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Wandering vs Escaping

OkRad

OkRad

μῆνιν ἄειδε θεὰ Πηληϊάδεω Ἀχιλῆος οὐλομένην
V.I.P Member
I think a lot about the ways that HFA and LFA are similar. One of the things I was recently thinking about is wandering (LFA) and escaping (HFA)

When I was young (and now as well, if I am in such situations where I feel trapped), I would simply leave. To me, it was a panic about being stuck someplace. But it was also the desire to be outside and away and free.

I often wonder if this is like what LFA's feel?

If you are LFA please explain your wandering experiences.

Mine were based on
1. PANIC!!! Oh, I have to get out of here!!!!
2. Wanting to be outside, needing to be in the air, away from people. I would simply walk out of school, even the "special school" and walk 8 miles home.
3. Getting all confused in place I was. It might be church or something where I am sitting there and "it hits" like I don't belong there at all. I am famous for just leaving meetings.
4. Social chaos. If I am someplace and the greeting went bad, I might stick around for a few minutes and then the shame and anger just take over and I split!!
 
I'm HFA as well, so no new perspectives, just had to respond to say all four of your reasons for escaping sound extremely familiar. I always plan my "escape route" the minute I get into a situation or building that makes me feel slightly uncomfortable. It's gotten better, but in my late teens I couldn't attend lectures at university or watch a movie in the cinema because I couldn't just get up and leave, I'd have to ask people to get up and let me through.
 
I'm self diagnosed HFA. I get exactly the same thing. I've always thought of the feeling that "just hits" at random moments, as the universe calling me. I'll feel nervous like I'm supposed to be somewhere, or I'm missing something. I used to go and wander into fields and disappear for hours (got me in trouble as a kid, lol)

I also plan escape routes. I do it very thoroughly at any new residence, I'll dream about escaping someone chasing me, and while this causes many stressful nightmares, it eventually ends when I've plotted all the routes.
 
I did both when I was younger, it wasn't so much wandering and escaping for me as it was exploring the environment out of sheer curiosity. Wandering can be a huge issue if you're even partially unaware of what's going on in the background; as far as escaping goes I don't blame anyone here for wanting to do that. Sometimes it really is better to be in your own company than around a chaotic and potentially toxic environment.

Thinking back on it now a lot of it could have gotten me in some serious trouble, but I always knew my way back home a majority of the time.
 
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