Published on 12, July, 2020
I came up with sth to help them imagine it:
Try to imagine being dropped from helicopter into a sea during storm, blindfolded, without knowing the height. Then you hit the water, and while being shocked from not fully anticipated contact, your first thought is ‘’I can’t swim’’. Nonetheless, you start fighting for your life, throwing your arms around without skill, yet staying on top somehow. Then, you think, you can hear a familiar voice shouting ‘’Swim, you have to’’.
Hit the water is the moment when you turn 18, and realise the enormity of the task ahead.
Blindfold represents inability to read people correctly.
‘’Swim, you have to’’ is ‘’Act normal’’, something I was told as a child more often than anything else.
I've accepted my condition recently. Although my neighbours (elderly) and relatives "nudged" me a year ago, I had difficulty getting it.
I lost two jobs since Jan this year(never happened before), and the situation is demanding my attention. I'm sure I've Asperger's. Surprisingly until 33, I assumed it to be confidence or anxiety issues. Those were symptoms, not root causes
Your analogy makes so much sense. All these years,s I was told to act normal,l and I followed the rules religiously. It worked, but I lost myself in that process. So, I'm starting again like I would have started from 18 (in your analogy). I envy people who learned earlier in life and would be well equipped to get the basics going.
I don't want to swim. Instead, I'll stay myself, which will lead me to a better place than where I was. I'm sure I'll be happier being myself than becoming some who I'm not, either I'm not looking to be.
I can't swim as well, that is why I thought of it as horrifying to do it during storm on open sea, and apparently many NTs as well
Why can't we (atypical) all work together instead of working with people who don't appreciate us?
If great people like this community surrounded us, life would be much simpler, and we all get on with our me times after work, without stress and sleepless nights. Over analyzing, how to get through next day. Sometimes, I don't feel like getting up because I'm too drained to put a face for normal world.
I wonder how Einstien managed his bills
I've worked on reception, on advice lines, constantly answering the phone, in classrooms dealing with children, in libraries at the desk... many, many jobs in customer facing roles. My health was horrendous during those times though.
I couldn't do any of them now though! I'm either getting more autistic as I get older or less tolerant.