Lilllabettt Posted August 5, 2013 Share Posted August 5, 2013 (edited) I don't have aspergers. I don't go to the cake and coffee after church! Goes straight to my thighs. Growing up I was a rather melancholic, but talkative child. Until 4th grade, when my mother had a nervous break down and was locked in the loony bin for some time. When she came back she was still nuts but also a raging alcoholic. A highly effective loony bin, that was. I don't know why, but that school year I just shut up. I literally could not speak outside of home. I would open my mouth but was too terrified to make the words come out. Don't know why. In middle school they let me give oral reports facing the blackboard. By high-school I could raise my hand to answer questions, but teachers were careful not to "cold call" me. College was a bit better still. When I entered the convent I was getting in trouble because I never said anything at the table. I was feeling the heat, but I was SO terrified. I prayed the Christmas novena, and asked St Therese for a Christmas conversion, like she had. Wah-la Christmas morning, I opened my mouth, and I spoke, relaxed and easily, for the first time. I still feel nervous in big groups, but I feel a lot more whole. Edited August 5, 2013 by Lilllabettt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ithinkjesusiscool Posted August 6, 2013 Author Share Posted August 6, 2013 I don't have aspergers. I don't go to the cake and coffee after church! Goes straight to my thighs. http://en.allexperts.com/q/Autism-1010/2013/4/social-skills-2.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eowyn Posted August 6, 2013 Share Posted August 6, 2013 People have sometimes wondered whether I have some sort of aspergers/autism. The truth is that I am just incredibly awkward and unsociable. That would be me, too. I do have diagnosed ADD which makes it hard for me to pick up social cues sometimes. And I'm shy. I list my personality type as "closet extrovert." :) :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ithinkjesusiscool Posted August 7, 2013 Author Share Posted August 7, 2013 That would be me, too. I do have diagnosed ADD which makes it hard for me to pick up social cues sometimes. And I'm shy. I list my personality type as "closet extrovert." :) :) ??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eowyn Posted August 7, 2013 Share Posted August 7, 2013 The "closet extrovert" is a (bad) joke because they are mutually exclusive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ithinkjesusiscool Posted June 21, 2014 Author Share Posted June 21, 2014 Pax! Dear fellow humans, sometimes a church/chapel can be (extremly) crowded. Last Holy Thursday I went to an extremly crowded church. That wasn't easy so eventualy I left. I couldn't attend Mass that day. The Priest whom I know couldn't really help me so much because he had to say Mass. I even experienced some anger. How do you deal with such situations? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaime Posted June 21, 2014 Share Posted June 21, 2014 Are you saying that medieval psychology was bad and that people in those days were unaware of ASD in people? Some say that Mr Thomas himself had AS. I personally can't say that I LOVE the DSM.... Psychology didn't exist until the late 19th century Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaime Posted June 21, 2014 Share Posted June 21, 2014 I've spent the past 4 years working with young adults (18-21) with Asperger's and autism. I work in a transitional program that focuses solely on helping students with social skills. While it's true that each person with autism will have unique symptoms, I find people with Asperger's do seem to share some commonality. It's really fascinating!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilentJoy Posted June 21, 2014 Share Posted June 21, 2014 The resurrecting Catholic-Aspergian thread! I was recently diagnosed with Asperger's (March)...before, when I figured that I was a normal introvert, I would say to myself, "What if I have Asperger's or something?" But now that I have an excuse to think I have Asperger's, I say, "I think I'm just a normal introvert..." :hehe2: As far as being a Catholic with Asperger's...its hard to put things in categories like "This is Asperger's" vs. "This is just an awkward introvert in a very extroverted parish." In some ways, I've generally struggled with experiencing the "right" emotions and when I was in my teens I thought I couldn't love, so it is helpful that the CCC states that love is in the will; love wants the good of another, it isn't necessarily emotional. It is also helpful for me to be near the Sacred Heart of Jesus because it is His human heart, broken and rejected yet fiercely loving. If I feel that I someone has crushed my heart and I don't understand, I need His help to keep willing kindness. If I feel that I am not capable of experiencing the emotions that I ought to, all of my human emotions exist perfectly in the Sacred Heart and I can sort of "hide" there, in a