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Mental Illness and Road Enthusiusts

Started by roadman65, January 26, 2015, 11:20:44 AM

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Takumi

Quote from: Alps on February 03, 2015, 11:40:21 PM
Quote from: The Nature Boy on January 31, 2015, 10:40:01 PMImagine trying to do simple things like dating when your brain literally cannot tell if the other party is interested.
Or trying to figure out what you might be doing that's nonverbally turning them off. Or trying to figure out what you're not doing that's nonverbal that you should be doing.

This.
Quote from: Rothman on July 15, 2021, 07:52:59 AM
Olive Garden must be stopped.  I must stop them.

Don't @ me. Seriously.


roadman65

#51
Quote from: Alps on February 03, 2015, 11:40:21 PM
Quote from: The Nature Boy on January 31, 2015, 10:40:01 PMImagine trying to do simple things like dating when your brain literally cannot tell if the other party is interested.
Or trying to figure out what you might be doing that's nonverbally turning them off. Or trying to figure out what you're not doing that's nonverbal that you should be doing.
The worst is when you sit down at a local eatery, especially when the bartender is female, she talks lengthy with every other customer except you.  She just asks how you are doing and takes your drink (and food) orders, but the guy who sits next to you is just as quiet as you are and she talks to him in details and is always at his side when she is not busy.  You often wonder what non verbal you have verses the non verbal he has that gets her attention for him over you.

I have seen it plenty of times.  Including Stephanie and Amy, who both used to work behind the bar at one local bar, who used to complain about Steve never having anything to say when he came in to have a drink.  In fact if Steph has nothing to do and Steve is there, Steph will put her face on her hands and sigh instead of starting a conversation by herself which I observe she does quite well with others.  Stephanie is a self centered person who talks only about herself and her own life.  If a guy did that he would have people leave him or excuse themselves to get away, but being Stephanie is a woman (and a gorgeous one at that) guys love to hang out with her and tolerate her selfish talk.  Yet another guy Luis has no trouble talking to Steve, as Luis is the same as Stephanie, but a male and another customer.  Luis loves to talk as much as Stephanie, yet he will engage Steve into a conversation whether Steve is interested or not.  Stephanie, on the other hand, wants Steve to be verbal first even though she could easily do like Luis does, but does not at all! Confusing Steve, who has Aspergers, to wonder what it is that he is doing or not doing that causes Stephanie to not talk to him like other guys and most of all why she sighs when alone with him, but willing to interact, but at his cue.

Amy, on the other hand, is not as outgoing as Steph, but after being insulted by her by saying that he needs to talk more, also gets him confused as well wondering what he is also doing or not doing to get her to even want to say that to him.

I feel bad for him and defended his actions or non actions to both bartenders and believe me both had to say that they are sorry that Steve is the way he is, but there is nothing they could do and they are not going to let Steve into their social circles because he is simple disoriented due to a condition inside his brain, nor will they converse with him unless its spontaneous.

Both are actually right, although I do often wonder about why Stephanie does not go into some silly adventure involving herself like her male counterpart Luis does.  You cannot become friends with people because they need a friend, but at the same time Aspergers people do have feelings and yes they want relationships but something in their mind prevents them from sensing other individuals and how they are seeing them.
Every day is a winding road, you just got to get used to it.

Sheryl Crowe

bugo

Quote from: roadman65 on January 26, 2015, 11:20:44 AM
As we all know that many of us here at this forum do have either Aspergers, Autism, some of the many forms of depression, and maybe even Challenged to a degree.  Hence why many of us flame out at one another for simple little things and at times take things a little to literal especially on dream and wish lists in fictional highways.

That's the funniest thing I've read all week. Good job.

bugo

Quote from: roadman65 on January 26, 2015, 11:20:44 AM
It kind of makes me wonder if some of the outsiders here have something and that most of us here are into roads because of our respected illnesses.  Not that I have any regrets of who I am and my hobby of being a road geek that I am not ashamed to admit to anyone at anyplace, just curious to know would we even have a community at all.  Also I have nothing against any ill people whether physical or mental nor am I neither admitting or denying that I myself have one of these said mental illnesses.

Which "respected illnesses"?

Seriously, which ever one of you who is trolling us is doing a good job of it.

bugo

Quote from: adventurernumber1 on January 26, 2015, 11:06:52 PM
I am a high-functioning aspie, and I find it very interesting just how many Roadgeeks have Aspergers and Autism as well, and I think it's kind of cool too. I can't say mental illnesses have a correlation with being a Roadgeek, but once again it's very interesting how common it is.

