Let's Get Social!

I can hear the many groans, protestations and eye rolls from all of my fellow Aspies/Auties already.

I don't know about you guys, but I am stuck in a bit of a dilemma. I, as a human and a somewhat social creature, crave friendship and human contact. I want to go out and have dinner with friends, or go for walks, take a car trip to the mountains and take photos etc. Alas, I lack the social skills to cement those sorts of friendships, and I'm often too anxious to join the few friends I do have in their more social pursuits, like parties and being in large groups. In fact, I have often considered ditching dance class purely because I don't do people well (not because I think I can't dance, which is what some people think - bitches, EVERYONE knows I can dance!).

However, every so often I am rewarded for venturing out from my shell, and tonight was one of those times. Due to the heavy stress I am under (thank you work) I am finding a lot of the progress I have made in beating depression and anxiety is being quickly eroded. This is beginning to manifest physically in the form of lethargy, painful limbs/shoulders and a busted immune system. I have been advised by my beloved Mumsie to look for physical therapy to try and help combat this (along with my psychology sessions). So tonight I went for my usual trip to the laundromat, where I bumped into a nice lady with a dog she was taking care of. It turns out that this lady is a massage therapist. We ended up having a really good chat about animals and I got to see her "office" as she lives around the corner from the laundromat.

It might sound like a meaningless coincidence to some people, but positive interactions like the one I just had a huge in encouraging people with Autism/anxiety to come out of their shells and contribute to the world at large. Another fun interaction I had was at the NRL. I was lucky enough to be sitting with the Rabbitohs fans, and one young lady was friendly enough to strike up a polite conversation. WINNING!

I will admit it's not all smooth sailing (just ask anyone who was at Raw Cons "Last Supper" at Greenslopes how awful I was) but sometimes you just have to soldier on and keep practising at being a functional human being - remember the "fake it 'till you make it" rule and go for gold!

Just stay away from automatic doors.