Are you a literal?

[Louie]

I started reading when I was 4yo. When I was little, I like Polly Pocket dolls a lot. I had a Polly Pocket dvd, where I learn the meaning of "literal meaning", cause Polly said "not literally" on the movie and I asked my mom the meaning.
I loved to read stories with a lot of metaphors. My aunt had a book with a lot of popular sayings and I read it multiple times. My aunt use to love popular sayings. She still uses it all the time, and she used to always explain it to me when I asked the meaning.
I remember that when I was 11yo I become obssessed with irony and sarcasm, because I read a text online that said that smart people were most ironic and sarcastic.
All my life I was obssessed in prove that I wasn't dumb. Cause independent of my grades and sucess on school, kids used to call me dumb and stupid.
I never used to say "no". Even today is very difficult to me to say "no". I used to be very sincere (my teachers would always keep me in charge, when they went to the bathroom, cause I would ever tell the truth about what happened in class while they were out).
So, when I was 11, I started watching a guy on youtube. He was a lonely and shy guy as I was, and I immediately identified with him, but he was very smart and EXTREMELY IRONIC.
So I studied all his personality and "robbed" it.
I tried to speak like him, and have the same opinions, make the same jokes, use the same cursing words (I had never curse before that, so it was a big change) and I even tried to make an youtube video like his cause a colleague said that we had similar personalities (cause I robbed his).
So I became a super aware person in conversations. Always giving all my energy to say the right things for people think that I was smart and admire me. Reproducing opinions that weren't mine.
It damage me a lot. I start trying to be more honest with myself when I was 14.
It still was hard, and I kept masking, but I was a little more myself.

Today, I'm trying to be more honest with myself.
When I hear an metaphor or hyperbole, the first meaning that comes to my mind is the literal, but I can fastly understand the figurative meaning, but I don't demand it to myself anymore.
I still use irony sometimes (but not very often), and use some methods to understand it easily: if it's absurd, it probably is irony or sarcasm.
I memorize people voice tones too (It helped me in my job. The people there were always joking and mocking eachother. I didn't want to stand out, so I tried to do it too. Sometimes they didn't understand that I was playing too, so I would have to say that "this was a joke". But I had a good relationship with them, even they saying that I looked ood sometimes).

So... Are you a literal? Do you have any method to understand irony and sarcasm? Do you use figurative language?
(Tell me your story ♥)

 

[Aspychata]

You can't beat a dead horse. This is what l am living now. Maybe you should consider writing.

 

[Aspychata]

You can't beat a dead horse. This is what l am living now. Maybe you should consider writing.

 

[Misery]

My method of understanding sarcasm was growing up and reading ALL THE GARFIELD. Enough exposure to a character THAT sarcastic, and you will practically transcend reality and become sarcasm itself.

I try not to show it on here TOO much... because I know it can confuse those on the spectrum... but IRL almost everything I say has sarcasm/irony woven through it. There's no stopping that, it's just who I am at this point. It's certainly one of the things I'm known for among the family.

And that's about it, there's really nothing else to the "story" than that.

 

[Louie]

My method of understanding sarcasm was growing up and reading ALL THE GARFIELD. Enough exposure to a character THAT sarcastic, and you will practically transcend reality and become sarcasm itself.

I try not to show it on here TOO much... because I know it can confuse those on the spectrum... but IRL almost everything I say has sarcasm/irony woven through it. There's no stopping that, it's just who I am at this point. It's certainly one of the things I'm known for among the family.

And that's about it, there's really nothing else to the "story" than that.

I know it so well LOL. One of the first things that I studied when I was focusing to learn english was the popular sayings. I love using them. I feel poetic
But I don't really know how to be sarcastic in english (I only did it once, on my english class, when I whispered to my friend "hello" and a boy yelled at me saying "they are ****ing reading", só I whispered "they are ****ing reading" with a high-pitched voice. I still feel guilty about it ).

 

[Louie]

You can't beat a dead horse. This is what l am living now. Maybe you should consider writing.

Are you having problem understanding things? (I'm still learning english, so I don't understand the majority of the popular sayings).
What should I write? (I really like writing).
Thanks for your answer

 

[Crossbreed]

So... Are you a literal? Do you have any method to understand irony and sarcasm? Do you use figurative language?

