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It's some kind of bike ride...way too difficult for anyone who hasn't been training for it. And it's long distance (several hours) so it's not like nephew could just ride around with a slower/shorter group. This is true... I can think of a handful of people who handle him okay even though...

My nephew is almost 13. He was adopted from Europe as a toddler, and although he's physically healthy, he has some emotional issues. Also, my BIL and his ex haven't done a great job of handling nephew's issues (or their own). Nephew is very difficult to control at times, and I've seen my BIL...

There was no "pre-trauma" me, since it was a childhood-long thing for me. But I do see a huge difference in "pre-recovery" and "in-recovery" versions of myself. I think I actually took a Myers-Briggs type of test back in college 2 decades ago, and scored ISTJ. But at that time, I was idealizing...

@Friday I've been thinking about this a lot. Let me see if I can form it into an intelligible question...pardon the rambling. My mom has always been very critical, but mostly in a subtle, manipulative sort of way. It's like a "nice" critical, except it still does a lot of damage, maybe even...

I actually feel closer to people when I'm not around them. Being physically close doesn't feel comforting. Hm. We've talked about it a lot, actually...that exact metaphor as well as others. He seems determined to make sure I don't become dependent on him...that I'm empowered through this...

How do you know how to express it if you haven't identified it yet? How do you know whether to laugh or cry or yell or whatever?

Mostly it's just mirroring their emotional behaviors back to them. And sometimes it's, instead, compensating for their negative emotions by trying to counter their bad feelings with positivity, which I realize is super unhealthy. But that's the way I was raised, and I learned it well. I still do...

Well, the culture I guess...majority vote, or maybe just "here are some options, take your pick, but nothing else will make sense to anyone else." Seriously, too much emotional misalignment with the other people in the conversation causes problems, consistently. I have to pay close attention...

That's what the clinician who dx'd me believed, too. They each complicate the other. In some ways, the AS gives me coping tools other PTSD people don't have, but one of the major drawbacks is that it's terribly difficult to know what can be addressed and resolved in therapy, and what can't. If...

Hm, well, I've studied the Myers-Briggs personality types in depth for the past couple of years, and that's been incredibly insightful to realize that different people think and experience the world so differently. I had no idea. So I'm learning to accept that people's internal thought...

Yes, that's what it's like. I watch other people interacting, and I realize I don't feel that way with people. It's completely foreign to me. Apparently some aspies do feel connected with their pets, but I don't. I might admire their cuteness or be amused by their antics at time, but I don't...

Not sure I even know how to do this, honestly. It's so terribly embarrassing when I allow those autistic traits to surface. I've worked most of my life to learn how to cover them up, and invested a great deal of emotional energy into that process. How does this work with authenticity vs...

Oh, my T has brought in a song each of the past couple of weeks that he thought I might like the lyrics. On one hand, I'm touched that he's making this effort. But there are two other reactions: 1) I'm sure these are just songs that he likes and he's playing them for several clients, so it's not...

Yes, this makes sense... ...then how do you change your thoughts toward yourself when most of what you've ever experienced from others is negative or apathetic? I've been working on this stuff for so long. :( And so much of the stuff that's supposed to help has been polluted by emotional...

I don't know any more. I think I had this cartoony image in my mind, but it's not real. I want to feel comforted from being with people rather than feeling overwhelmed. I want to feel like I'm known and accepted for exactly who I am. I want to like feeling wanted, instead of feeling repulsed by...

What do you do to "work on" on this lack of connection? Have you been able to explain it in a way that he seems to understand it? I don't think I could handle hugs from my T. In fact, I know I couldn't. I struggle to allow physical contact from my acupuncturist, and even then I flinch when he...

What did he do that helped you see this? Was it things he said? Was it a particular tone of voice, or a specific approach to responding to you? My T says nice things about me, and gives me feedback on how he experiences me (mostly positive). But I don't believe him. I try to...it just doesn't...

Yes, this sucks. I often have a delayed emotional reaction. I'll be completely flat during the session, then be in tears off and on for the rest of the day...and maybe the next couple of days, too. All of the different attachment dysfunctions seem to fit me in some way or another, but not...

What does your T do to help you feel that way?

Yes, we've talked about it a lot. But I don't have a clue what he could do that would help me feel better. If this is a problem caused by autism, then changing therapists won't help, either. I can't therapy myself out of autism. He's asked what would help, he's tried different things...nothing...

Do you tend to feel better or worse than when you went in? Are your sessions typically comforting or destabilizing overall? About 90% of the time, I leave the session feeling significantly worse than when I went in. The few times I feel better are usually because T said something that gave me a...

Overall, this is working pretty well so far, so long as I'm super consistent with it. One little slip, like expressing disagreement on something at work, and she lays into me. We have these brainstorming meetings, where we try to figure out how to deal with a particular project or problem. And...

Well, we homeschool, so that gives us some good insight into who our kids hang out with. They're involved in several social groups where we're not directly supervising their every move (which is healthy for growing teens), but most of those are either in another town or are not church related...

Also, I just want to say thanks to everyone who has read and/or responded to this thread. It helps tremendously to type this stuff out (so I have to organize my thoughts and evaluate them and this whole situation more objectively). It also helps so much to hear comments back from all of you...

This is a great summary of the whole experience. I had a call with her earlier this week where she said she's going to back out of a project she was supposed to lead and leave it up to my sister and me because she's so "afraid" of me. She said she couldn't handle the idea of working with me on...