How does asperger affect you?

[Judge]

I have very old eyes and have to wear glasses all of time I'm not sleeping. Several years ago I got lenses that get dark in bright light, but are clear indoors. They don't get quite as dark as most sun glasses, but they really help. Since I always wear my glasses, I don't have to try to remember my sun glasses. Just like Tony says "They're Great !".

Transitions? Always wondered about those. Seems very practical.

 

[Harrison]

I have very old eyes and have to wear glasses all of time I'm not sleeping. Several years ago I got lenses that get dark in bright light, but are clear indoors. They don't get quite as dark as most sun glasses, but they really help. Since I always wear my glasses, I don't have to try to remember my sun glasses. Just like Tony says "They're Great !".

I have varifocals that transition, great when I'm on days as light is my biggest issue.

 

[Etzelaire]

The worst thing for me is the irripressible feeling of lonelyness. The isolation from all the other people of the world and the commonly accepted ideals. It's like I needed a State for myself that comprehended just one house. I sometimes forget the feeling of human skin as I hardly never happen to touch someone else's and, despite adapting to conventional rules I wander about this world by my own rules. On the up side I can easily interact to whoever if I have the right motive. If I am working and the fulfillment of my duty requires interaction I have no problem at all; the struggle begins when I want to interact at a personal level to someone, mostly because I think probably they don't care of what I want to tell them and I'm intruding in their privacy for nothing.

 

[Spiller]

human contact

I sometimes forget the feeling of human skin as I hardly never happen to touch someone else's

I've learned to manage most of my sensory and anxiety issues, but isolation, loneliness and lack of human contact and intimacy.. I have no idea how to cope with that!

 

[Etzelaire]

I've learned to manage most of my sensory and anxiety issues, but isolation, loneliness and lack of human contact and intimacy.. I have no idea how to cope with that!

For me is like I want someone to be with (both like with a girlfriend and friends too) but I never happen to meet the people I'd like to, maybe because they are not in the spectrum haha. Also, I am never prepared to invade another human's private space or time, it's very difficult to know when I can interact positively.

 

[Ellylldan]

I just got to know about Asperger's a very few months ago, (Edit: and I think I could have it, I have a lot of issues described that explain all my troubles, but can't be sure 100% they are Asperger's related, of course. I thought I need to add this little specification.) so now I'm in a process of understanding how I function and what are my limits, I analyse everything I do, everything I feel and, honestly, right now I feel like I have a lot of problems with everything! I suppose it's a natural reaction to the discovery of the reason of all my troubles and I believe it will get better soon.

Well, in fact my sensory issues are pretty mild. Little bit of light, little bit of taste, usual stuff. What really drives me crazy is screaming children and high-pitched voices (usually female), speaking loudly. And sudden loud noises make me jump. Oh, and light touch, hate it!

The social part is a big problem for me. Always a struggle. I'm not completely alone, I have a husband. And my husband is a musician, so during last years I got to know really a lot of people. I enjoy going sometimes to rock-concerts (if I like the music, of course), got to know a lot of cool people but still can't make friends. Even with people I like very much, still have a problem with talking. Sometimes I feel very brave and full of energy, then I can initiate a conversation - yaaay! - and in 5 minutes I don't know what to say anymore. Plus I have sometimes a trouble understanding what people (in a group conversation) are talking about, I hear words, understand them, but can't catch a line of the talk, like they all have some secret code that everyone knows but me... Oh, and anxiety, my old friend.
Last year I finally got close to a girl who became a very good friend and accepted me with all me quirks, but two months ago she moved out of the country. Yep, I'm this lucky!

And of course, my demon, jumping out on me unexpectedly the moment I turn my back - meltdowns. They are very destructive. Now, that I know what it is, with all the information available online, I'm practically watching the beast in his natural habitat and trying to figure out ways to deal with him. It gives me hope!

(maybe I had to keep it shorter...)

 

[tw3]

Previous posts all ring with me.
Fluorescent lights give me headaches. Too much noise shuts my mind down. I especially have a difficult time in large or small groups of NTs knowing what to say beyond the polite small talk. I usually try to find some non offensive excuse to leave.

 

[alien girl]

I have mild to severe sensory issues depending on which sense is being affected. On the mild side is textures, tastes and smells. I have moderate sensitivity to harsh or florescent lighting. I have severe sensitivity to noise. It's not so much about loud sounds necessarily (though some loud sounds freak me out), because I can enjoy loud music sometimes. It's more about chaotic noise. I hate being in crowds like at parties where music is playing and people are talking. I start feeling "woozie," like I'm going to pass out or something. Its like everything is blending together and I can't function. It's hard to explain.

My biggest problems resulting from ASD are people-related. Like others have mentioned, being around other people tires me out. It's like people are psychic vampires to me.

To a slightly lesser degree, I'm negatively affected by the need for routine, ritual and the familiar in general. Ever since I was a kid, I've had a routine to get me by. I'd rarely ever spend the night at a friend's house because they didn't have the same routines and rituals. It's very hard for me to take on new things if it requires a change in my routine. When I have to change, it takes a fair amount of time for me to adjust. I feel this has held me back in several areas of life, primarily in work and relationships.

sometimes in a crowd, I get so confused that I hardly know where I am and what I'm doing there. it's hard to focuse, to move, to think. I'm in a daze. and I can easily relate to how people can be like vampires to you, sucking the energy.