I am often literal.
I recognize most figurative semantics (and use many), but still miss those that are new to me.
Much of my humor comes from seeing both the literal & figurative at the same time.

 

[Aecho]

It honestly was a mix of mimicking tv and failing A LOT in the real world. Even now I still have a hard time every once in a while. It’s honestly just one of those things that you get better at with practice and exposure.

 

[Fino]

I'm mostly literal and it drives people nuts. Oh well.

 

[Louie]

I'm mostly literal and it drives people nuts. Oh well.

Thanks for your answer ♥
I think is totaly okay to be literal. When I relaxed, next to my mom, dad or other person that makes me feel safe, I become a lot more literal. I think the "hyper awareness" is some kind of defense mechanism, cause everytime I'm more relax around people, they call me dumb and slow (sometimes is as a joke, but it hurts anyway).
Some years ago I just "joined the game" and started calling myself dumb. My mom hates it. She always tells me that I'm smart. I don't deserve her ♥

 

[Louie]

It honestly was a mix of mimicking tv and failing A LOT in the real world. Even now I still have a hard time every once in a while. It’s honestly just one of those things that you get better at with practice and exposure.

Thanks for your answer ♥
It gets better with pratice, but never stops being exhausting.
I mimicked a lot of caracthers during my life. They were always badass independent people (everything that I wasn't).
Now I'm trying to be more sincere with myself.
I'm and 20yo adult that don't know if could live without my mom. And it's ok. I don't need to be a badass independent person to be happy LOL

 

[Louie]

I am often literal.
I recognize most figurative semantics (and use many), but still miss those that are new to me.
Much of my humor comes from seeing both the literal & figurative at the same time.

Thanks for you answer ♥
I like that too. It's funny to watch literal interpretations of figurative quotes on my mind.
I love the saying: you catch more flies with honey than with vinegar.
Always like to remember it.

 

[Crossbreed]

I love the saying: you catch more flies with honey than with vinegar.
Always like to remember it.

(Ewww... who wants to catch flies...!?)

 

[musicalman]

Personally I tend to be literal, but early on I understood sarcasm as well. Metaphors I'm pretty good with if I'm familiar with context, and irony is a bit trickier sometimes. I only get it if I've had time to process the preceding situation and work out why it's ironic.

I think my sarcasm is what makes people like me and think I'm not on the spectrum. I tend to use sarcasm as a bit of a bridge to connect with people. And heck, even when I am geeking out with someone who thinks I'm on the spectrum, or with a close friend who shares common interests, the sarcasm comes out then too. But it's quite obvious I think. My tone changes quite a bit and I say things which are very obviously untrue, and if they seem to be pondering whether I'm serious or not, I'll exaggerate even more to hopefully show them how not serious I really am. Most people I've done this to don't take long to figure out when I'm being sarcastic. I don't know if it's how I present it, or if they are naturally good at picking up on it. Maybe a bit of both.

One thing I really don't like though are word puns. It's not that I don't get them, I just never found many of them funny. The ones I do find funny are funny for maybe 30 seconds and then they're just... meh. But some other people will sit there and laugh at them for like 5 minutes and I'm like "seriously, haven't you gotten over it yet?" I feel self-conscious about that attitude since I worry it makes me come off as the grouchy old man shouting "get off my lawn!" but everyone has their get off my lawn moments I suppose.

The only exceptions I can think of to an amusing word pun is if it relates to something musical. Since music technology and stuff like that are my special interests, any puns related to that are funnier to me than for the average person.

But yeah @Louie I relate to a lot of what you're saying about trying to pick up on other people's stuff as a kid and copying it. I didn't try to imitate famous characters or cursing Youtubers or anything, I was too innocent and in my own world for that. My role models were at first parents, teachers and other adults. I'd often mimic their tones, and what's worse is that if I was distressed with a fellow classmate, I'd resort to my teacher-giving-a-lecture script. After all, the only way I knew to communicate my agitation with someone was to copy the tones my teachers used when lecturing me.

Then I'd get in trouble for mocking. I mean, I understand why that was inappropriate now, but in my kid mind I was only experimenting with new scripts. It was a natural thing to do since I didn't have my own script so much, and didn't have a confident sense of myself. And to be honest I still don't, not really.