sense. Occasionally I struggle with church crowds but it isn't a big problem. The scary part is wondering whether or not I will be sitting near someone chewing gum; that is beyond annoying, it is borderline terrifying... :rotfl2: If I feel especially worried some day, I try to find a pew near the back with an end space so that I don't feel "trapped." I think I've only actually left once during Mass, but if I have the sense that I *can* leave, I'm happy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilentJoy Posted June 21, 2014 Share Posted June 21, 2014 I think that someone may have brought up the subject of vocational discernment with Asperger's earlier...its possible to be a happily married Aspergian (not that I would know), and it is also possible to have a vocation to the religious life. A LOT of communities cannot accept a candidate with this diagnosis but I've met several who can. A lot of it depends on whether or not the community has the right human dynamic necessary to help "bring out" someone like me so that I can be my best. If the "talent" isn't there, it is a lot less likely that an Aspergian would make it, and they would be doing me a disservice by accepting me if they didn't feel that they had the right mix of personalities. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OnlySunshine Posted June 22, 2014 Share Posted June 22, 2014 I am still seeking a diagnosis for Asperger's and researching places that test for it on the advice of my psychiatrist. After telling him what my therapist told me, he asked me a range of questions and said Asperger's is possible. However, finding places that test adults is difficult! Most places only research children. I'm going to have to ask for his help further when I see him next month. I did, however, discover a really interesting book online and just ordered it last night. It's called "The Highly Sensitive Person" and was written by an HSP who is a psychotherapist. I can't wait to read it. I've often been told that I'm too sensitive or too shy (especially as a child). I have a lot of trouble with sounds and coarse fabrics, too. Here is the book if anyone is interested in reading it. It's available in Kindle version, but I bought a used paperback. http://www.amazon.com/dp/0553062182/ref=pe_385040_30332200_TE_item Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OnlySunshine Posted June 22, 2014 Share Posted June 22, 2014 I think that someone may have brought up the subject of vocational discernment with Asperger's earlier...its possible to be a happily married Aspergian (not that I would know), and it is also possible to have a vocation to the religious life. A LOT of communities cannot accept a candidate with this diagnosis but I've met several who can. A lot of it depends on whether or not the community has the right human dynamic necessary to help "bring out" someone like me so that I can be my best. If the "talent" isn't there, it is a lot less likely that an Aspergian would make it, and they would be doing me a disservice by accepting me if they didn't feel that they had the right mix of personalities. Do you happen to know the names of these communities? If you'd feel more comfortable PMing me, I'll turn my messenger back on. I know of one community that I'm in contact with but I've only told the VD of my depression - not my gluten allergy or my hypothyroidism - and she's accepting of it. I'll have to break the news about the other two problems later. She seems willing to let me try but I'm always on the lookout for others who accept people with manageable illnesses. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ithinkjesusiscool Posted June 22, 2014 Author Share Posted June 22, 2014 Do you disslike extremely crowded churches? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OnlySunshine Posted June 23, 2014 Share Posted June 23, 2014 (edited) Do you disslike extremely crowded churches? Oddly enough, Church doesn't seem to bother me as long as I'm at my home parish. I think the reason why is that I'm a lead lay minister and I have to be there every Sunday to make sure that other ministers sign in. I've been with my parish since late 2007 and I know MANY people there so I feel "at home." If I'm at a parish that's not my own and it's very crowded, I do get a little claustrophobic. Edited June 23, 2014 by MaterMisericordiae Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ithinkjesusiscool Posted June 23, 2014 Author Share Posted June 23, 2014 Oddly enough, Church doesn't seem to bother me as long as I'm at my home parish. I think the reason why is that I'm a lead lay minister and I have to be there every Sunday to make sure that other ministers sign in. I've been with my parish since late 2007 and I know MANY people there so I feel "at home." If I'm at a parish that's not my own and it's very crowded, I do get a little claustrophobic. What should one do in order to feel "at home" in a parish? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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