It's so damn frustrating

I used to find it frustrating when I first joined MENSA in the 80s that there is a lot of one-upmanship amongst the community there - everyone trying to prove they were the smartest person in the room sort of thing. It lasted a year and I didn't renew membership.

Do you perhaps consider that mixing with this sort of person may be highlighting your other challenges?

I recall people loved to point out how they had used their intelligence to create an algorythm for trading stocks that was making them loads of money (this was back in the yuppy days) and pointing out how much successful it made them.

I don't know if this is reflected in the people you socialise with.

I found that I became happier when I moved away from this sort of group and started following more of my own interests (restoring old motorbikes, studing fledgling IT tech and getting into the first business computers) and stopped trying to compare myself with others.

Just my experiences - I don't know how much in common this has with you.

That's a  very good answer. There’s a lot of truth in it. Whilst not all people within FB's high IQ community are like that, more than a few are. I'm very insecure re my cognitive ability , always demanding further proof from myself  that I'm not the intellectual equivalent of a fake Rolex watch. Undoubtedly much of that insecurity  is trauma related.

Unknown said:

I'm very insecure re my cognitive ability , always demanding further proof from myself  that I'm not the intellectual equivalent of a fake Rolex watch

If you are interested in my laymans opinion, it does sound like a self esteem issue. This is something a therapist is most likely the best way to build it

There is a great article on it here: https://paautism.org/resource/understanding-low-self-esteem/

This looks at it from a clinicians perspective which I think will appeal to you.

This at least lays out the probable causes and routes to deal with it so you can make an informed decision on whether to get a professional to help you with it.

I did something similar a few years ago and worked through a load of things that happened when I was a child that were the major trauma building events for me - looking at them through the lens of what we now know about autism allowed me to forgive myself for what I though were my faiings (actually mostly social mess ups caused by my lack of understanding).

Viewing the good I have done and what I have achieved in spite of my challenges was another big part of the process.

With the benefit of a guide through reviewing the chaos of my teenage years and onwards I started to realise my worth and this brought a steady growth in confidence in myself and rebuilt my self esteem.

You need to be financially able to undertake this process (therapists aren't cheap) and willing to look back on your life to filter through the events where you were just being autistic and where you were actually being an a-hole. Nobody is perfect but seeing your worth weighed up from everything you are and have done is an eye opener.

Just my experience and opinions mind you, do your own research as I could be unwittingly spreading fake news for all I know.

The first two years at prep school I wet the bed almost every day, but didn't at home during the school holidays. Luckily I'd stopped doing so by the time I went to Felsted.

The first two years at prep school I wet the bed almost every day, but didn't at home during the school holidays. Luckily I'd stopped doing so by the time I went to Felsted.