Now I don't script from people so much, I just ramble incessantly, trying to articulate my thoughts. I mean I'm sure there's a part of my ramblings which are clearly me, and nobody else, but it doesn't really feel like it. My thoughts feel kind of disconnected from my emotions, even though I know they are very fueled by emotions... ugh I can't explain how it feels lol. I guess it just feels like there's a break somewhere which is preventing me from feeling like I am a complete person. I always feel like I need to find missing pieces, otherwise I'll be spending the rest of my life scripting from others attempting to find substitute pieces.

Anyway trying to get back on course, non literal stuff and humor has, in a funny way, eased those feelings somewhat. I guess because humor is one of those things that doesn't have to be learned, and non literal language is something you either like or you don't. My only resentment of it is that people who don't identify with certain aspects are often seen as disconnected, humorless, party crashers, overly sensitive, or something else negative.

I can't tell you the number of times I've just shut up and said nothing when people start making jokes which I personally find offensive or crossing slightly over a line, because I'm afraid it'll turn into a discussion I'll later regret. And at the risk of offending the Brits on here, I can't tell you the number of times I've wondered if I'm stupid for having more trouble with the British breed of sarcasm, which feels strangely loud but subtle in my experience. I could take it seriously or not and it would still make some kind of sense to me. Meh, maybe it just leaves a bad impression because I was once told by a brit that I was deliberately being dense. A part of me was even confused enough to start wondering if the deliberately being dense remark was serious or some kind of sarcastic comment.

Anyway I'll stop now, this is already too long lol

 

[Progster]

I can be sarcastic or ironic and often am, but still find it hard to recognise it in somebody else. It's one of those things I had difficulty as a kid, as it extended to not understanding when someone was just joking or saying things to provoke me, so I used to get bullied quite a lot - kids knowing this weakness and deliberately saying things to wind me up. I also don't really know how to react or to deal with it and find banter or friendly teasing difficult - that's a social skill I never quite mastered and one that marks me out as being different.

 

[SusanLR]

I'm pretty good at recognising sarcasm and I'm quite good at being sarcastic to others when I want to be.
I use metaphors and an occasional pun.
Popular sayings are OK if they are the older ones that I grew up hearing and learned the meanings of.
Some of the newer ones I don't get and they make me wonder.
One example was the first time I heard someone say they did them a solid.
A solid what? I had to ask someone close to me what it meant.
There have been others I didn't know also.

I have difficulty knowing when someone is joking or making what they think is funny.
I've been insulted by taking it literally.
If I literally mean what I say, I don't understand when others don't.
So overall, I am a literal speaking and thinking person.

 

[Louie]

Personally I tend to be literal, but early on I understood sarcasm as well. Metaphors I'm pretty good with if I'm familiar with context, and irony is a bit trickier sometimes. I only get it if I've had time to process the preceding situation and work out why it's ironic.

I think my sarcasm is what makes people like me and think I'm not on the spectrum. I tend to use sarcasm as a bit of a bridge to connect with people. And heck, even when I am geeking out with someone who thinks I'm on the spectrum, or with a close friend who shares common interests, the sarcasm comes out then too. But it's quite obvious I think. My tone changes quite a bit and I say things which are very obviously untrue, and if they seem to be pondering whether I'm serious or not, I'll exaggerate even more to hopefully show them how not serious I really am. Most people I've done this to don't take long to figure out when I'm being sarcastic. I don't know if it's how I present it, or if they are naturally good at picking up on it. Maybe a bit of both.

One thing I really don't like though are word puns. It's not that I don't get them, I just never found many of them funny. The ones I do find funny are funny for maybe 30 seconds and then they're just... meh. But some other people will sit there and laugh at them for like 5 minutes and I'm like "seriously, haven't you gotten over it yet?" I feel self-conscious about that attitude since I worry it makes me come off as the grouchy old man shouting "get off my lawn!" but everyone has their get off my lawn moments I suppose.

The only exceptions I can think of to an amusing word pun is if it relates to something musical. Since music technology and stuff like that are my special interests, any puns related to that are funnier to me than for the average person.