 

[alien girl]

Sensory issues, definitely the sensory issues are the worst part for me. I have to be careful with strong smells like cleaning chemicals. I'm very sensitive to bright lights and I cannot drive at night, dawn, or dusk even with the aid of sunglasses. I have to be careful about wind and temperature when I first get up. Women's clothing is a whole 'nother nightmare which you may giggle about here. I really hate being touched, especially on my back and stomach. Sometimes I can't control the stuttering, usually when I'm having a bottleneck of information. My short term memory can be iffy at times, and other times I can still give an accurate description to a police sketch artist to look out of the guy that robbed the grocery store I worked at. Loud, chaotic noise is an issue, I don't don't deal with classrooms. Phones are pure evil, I'm usually clueless in regards to disembodied voices and what they're trying to say.

Some say my social skills are affected, I say people just have control issues and need to learn how to entertain themselves instead of making me do it for them. So that one's debatable and depends on your point of view. But I am an introvert, so I get exhausted with prolonged socializing. If I have a good reserve up, I can spend a full week on a camp out or something without needed to recharge, but I'll be close to spent by the time I'm done.

Other than the sensory issues, I have no complaints. Surprisingly, most of my food sensitivities are gone and I have a pretty broad menu now.

oh, touch my back and stomach and i will kill you! my sense of smell is very mild, and i can hardly smell anything. i also have a problem understanding what people say, and it frustrates me, and i hate phones, i hate them.

 

[alien girl]

The worst thing for me is the irripressible feeling of lonelyness. The isolation from all the other people of the world and the commonly accepted ideals. It's like I needed a State for myself that comprehended just one house. I sometimes forget the feeling of human skin as I hardly never happen to touch someone else's and, despite adapting to conventional rules I wander about this world by my own rules. On the up side I can easily interact to whoever if I have the right motive. If I am working and the fulfillment of my duty requires interaction I have no problem at all; the struggle begins when I want to interact at a personal level to someone, mostly because I think probably they don't care of what I want to tell them and I'm intruding in their privacy for nothing.

I can relate to every word because i feel this way too. people's commonly accepted ideals and ideas are as foreigner to me as aliens from other planets. other people look to me like aliens from other planet, or maybe that's how i look like to them... i would love to have a state free of all those stupid and unfair ideas and ideals that have nothing to do with me. i feel so detached. i can interact with small talk for a few minutes and can communicate at work, but not on a personal level.
yes, i fee the same way exactly.
execpt for touch, because i communicate through touch sometimes

 

[Spiller]

my sense of smell is very mild, and i can hardly smell anything. i also have a problem understanding what people say, and it frustrates me, and i hate phones, i hate them.

I can relate to every word because i feel this way too. people's commonly accepted ideals and ideas are as foreigner to me as aliens from other planets. other people look to me like aliens from other planet, or maybe that's how i look like to them... i would love to have a state free of all those stupid and unfair ideas and ideals that have nothing to do with me. i feel so detached. i can interact with small talk for a few minutes and can communicate at work, but not on a personal level

The smell thing's interesting, I have a sense of smell, but can't tell a 'good' smell from a 'bad' one, most stuff just smells the way it does.. same with taste.
I relate to understanding what people say in the AS 'literal interpretation' sense, saying something one way and actually meaning something else, same with ideals.. people can be so bogglingly irrational, even when you ask for clarification; they say the same thing louder, or use different words that still don't make sense!
Faces are odd, aren't they. If I get the opportunity to stare at someone for a while, see their faces moving in different expressions, they begin to look normal..ish, but I struggle to recognise someone from a photo.
Phones.
Phones should all be burned!

 

[Cali Cat]

sometimes in a crowd, I get so confused that I hardly know where I am and what I'm doing there. it's hard to focuse, to move, to think. I'm in a daze...

Yep, I get like that in stores especially ... particularly at Walmart. I have to go at odd times of the day to avoid the crowds.

 

[Jambo_nick]

For me personally, it boils down to anxiety and stress. When I'm chilled I experience very little symptoms of AS whereas when I'm stressed out I can feel them. The part I like is the non-bias view on the world which is good if any of my friends need advice. In a nutshell, AS is a life challenge I have to live up to. Life is not easy for anyone on this planet.

 

[Graelwyn]

I seem to have issues on many levels and it is this that makes it so hard to understand how my parents did not realise.

Sensory issues - certain noise, too many voices talking to me at once, clothing digging in/seams, bad smells.

Social - I struggle horribly socially. I have social anxiety too, so now I either say the wrong thing, talk too loudly, talk too little, have no idea how to stand/sit, what to do with myself when among a group of people. I am also not good with body language. I both desire human company, yet at the same time, if I have more than a certain amount, I have to withdraw. I also do not really understand friendship very well. I have never dated really, do not understand flirting and all that stuff and totally lack spontaneity.

Meltdowns - I get major, major attacks of rage, it is like a pressure cooker inside of me. Sometimes it just comes from nowhere, usually if I have made myself socialize more than I am used to. I tend to overthink things and get caught in negative trains of thought which can also trigger major rage attacks. And my reaction is to knock holes in walls or hit myself. At the worst, I will simply freeze and not be able to move really or talk.

Executive function - I struggle with organising daily life, such as cleaning my home, paying bills... I seem to find it all overwhelming, then feel myself to just be a lazy cow for not doing these things. In some ways, I seem to totally lack common sense.