Published on 12, July, 2020
This could be anyone, and I've found in my experience they don't have to be neurodivergent either.
At school, there were teachers who offered support and things like that but I always felt intimidated by it. Things have changed particularly over the last year or so though.
I'm in my late 20s. I see a therapist each week and earlier in the year I latched onto her quite intensely, seeing her as a maternal figure. I had no friends in my life at that time; I'd lost them all the year prior and feared being abandoned again. It has lessened slightly but at the same time, it's still there in the same way. Obviously I know of the obvious boundary, which I don't intend to cross.
I've started a little film & TV production bootcamp and there is someone there who's basically on top of wellbeing and, to use her words, "a shoulder to cry on if you need it". I never felt like I had that in any other sort of academic institution type place. The same person interviewed me so I'm already comfortable with them.
It's a difficult one, because I think it's right that support comes from different areas, but I do seem to have a habit of latching onto people who may not be emotionally available in the way I may want.
pdaddio83 talked about 'engineering' situations. I've done that so many times. This is slightly off-topic but what they said resonated with something that I hadn't thought about in a while.
When I was a lot younger and went out to nightclubs and things like that, I would always convince someone to go early. I have all the usual things with crowds and noise, but as well as alcohol, one of the things that helped me cope for a few hours was using the technique of going to an empty club and letting it fill up around me. It wouldn't matter who the person was, which is why this bit is off-topic.
Back on topic, I will be terrified when out with my wife and she went off to talk to someone. It's a horrible feeling. And it's not fair on her for me to cling on, so I do try, but it is really tiring.