You think it's cool that some of the posters on this forum have a medical condition? Fucking asshole.

bugo

Quote from: jakeroot on January 27, 2015, 02:13:34 AM
As for a scientific answer, it seems to me that being a roadgeek does involve a strong dislike for something that is out-of-the-ordinary. A lot of us get worked up when something is wrong, or different, in a way that detracts from the overall continuity of a heavily standardized system. I would bet a fair number of us have some form of OCD (I have never been tested). This might explain why some of the most popular threads involve redesigning a sign or posting photos of signs that are designed wrong, or contain information that is incorrect, despite the fact that the general public probably hasn't noticed the error.

I love things that are out of the ordinary. I like things that are unique. The weirder something is, the more I'm attracted to it.

bugo

Quote from: roadman65 on January 27, 2015, 10:10:11 AM
I am glad that everyone is glad who they are despite the that society puts on us (not meaning us directly, but on people in general).  It is a developmental disorder as one pointed out, and even my former supervisor, who has a child with autism, even said that he believes that it is a form of evolution where humans are developing into something more complex of human development.  Many autism people will see the world differently than the average human being, which allows them to see the problems of the world which the average person overlooks.   Most are smart and I myself have never thought that any who have it are at all stupid.

You're thinking of the Jungian-Melchizedekist theory about the 48 chromosomes and what not. It is just modern new age woo. You could possibly be referring to the indigo children, which is more bullshit.

jakeroot

Quote from: bugo on February 05, 2015, 03:13:55 AM
Quote from: adventurernumber1 on January 26, 2015, 11:06:52 PM
I am a high-functioning aspie, and I find it very interesting just how many Roadgeeks have Aspergers and Autism as well, and I think it's kind of cool too. I can't say mental illnesses have a correlation with being a Roadgeek, but once again it's very interesting how common it is.

You think it's cool that some of the posters on this forum have a medical condition? Fucking asshole.

I know English is a shit language, but even I was able to understand AN1's post as meaning "people with aspergers and autism coming together is cool", not the condition itself.

Also, I'm not an admin, but you should combine your posts into one. Four Five posts seems unnecessary.

bugo

Quote from: Brian556 on January 30, 2015, 12:50:11 AM
As for the sex issue, I think I really don't want it either. I know people say "don't knock it till you tried it". I am a lot like the character Sheldon on the Big Bang Theory when it comes to this issue. I don't think I'm totally asexual, because I do sometimes get a boner when a hot girl comes on tv. That's about the highlight of my 'sex life'. I can't help but think that sex only exists for the purpose of reproduction, and that the majority of humanity is wrong for using it as a recreational activity. I find it baffling how much some people have sex. As for oral sex, I think that is incredibly disgusting, and the idea of it repulses me, and I can't believe that people are willing to do it.

Because it's awesome?

bugo

Quote from: jakeroot on February 05, 2015, 03:31:47 AM
Quote from: bugo on February 05, 2015, 03:13:55 AM
Quote from: adventurernumber1 on January 26, 2015, 11:06:52 PM
I am a high-functioning aspie, and I find it very interesting just how many Roadgeeks have Aspergers and Autism as well, and I think it's kind of cool too. I can't say mental illnesses have a correlation with being a Roadgeek, but once again it's very interesting how common it is.

You think it's cool that some of the posters on this forum have a medical condition? Fucking asshole.

I know English is a shit language, but even I was able to understand AN1's post as meaning "people with aspergers and autism coming together is cool", not the condition itself.

Also, I'm not an admin, but you should combine your posts into one. Four Five posts seems unnecessary.

English is the garbage dump of languages.

slorydn1

In all honesty, I never really gave it much thought.

Growing up, even at really a young age from about 3 on, I was the family's defacto navigator. I would sit there with the most current version of the Rand McNally road atlas (my dad was an Allstate Motor Club member and got a free atlas every year) in my lap reading off the road numbers and towns that were coming up next along the route. When I got older and was able to write, and do math, I became the human trip computer, computing everything from avg speed to MPG's, logging every stop (where, and how long), where we were at each hour mark of every trip since the early 80's. I wish I still could find a machine somewhere that can read one of those old 5.25 inch floppys, I have some serious Chicago to Miami and Chicago to New York statistics I'd like to go back over, LOL.

I have always been fascinated by the signs, the different route markers, the different fonts in different states, things of that nature. Oh and suspension bridges, gotta love those suspension bridges.

