Avoidant personality disorder VS Autism

Someone recently posted a link on another discussion regarding avoidant personality disorder and this got me thinking about myself and my own diagnosis of autism. I am on a quest for clarity and information to help benefit my own situation so my question is how many of you diagnosed with autism can also relate to the symptoms of this particular personality disorder? And if not why so? 


Avoidant personality disorder symptoms 

1.  Avoids occupational activities that involve significant interpersonal contact because of fears of criticism, disapproval, or rejection.

2.  Is unwilling to get involved with people unless certain of being liked.

3.  Shows restraint within intimate relationships because of the fear of being shamed or ridiculed.

4.  Is preoccupied with being criticized or rejected in social situations.

5.  Is inhibited in new interpersonal situations because of feelings of inadequacy.

6.  Views self as socially inept, personally unappealing, or inferior to others.

7.  Is unusually reluctant to take personal risks or to engage in any new activities because they may prove embarrassing

Parents
  • Surely a lot of this is a reaction to being badly bullied, rejected and humiliated, if you've experienced these things then why would you not be afraid and avoidant? We learn not to stick our fingers in the fire because we get burnt, why should we not have the same reaction to being burnt by others cruelty? Why should we trust when that trust has been so badly abused? I'm not saying that social anxiety and AVPD aren't a problem, but a bit more understanding of why people become like this is needed and the causes addressed.

  • This is why I posted what I posted below. I think there is a big difference between being fearful of situations because of our life experiences and having these fears and feelings to the extreme as to in a personality disorder.

    Life experiences may well contribute to people having AVPD but I would imagine it's a lot more complicated and I'd say it's a minority that actually have it. It is defined by complete avoidance. I can't imagine that people with AVPD would be interacting on a forum such as this as this is a form of social interaction.

    For those of us with social anxiety who avoid a lot of social interaction an online forum can feel like a safer way to do it. And yes if imagine a lot of us who are socially anxious were badly bullied.

    This is where people need to be careful. There is a place for self diagnosis but the lines easily become blurred and it is easy to confuse conditions and symptoms.

  • I can't imagine that people with AVPD would be interacting on a forum such as this as this is a form of social interaction.

    This is a very good point actually. There would be severe fear of criticism and judgement from the sufferers posts. I do prefer online or non face to face communication like messaging apps or this forum because you can take the time to say what you want without the social expectation of a more of less immediate response and this way I find I can think more clearly and try get my point across in the best way possible. It’s very easy to take onboard the information Dr Google gives us and try match it to whatever we are looking for as there will always be something you can relate to.

  • I think you possibly explained my point better than I explained my point.

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