I've almost come to terms with being autistic but I'm having trouble making friends. I try to start a conversation or post something fun or what I've created on social media but I get very little attention - no likes or comments. It makes me feel alone in this big world. Is there anyone else like this? I would like to make new friends and hopefully meet up with them.
I just got diagnosed as Autistic two weeks ago, as such I am looking at everything with fresh eyes, which is weird because I’d read all of the lore on Asperger’s prior to being diagnosed.
That being said I have one friend, I’ve lost all of my other friends to time and circumstance, I like the idea of finding friends for life and I know that you do not come across them commonly.
I live an existence of surfing up and down the hills and troughs that are mood and stress, I suppose that if I was not doing this I would literally be flat-lining, so I guess there’s a silver-lining in there somewhere.
When you say that you have trouble making friends, I guess a better realisation would be that friends are hard to make, you find them while you are not looking.
I have found that a good friend is easier to find when you are at a low point, because they are enjoying your vulnerable side, you complete the circle when your new friend becomes low and you find that you can pick them up too.
You may also find that your interests align and that you bounce well off of each other at your high points as well.
Social media is certainly not a place to look for a genuine interaction, especially for autistic people, because there is an illiteracy amongst modern people, and because internet personas are at best a half-truth.
Autistic individuals are very well known for their literal-take, for their all-or-nothing approach, and for their not seeing the forest-for-the-trees.
Most people who use social media project an idealistic image of themselves onto their audience, most are not looking to share a genuine-interaction but are looking to fish for a compliment.
I used to put my drawings online as a means to get praise from others, because I have low self-esteem, and I used to take it straight to the soul when no one commented. I sort of entombed myself in my own negative thoughts and I used to obsess over all the bad reasons someone may have ignored or rebuked me. But the reality is that most people on social media are pretty unhappy, they don’t have time to watch me, ‘boast’, as they see it.
However this is not your average social media platform, here we look after each other, and let each other know that we are glad to have found our kin. We are glad to find that out kin have plenty of praise for us, here we do not ignore messages, your work is amazing!
I actually find it monumentally taxing to draw landscapes, and to see that you are doing it so deftly makes me smile, I love a good landscape! Keep posting because you are not alone, and it feels good to know that others have an appetite for conversation.
Even if I seem to have harped on a little too long, I hope that you are enjoying the benefits of considering that a message is too long to read, this platform offers that on occasion and I am glad to reciprocate when the opportunity arises..:D
I love horror/thrillers but also gory films such as Saw and Wrong Turn. I love painting too! I got hooked onto adult paint by numbers during lockdown and now I can't stop haha.
There is absolutely no doubt in my mind Sarah - you are unique.
You have been a great help Number, thank you so much. I consider myself unique - as well as horror, I like fantasy films like Labyrinth and The Dark Crystal, I listen to classical/classical crossover music and I like musicals especially Les Mis.
OK - so we have established something else important here today too = you are a talented artist.
So, armed with this new information, and on the basis that you and me are now chums to some extent too, I have some more advice for you based on your original thread title above "Feeling Lonely."
I feel lonely almost all of the time - but have no real reason to feel that way - people who know me in real life would not expect me to say that. Other people on these pages feel sad almost all of the time. Others on these pages feel upset almost all of the time. We all want to feel different a lot of the time and we hang out here because we take value from it - and occasionally get to help each other = feels good!
May I suggest that you leave this thread cold now and only answer people who respond because the title "Feeling Lonely" may not deliver what you are hoping to find ie friends, connection, people like you. However, if you started a new thread that said "I'm an artist who paints and draws who wants to find other people like me here" and you post some of your work in that thread, I suspect you are more likely to find what you are looking for.
It has been my pleasure to help you this afternoon - and I'm delighted by your talent - but I'm probably older than your parents (and I bloody hate horror films btw).......so launch yourself back out there sister!
Kindest regards to you and your talent.
Number. x
Trust me - that was worth the mutual effort.
That is VERY beautiful.
Thank you for sharing it.
You made it sound easy, I feel so stupid for not working it out. Thank you for your help.
Now we've cracked it !!!!!
You don't need to type anything into the box !
When you have it as per the image above, click on the word 'Upload' and it will take you to your computer files to allow you to choose the file...
Try that now
Yes, I typed in IMG_4682 do I need to type in the other bit? The .JPG?
I just tried again and it wouldn't upload. I typed in IMG_4682 and the size, clicked ok but nothing.
So do you have a box like this one when you have entered these dimensions........
The first horror film I watched was A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) and I was hooked from then on. I don't really have a favourite as such.
No, you can....because you can post these replies.
Hi Sarah, what are your favourite horror movies? 
A bit bigger (452 X 339) than that but still under 1000. Maybe I just can't upload on my computer
OK - lets get basic to sort this out now, but I will need to run off very soon.
What are the dimensions of your file?....for example, the size of your wolf that I uploaded above was 341x339.
They're a JPG file and I'm on my computer. I resized one so it's under 1000 in dimensions and it still wouldn't upload.
Don't be a silly goose now !
Let's try some possible causes for your problem.
Are you images in jpeg format?
Are you on a computer or a phone?
It's not working, even though I've changed the photo size. I give up. Nothing seems to go right for me.
