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.
It is nothing to be ashamed about and by all means not saying that every member here does have any form of an illness either. However, just to say that a great sum of us here have one form of a mental illness or another which leads to a bigger question. Is there a connection between mental illnesses and being a road geek?
We all do complain about non road enthusiasts looking "down" upon us and at times get called names or even been told that we go to far as to analyze roads. Then the fact that many of us here do have illnesses that many of us are aware of here with even some of the users here given a "free pass" to over rant and break some of the rules and guidelines even to the point of being a total jerk because the moderators feel that the user in question cannot help be who he (or she) is.
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.
Bottom line is is our fascinating hobby related to the fact that certain illnesses exist?
There could be some co-relation, but I don't really think there is. The only "mental" illness I really have is my ADHD, but other than that I have a fairly decent IQ and besides my depression from unemployment and whatnot, I'm not really mentally (or physically) disabled. At a young age one of my only memories is my moving trip from Orlando to Hillsborough, and along the way I recount how I stared upon the giant freeway signs at awe. I could somewhat read them, but that's when I knew I was roadgeek. When I vacationed in Orlando when I was about 10 years old, we flew down there instead, which I objected to heavily (not because of being scared of planes, which I love) because I never went back down the same route we came up even to this day.
I have autism.
Isn't exploration of hobbies and unique interests one of the traits of high-functioning autism and/or aspergers? I wouldn't argue that the hobby exists because of these conditions, but neither am I surprised that the hobby attracts people with these conditions.
Quote from: spooky on January 26, 2015, 03:27:52 PM
Isn't exploration of hobbies and unique interests one of the traits of high-functioning autism and/or aspergers? I wouldn't argue that the hobby exists because of these conditions, but neither am I surprised that the hobby attracts people with these conditions.
Yes, exactly. Also, autism is not a mental illness. It's a developmental disability, and even that classification is a bit of a simplification because there are pluses as well as minuses to it, especially in cases of the high-functioning forms like Asperger's syndrome and PDD-NOS.
I have some OCD nothing Major. I was a geography major and always had in interest in planning and the environment
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.
High degree of autism spectrum correlation because of the tendency to want to put things in order, to have lists, and to devote oneself to one or a few highly specialized fields.
I had a very severe form of depression that tended toward psychosis. I was completely non-functional for several years. I couldn't go to school and stayed home, except for the time I was hospitalized. I still have minor lingering effects, but not the emotions of depression. I've thought a lot about the mind and its orders and disorders.
I say I had the condition, but it's more accurate to say that I was the way I was, and the experts decided that a certain label was applicable. I know that sounds like mere semantics, but a result of my experience is that I see shades and waves rather than colors and solid shapes. To me, the two things I mentioned are very different. I'm not this way because of a disorder, a force that pushes me a certain way; I'm this way because it's the way I am and the label applied is a result of a certain way, a clinical way, of looking at it.
Since childhood, before depression became apparent, I've been fascinated with meteorology and with roads. I've taken interest in many fields of study, basically anything that works my mind.
The road is particularly special to me. It was my source of escape when I was depressed. I would go out and drive around to try to break up the monotony. At times I would drive hundreds of miles to hike or look at scenery. I obsessively studied maps and sometimes drove for hours just to see certain roads. My mental condition accentuated my interest in roads.
Geekery and nerdery seem to me like obsessive type behaviors, taking a fascination with topics most people ignore. "Normal" people seem less inclined to such behavior. It seems to me that normal people focus on practical things and glide over as much turbulence as they can. We disordered seek to balance the turbulence in our minds by focusing on the minutiae of silly things. The order and logic in any field of interest can bring a sense of balance.
I've long believed that people like me aren't unbalance, but are balanced differently. Imagine balance on a lever with the fulcrum in the center. Most people balance by putting the most weight in the center. Some people have more weight on one edge, and have to balance by adding weight on the far edge. They are not inherently unbalanced, but they have to make effort to balance and are balanced by extremes rather than by centrality. To balance this way is more challenging and likely would involve more instances of failure to balance.
I don't think we're any different from people who plop down on the couch for a marathon of COD -- people have an interest, and it keeps them busy. Sure, some of us might have a "challenge" (I don't, so far as I know) but somebody without an interest or a drive sounds like a pretty boring somebody.
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.
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'd bet there are more roadgeeks undiagnosed with AS than OCD. The OCD label tends to get thrown around in the popular culture in ways that aren't necessarily consistent with what this condition actually looks like.
Quote from: dgolub on January 26, 2015, 06:25:35 PM
Quote from: spooky on January 26, 2015, 03:27:52 PM
Isn't exploration of hobbies and unique interests one of the traits of high-functioning autism and/or aspergers? I wouldn't argue that the hobby exists because of these conditions, but neither am I surprised that the hobby attracts people with these conditions.
Yes, exactly. Also, autism is not a mental illness.
This. It's not an illness. It's definitely not caused by vaccines. It's the way some people just are. Seeking to "cure" an autistic person is seeking to change who that person is. How to balance that view with the burden of people who apparently cannot achieve independence, I don't know.
As for the central point of the OP, autism spectrum minds tend toward hobbies such as this, and may be more susceptible to depression, though that might only be a cultural effect. Of course, counterexamples exist.
