neurodivergent friends but now feel so separate from the social scene that I have no idea where to start or how to initiate a conversation without feeling horrifically anxious. What are all your experiences?
I have no friends where I live. Generally I have only one friend, she lives in another country (I moved abroad). My experience (my whole life) is that when I’m in a crowd of people I feel lonely and overwhelmed. When I’m alone I usually feel good but not lonely - I actually crave solitude because I have husband and child, I’m often busy and I’m doing my best and they still need me more. It’s weird, I would like to have a friend here, but I feel I have no capacity to start and keep the friendship. I think neurodivergent people are much more interesting than most NTs (just my opinion) and I have good topics to discuss with them. I’m not sure if and how much I have masked / unmasked, but judging on how often I still hear the question of my life “what’s wrong with you” I would say I have never really masked hard and there was not much to unmask. I’m not professionally diagnosed, I accidentally self realised around half year ago.