But yeah @Louie I relate to a lot of what you're saying about trying to pick up on other people's stuff as a kid and copying it. I didn't try to imitate famous characters or cursing Youtubers or anything, I was too innocent and in my own world for that. My role models were at first parents, teachers and other adults. I'd often mimic their tones, and what's worse is that if I was distressed with a fellow classmate, I'd resort to my teacher-giving-a-lecture script. After all, the only way I knew to communicate my agitation with someone was to copy the tones my teachers used when lecturing me.

Then I'd get in trouble for mocking. I mean, I understand why that was inappropriate now, but in my kid mind I was only experimenting with new scripts. It was a natural thing to do since I didn't have my own script so much, and didn't have a confident sense of myself. And to be honest I still don't, not really.

Now I don't script from people so much, I just ramble incessantly, trying to articulate my thoughts. I mean I'm sure there's a part of my ramblings which are clearly me, and nobody else, but it doesn't really feel like it. My thoughts feel kind of disconnected from my emotions, even though I know they are very fueled by emotions... ugh I can't explain how it feels lol. I guess it just feels like there's a break somewhere which is preventing me from feeling like I am a complete person. I always feel like I need to find missing pieces, otherwise I'll be spending the rest of my life scripting from others attempting to find substitute pieces.

Anyway trying to get back on course, non literal stuff and humor has, in a funny way, eased those feelings somewhat. I guess because humor is one of those things that doesn't have to be learned, and non literal language is something you either like or you don't. My only resentment of it is that people who don't identify with certain aspects are often seen as disconnected, humorless, party crashers, overly sensitive, or something else negative.

I can't tell you the number of times I've just shut up and said nothing when people start making jokes which I personally find offensive or crossing slightly over a line, because I'm afraid it'll turn into a discussion I'll later regret. And at the risk of offending the Brits on here, I can't tell you the number of times I've wondered if I'm stupid for having more trouble with the British breed of sarcasm, which feels strangely loud but subtle in my experience. I could take it seriously or not and it would still make some kind of sense to me. Meh, maybe it just leaves a bad impression because I was once told by a brit that I was deliberately being dense. A part of me was even confused enough to start wondering if the deliberately being dense remark was serious or some kind of sarcastic comment.

Anyway I'll stop now, this is already too long lol

Thanks for your answer ♥
Is very hard to me to controvert jokes that makes me feel unconfortable too. Sometimes I feel strongly guilty about that. So I promised to myself to always try to make my opinions explicit in this situations, cause the guilt is worse than the disconfort of the moment (I'm a super guilty person).
I personally like word puns, cause I love words. Love how they work, love to search about their origins, and I think word puns are an underappreciated form of art (but they are not the funniest thing, I get it).

 

[Louie]

(Ewww... who wants to catch flies...!?)

Who doesn't want?
If you catch them, they can't land on your food.
I hate flies flying around my food
They land on dog poop and land on my table. It's disrespectful.

 

[Louie]

I can be sarcastic or ironic and often am, but still find it hard to recognise it in somebody else. It's one of those things I had difficulty as a kid, as it extended to not understanding when someone was just joking or saying things to provoke me, so I used to get bullied quite a lot - kids knowing this weakness and deliberately saying things to wind me up. I also don't really know how to react or to deal with it and find banter or friendly teasing difficult - that's a social skill I never quite mastered and one that marks me out as being different.

Thanks for your answer ♥
Kids can be really cruel when they want. They used to provoque me a lot, cause I would believe in everything they said. My mom helped me a lot with that.
There's no problem in been a literal.
I hope that things are better for you now ♥

 

[Louie]

I'm pretty good at recognising sarcasm and I'm quite good at being sarcastic to others when I want to be.
I use metaphors and an occasional pun.
Popular sayings are OK if they are the older ones that I grew up hearing and learned the meanings of.
Some of the newer ones I don't get and they make me wonder.
One example was the first time I heard someone say they did them a solid.
A solid what? I had to ask someone close to me what it meant.
There have been others I didn't know also.

I have difficulty knowing when someone is joking or making what they think is funny.
I've been insulted by taking it literally.
If I literally mean what I say, I don't understand when others don't.
So overall, I am a literal speaking and thinking person.

Thanks for your answer ♥
I hate so much when I'm being serious and someone starts being sarcastic/ironic.
It's really difficult to me. Gets a lot harder if is someone that I don't know well (cause I don't know their normal voice tones to differentiate from the ironic tones).
It drives me mad, but I always try to keep calm and evaluate the situation.