Published on 12, July, 2020
Does anyone here suffer from a tendency towards paranoia? I suffer from it a lot, particularly in situations when I have to conform and blend in.
If people are talking or whispering, I assume it's about me.
Even strangers who pass in the street - if they smile or whisper to each other I worry it's about me.
I guess I worry that I am so bad at picking up social cues, I am the butt of everyone's jokes - or - missing out on important information.
Having a really awful day today, tried to cheer myself up posting some silly things but I feel like a stupid dork and want to harm myself now.
I do occasionally get paranoid, though not as much as I used to when I was younger. It's usually in a situation where I can't judge another person's intention or something strange is happening and I don't understand why!
I spent a lot of years training my mind not to assume that other people think bad things of me or are talking about me, I'm sure that there are many things other than me that they could be thinking or talking about.
Exactly, it is very hard to understand people's intentions and I suspect my clumsiness in this area is a big contributor.
I really think that our difficulties in reading other people’s intentions is a massive contributor to paranoia in anyone with ASD.