I also have many interests outside of this area as well. Cars (specifically performance cars) are a big interest of mine, and I love sports as well (particularly football and auto racing).

Unlike others that have discussed this topic here, I am not particularly introverted, I don't mind being around other people and interacting with them, after I get over the initial hump of having met them in the first place. I know I am not making any sense with this so I'll try to explain, I'll use work as an example.

I am a shift supervisor at a 911 center. Everything is all good and normal as long as I am in my comm center doing the normal day to day things that we do (answer phones, dispatch law/fire/rescue to the calls), all the things we do to help people out of the jam that they are in when they call.

Another facet of my job though, is that since my immediate boss retired (and subsequently was not replaced) a lot of the things she did as far as maintaining the computer software, adding/subtracting employees from the system, adding new call types (etc) has fallen in my lap. Ok still no problem there.

Because of that, however, whenever the vendor for the software has a meeting with us and the surrounding agencies that use the same vendor I usually get tapped to attend those meetings. That's when the fear sets in. I usually find out about the meeting only a couple of days in advance (thank God) and as each day creeps closer I can feel some pretty irrational fear building up. I'll wake up the morning of the meeting absolutely sick to my stomach, hoping against hope that I'll get a phone call telling me that the meeting was cancelled. Yet, and here is the conflicting part, once I get to the meeting and see the people that are there, and the pre-meeting conversations get going, I am absolutely ok and in my element. Its the same thing for big family related functions (weddings, funerals, anywhere there will be a large gathering of people expecting some sort of interaction). During the build up to the event I feel like I am getting ready for my own execution, yet once I am there it's all good, the anxiety is completely gone. I don't get it, and I have never been able to understand it. I guess it just is what it is.


Does this make me some kind of nutcase? Do I have a problem that needs attention? I don't know that I am qualified to make that judgement. I only know that I am a 45 year old former firefighter/EMT turned dispatcher who is crazy about roads, cars, and my wife (not necessarily in that order, either) who happens to like to keep statistics of different things (many of them trivial to others) and I have finally gotten to the point where I stopped caring if others thought I am weird for liking to do those kind of things. I suck at taking pictures (or I would be bombarding you guys with them, LOL) I don't hunt or fish, and my idea of exercise is pushing the clutch in with the left foot while changing gears with the right hand, so I gotta find something I like to do when I am not work. I am guessing many of my friends and co-workers would think that I am a bit crazy because I actually care about the signs that guide us down the road, or the very roadway itself (more than in just the superficial "I hope a pothole doesn't eat my car" kind of way). But does it matter? I don't know.
Please Note: All posts represent my personal opinions and do not represent those of any governmental agency, non-governmental agency, quasi-governmental agency or wanna be governmental agency

Counties: Counties Visited

authenticroadgeek

#61
Quote from: dgolub on January 26, 2015, 06:25:35 PM
autism is not a mental illness.
THANK YOU

jakeroot

Quote from: authenticroadgeek on February 28, 2016, 03:32:42 PM
<redacted>

You should probably edit your post to avoid a warning from the admins (big font, all caps, etc). I'm not gonna report your post because you're new. :colorful:

US71

Quote from: jakeroot on February 28, 2016, 04:15:05 PM
Quote from: authenticroadgeek on February 28, 2016, 03:32:42 PM
<redacted>

You should probably edit your post to avoid a warning from the admins (big font, all caps, etc). I'm not gonna report your post because you're new. :colorful:

I've seen worse ;)
Like Alice I Try To Believe Three Impossible Things Before Breakfast

jakeroot

Quote from: US71 on February 28, 2016, 05:47:00 PM
Quote from: jakeroot on February 28, 2016, 04:15:05 PM
Quote from: authenticroadgeek on February 28, 2016, 03:32:42 PM
<redacted>

You should probably edit your post to avoid a warning from the admins (big font, all caps, etc). I'm not gonna report your post because you're new. :colorful:

I've seen worse ;)

Probably from me at one point.  :-D

wolfiefrick

#65
I have Aspergers syndrome. I have historically had issues with paying attention, eye contact, and staying focused on the task at hand. However, now that I've overcome my social ineptitudes - the product of years and years of practice - I'm usually a very extroverted person. I've got a high IQ and I'm able to complete everything I need to do on time.

freebrickproductions

Another Aspie checking in here.

