Introducing Myself

That’s good to know :)

Hi there :)

Welcome. 

Hi Henry, Hope you enjoy the forum.

Hi Henry welcome.

You are so welcome Kate, you are very lovely and kind and such people deserve to be treated with love and kindness  It is a wonderful place to be, so many lovely people are here and I'm really enjoying getting to know so many. It is crazy isn't it!? People just don't understand Autism at all. It's crazy. Thank you Kate, I send love, hugs and best wishes to you and your son.

Hello.

Hi, and welcome. Im relatively new here myself but it was much less daunting than I expected when I joined up. I hope the foum quickly becomes a relaiable and comfortable safe space for you vent, ruminate, chat, explore ideas, feel like you've 'found your tribe' etc.

I've had chronic social anxiety all my life too (and autism - recently diagnosed- gives me such a helpful broader context for understanding and accepting it), and now in my forties manage it only marginally better than in the past. I still have really bad days with it where the idea of even crossing the door is just too much. If it wasn't for work, family, and a tiny group of friends (some online, some IRL) I'd quite possibly lapse into being a hermit to avoid the stress and hurt of not having the innate social abilities and comfort levels  that the majority seem to come equipped with as standard. Life is hard, but places like this make it just a little easier. 

I hope it doesn't sound condascending to say well done on initiating a topic/thread. I made myself do that here as early as possible too. There's another online form I've been on for 20 years and I've never once created a thread on it, just participated in existing ones. It's become this mental hurdle somewhow, and I didn't want the same one to take root here. 

Anyway, can definitely empathise, as clearly many here can. Hopefully you already feel seen and understood. 

That’s so kind of you Kit - thank you for your very kind words! I read this to my son too and he really appreciated what you wrote. Thank you for being so supportive - it’s lovely to read  It really does help to come on here and find other people who understand what it’s like. 
This idea that autistic people aren’t empathetic seems crazy to me - this community is full,of people being understanding and caring towards each other. Myself and my son send you peace, love and light :) 

Hi Henry, nice to meet you!

Welcome I am new too. 

Hi, I am new.

Hi!

Hello, welcome to the forum. You are not alone, social anxiety is a common experience for many autistic people. I can relate as I had Situational Mutism whilst at secondary school.

I hope you find this forum useful. I am happy to chat with you, I know you said that even online interactions are a cause of anxiety but hopefully they will become easier the more you chat with us. There is no pressure or expectation, do whatever you feel comfortable with.

Welcome to your autistic tribe.

Hi, nice to meet you! I also suffer from social anxiety. The pandemic made this easier for me as I didn't have to socialise very much. Now I feel I should try to see people more and it's really hard. I'm new to the community and I've also joined to try to socialise more, so happy to chat to you.

Hi Kate it's nice to meet you to 

It does seem to be something we all suffer from in one way or another unfortunately. I hate social anxiety, it is really hard to live with as people and interacting with them is a huge part of every day life. I try not to as seeing people and interacting is a huge trigger. I suffer from other anxiety as well but social anxiety is my main problem. It sounds like you and your son also find it really hard to cope with. I'm so sorry, I know how hard it is to live with. Since the pandemic I've felt very isolated as well, mental health services are more withdrawn now as well feel like they don't care and abandoned me. Hey Kate don't be hard on yourself and tell your son the same. You're not failures at all! You have a lot to cope with, Autism, anxiety and the world is not an easy part to be a part of. Remember that you got through yesterday and that you will get through today as well! You got this Kate, both of you. I'm glad you found this place and feel able to come here when you need support, it's also a good place to be just to relax and chill. I come here a lot as well at the moment. It's nice to be with you all. 

Take care Kate, hope you and your son have a great day 

Hi Kit - nice to meet you

I think most autistic people have social anxiety - I do but I am reasonably good at masking it. The isolation of the pandemic has made it worse though and get even more stressed than I used to about social interaction. My youngest son (who is a young adult now) has huge  difficulties with social anxiety and had Selective Mutism in School and now at college (he’s not going into college at all now due to social anxiety and other issues). So we can definitely relate! The pandemic has definitely increased our difficulties with this. We feel so isolated and to be honest i (and my son) feel like failures. We can’t seem to cope with the most normal things and it really damages our self esteem. Getting through each day is difficult at the moment. So it’s good to come on here and realise that we are not alone in struggling like this. So many autistic people feel like this and we can support each other. 

Hello and welcome to the gang! 

I get you, I feel extremely anxious both in person and typing online even typing now makes me anxious lol. Happy to chat if you want to, my door is always open.

Hello and wellcome. I hope you make many friends here on the forum. Always happy to chat. What are your interests? My passion is for pre and post war engineering.  

Helllo and welcome,

Everyone is lovely here, You will feel at home in no time.