Quote from: Alps on February 03, 2015, 11:40:21 PM
Quote from: The Nature Boy on January 31, 2015, 10:40:01 PMImagine trying to do simple things like dating when your brain literally cannot tell if the other party is interested.
Or trying to figure out what you might be doing that's nonverbally turning them off. Or trying to figure out what you're not doing that's nonverbal that you should be doing.
I have a hard time telling what people are thinking about what I'm saying as well. I probably won't be that good at dating.

Quote from: jakeroot on February 04, 2015, 01:53:20 AM
Quote from: roadman65 on February 03, 2015, 06:35:10 PM
Spotting different signages between states is what got me into roads as well.  Even locally in New Jersey every municipality had their own way of signing their streets.  Blades were either different colors and some used concrete stakes.

My thoughts exactly.



I spend a lot of time comparing BC, Washington, and Oregon. Of course, BC is a bit of an outlier but comparing Washington and Oregon is a lot of fun to me.
It was a similar thing for me. Seeing the different traffic lights in different states got me interested in them specifically, which then spread to signs and abandoned road alignments which lead to me becoming a road geek.
It's all fun & games until someone summons Cthulhu and brings about the end of the world.

I also collect traffic lights, road signs, fans, and railroad crossing equipment.

(They/Them)

Rothman

Hate to be the bad guy here, but I don't see how being on the autistic spectrum is not a form of mental illness.  In NY, certain spectrum disorders trigger Individual Education Programs (IEPs) in grade school for kids that do not have the various categories of skills that causes them to be taken out of a regular classroom and put through various therapies (speech, occupational, social, etc.).

Yes, I understand people on the spectrum think differently and their brains function differently, but certain such differences now require treatment in order to assist those on the spectrum to integrate with the rest of society.  There's a reason why NIMH still classifies people on the spectrum as having "disorders."

Just seems to be another argument over semantics -- we've gone from retarded to disabled to mental illness to whatever.  I suppose the flip side is that if "different" is the new "mental illness" or "disorder" so be it.
Please note: All comments here represent my own personal opinion and do not reflect the official position(s) of NYSDOT.

paulthemapguy

Personal anecdotal rant time!

However you classify autism, aspergers or other ways of being "on the spectrum," the important thing to see is that there's nothing messed up about our desire to be ourselves, pursue roads/maps/signs or discuss it on this forum.  My mom was trying to figure out what was wrong with me growing up because I was an obsessive systematizer with no strong urge to readily socialize.  I've never been formally diagnosed, but my mom would theorize that I was somewhere on the high-functioning end of the autistic spectrum.  It's never helpful for your self-esteem when people are trying to figure out "what's wrong with you?"  So I struggled to feel any sort of acceptance or have any sort of mental peace.  But eventually you have to realize it doesn't matter whether you have a condition or not; the only thing that matters is your ability to function.  If you can take care of yourself, get things done, and relate to people well enough to get by in life, you're doing it!  You're living life.  Eventually I had to realize that maybe I'm not an incomplete human being.  Maybe I just have a different set of preferences than most people do.  And maybe my behavioral tendencies aren't actually all that uncommon, making lists and analyzing everything.  Have you seen how many guys analyze every sports team ever?  Listing off all the players on the roster and analyzing strength of schedule?  It's the same mindset!  Just applied in a more popular way.  People say I'm a nerd with a certain few obsessions.  But you can make that a part of your personality--hell, it makes it real easy for others to find you Christmas gifts!  I'm easy to shop for; everyone knows what I like.  Acceptance is easy, as long as you consider everyone else's happiness and comfort, as much as you expect others to consider yours.  This is a rant, hopefully some of you fellow nerds can relate to this in some capacity.
Avatar is the last interesting highway I clinched.
My website! http://www.paulacrossamerica.com Now featuring all of Ohio!
My USA Shield Gallery https://flic.kr/s/aHsmHwJRZk
TM Clinches https://bit.ly/2UwRs4O

National collection status: 361/425. Only 64 route markers remain

roadman65

Aspergers is not a mental illness, but more of a developmental disorder.  True some Aspergers people do have bipolar disorder as one of its symptoms, which is a mental illness itself, but that does not mean that the person suffering from Aspergers is mentally ill.

Its all in the name and we should not worry about it, IMO.  As long as you accept it and deal with the symptoms.  If you are able to make a living and have a good life, then that is all that matters.  If you do not have a wife, husband, soul mate, that does not make you less human than if you are involved either. Or just because you have a small social clique either does not mean you are less human either.
Every day is a winding road, you just got to get used to it.

Sheryl Crowe

Rothman

Quote from: paulthemapguy on March 01, 2016, 03:08:24 PM
Personal anecdotal rant time!

However you classify autism, aspergers or other ways of being "on the spectrum," the important thing to see is that there's nothing messed up about our desire to be ourselves, pursue roads/maps/signs or discuss it on this forum.  My mom was trying to figure out what was wrong with me growing up because I was an obsessive systematizer with no strong urge to readily socialize.  I've never been formally diagnosed, but my mom would theorize that I was somewhere on the high-functioning end of the autistic spectrum.  It's never helpful for your self-esteem when people are trying to figure out "what's wrong with you?"  So I struggled to feel any sort of acceptance or have any sort of mental peace.  But eventually you have to realize it doesn't matter whether you have a condition or not; the only thing that matters is your ability to function.  If you can take care of yourself, get things done, and relate to people well enough to get by in life, you're doing it!  You're living life.  Eventually I had to realize that maybe I'm not an incomplete human being.  Maybe I just have a different set of preferences than most people do.  And maybe my behavioral tendencies aren't actually all that uncommon, making lists and analyzing everything.  Have you seen how many guys analyze every sports team ever?  Listing off all the players on the roster and analyzing strength of schedule?  It's the same mindset!  Just applied in a more popular way.  People say I'm a nerd with a certain few obsessions.  But you can make that a part of your personality--hell, it makes it real easy for others to find you Christmas gifts!  I'm easy to shop for; everyone knows what I like.  Acceptance is easy, as long as you consider everyone else's happiness and comfort, as much as you expect others to consider yours.  This is a rant, hopefully some of you fellow nerds can relate to this in some capacity.

I can totally relate to this. :)
Please note: All comments here represent my own personal opinion and do not reflect the official position(s) of NYSDOT.

Rothman

Quote from: roadman65 on March 01, 2016, 03:33:13 PM
Aspergers is not a mental illness, but more of a developmental disorder.  True some Aspergers people do have bipolar disorder as one of its symptoms, which is a mental illness itself, but that does not mean that the person suffering from Aspergers is mentally ill.

Its all in the name and we should not worry about it, IMO. 

That's what I was trying to wrap my head around:  If bipolar disorder is an illness and and a development disorder is not, something seems amiss with the classification in any matter (i.e., what makes some disorders illnesses and others not?).

I'm also very grateful for the added attention to spectrum disorders in any matter.  The therapies available nowadays are quite effective, as opposed to years of yore where people on the spectrum had a high risk of being marginalized and shunted off to the side in society if they couldn't find their niche or other people that appreciated their different foci and interests.
Please note: All comments here represent my own personal opinion and do not reflect the official position(s) of NYSDOT.

CNGL-Leudimin

Quote from: roadman65 on March 01, 2016, 03:33:13 PMAspergers is not a mental illness, but more of a developmental disorder.

As a yet another Aspie here, I like what you said. It angers me when someone calls it a disease (It's not!). Last Monday it was Rare Disease day, and there was a campaign started by an association football player which asked tweeters to change their names into a rare disease. A lot of people (including me) joined, and several of them chose Asperger's, which caused me to complain about that.
Supporter of the construction of several running gags, including I-366 with a speed limit of 85 mph (137 km/h) and the Hypotenuse.

Please note that I may mention "invalid" FM channels, i.e. ending in an even number or down to 87.5. These are valid in Europe.

Rothman

Quote from: CNGL-Leudimin on March 02, 2016, 12:23:10 PM
Quote from: roadman65 on March 01, 2016, 03:33:13 PMAspergers is not a mental illness, but more of a developmental disorder.

It angers me when someone calls it a disease (It's not!).

What do you consider the difference between a disorder and a disease to be?
Please note: All comments here represent my own personal opinion and do not reflect the official position(s) of NYSDOT.

roadman65

What I would like to know is why the mentally challenged spectrum now includes the developmental disorders as part of it.  As you know mentally challenged is the politically correct way of saying "Mentally Retarded" as the later Baby Boomers and Generation X ruined the word by making it a synonym for stupid.

However back then Autism and Aspergers were not in the same spectrum as the Retardation disorder.  Mentally Retardation usually is a birth defect that causes brain damage to the individual preventing their minds from maturing and in many cases causes their speech to be effected in ways where its distorted and causes their face to look real awkward, where Autism and Aspergers are not a form of brain damage, but something else that effects the thought process and in some cases can slow a person down and create him or her to miss queues and for subject matters to pass over them.

I do agree that they are all similar in the same as far as a disability, but not the same nature.
Every day is a winding road, you just got to get used to it.

Sheryl Crowe



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