I don't have any mental issues but my sister autism.
Quote from: KG909 on January 27, 2015, 09:31:08 AM
I don't have any mental issues but my sister autism.
Since I'm pop culture OCD, I'll choose to interpret this as you having autism and metaphorically referring to it as your sister.
You know, I am glad to hear that autism is not a disease, as it is to do with the way the mind functions. However, autism does have some mental illnesses as symptoms such as depression. Depression, if the doctor knows what he is doing can be treatable, with proper medication. Also you pretty much answered my question.
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.
As far as myself, I cannot say for sure as being diagnosed with autism requires a neurologist to do a thorough test costing thousands of dollars, however my family doctor does say I have a form of depression in which I take meds every morning to help me. I do know (and so does everyone else here) that my writing skills suck! I have all that I want to say in my head, but putting it into words is difficult. Even in verbal speech I have the most difficult time in making my point. Heck I always end up spelling the word "the" as "teh" even though I know how to spell the word correctly. It is just that when typing the word on the keyboard my fingers actually type the e before the h.
As far as it being the cause of our hobby, I think that it is maybe, but share most people's enthusiasm that "it is what it is" and that it brought us here which is the fine place that it is.
There was a thread on MTR several years ago about this very same topic. Unfortunately, this Google Groups search doesn't bring up the thread I remember.
https://groups.google.com/forum/#!searchin/misc.transport.road/aspergers
IIRC, that thread dissolved into a flame war.
I have PTSD due to being assaulted repeatedly at school.
Quote from: bandit957 on January 27, 2015, 11:56:14 AM
I have PTSD due to being assaulted repeatedly at school.
Verbally, physically, or both?
Quote from: 1 on January 27, 2015, 12:01:27 PM
Quote from: bandit957 on January 27, 2015, 11:56:14 AM
I have PTSD due to being assaulted repeatedly at school.
Verbally, physically, or both?
Both.
When I was about 14 or 15, some kids followed me home from school and chased me into traffic. The school wouldn't do anything about it because they were "model students."
Quote from: hbelkins on January 27, 2015, 10:44:28 AM
There was a thread on MTR several years ago about this very same topic. Unfortunately, this Google Groups search doesn't bring up the thread I remember.
https://groups.google.com/forum/#!searchin/misc.transport.road/aspergers
IIRC, that thread dissolved into a flame war.
There is an old thread here as well:
https://www.aaroads.com/forum/index.php?topic=7574.0 (https://www.aaroads.com/forum/index.php?topic=7574.0)
Got a laugh out of the subject line when scrolling through awhile back. And if posting to this current thread means I have to declare my status - no Autism, Asperger's or any other major issues to report. However, I can see how some of the subject matter and discussion might be due to a higher concentration of enthusiasts with these conditions. I have a very general interest in roads and maps, not really focusing or obsessing about anything in particular, although I guess it's fine to bicker over font types on signs if that's one's thing (even if I might roll my eyes occasionally when reading it...)
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. 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.
This a thousand times.
Oh yes, I have to attest to that one. Many of us became road enthusiasts because of bad signing practices or bad road alignments. We all dreamed about what we could do to change these and make the world of roads a better place.
I always liked to take over NJ signing practices growing up in NJ, as our state did not have what most of the other states had such as interstate mileage signs, ramp destination guides (as NJ always used shields only), and signing control points on the Parkway and Turnpike in many places. That got me so much into roads and now finding out Florida has many flaws that need correcting makes me more into then when I was a kid.
I don't actually believe Autism/Aspergers is a mental illness. A condition, though, yes. [EDIT: A few years later with vastly more knowledge on Psychology, I have a much better way of putting this with better terminology. Autism is not a mental illness, but it is a neurodevelopmental disorder. Mental illnesses, also known as psychological disorders, are a separate class which include things like Depression, Bipolar Disorder, OCD, PTSD, other Anxiety disorders, Schizophrenia, etc. Neurocognitive disorders is another separate class which includes things like Alzheimer's Disease and Parkinson's Disease. Autism is usually seen from birth (such as in my case) or an extremely young age, mental illnesses (Depression, Anxiety Disorders, etc.) can appear at anytime, but usually in adolescence or anytime in adulthood, and neurocognitive disorders (such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's) typically don't appear until later in life, unless it is early-onset. Sorry for a whole paragraph, but I had to reform what I said in this post originally as a much younger person than I am now (15 years old versus almost 19 years old).] I have no desire for a "cure" to be found, because while the condition comes with struggles, we cannot forget it also comes with benefits. I believe it is a gift God gave me, even though it does come with the struggles it comes with. For example, this is how I usually am in a large group of people my age (especially if I hardly know many of them, and if many of them are considered popular): I'll stiffen up, my heart rate will increase, and I can tell you my eye contact will be all over the place. Im either moving my eyes around looking at random things, or I'm staring someone dead in the eye or face (in 6th grade I repeadetly stared at a very hot girl I was crushing on big time, and she got real creeped out). I also often times find myself with nothing to say no matter how hard I think. But, on the other hand, my condition has allowed me to have an amazing photographic memory, and I have a road map of the U.S. locked in my head. However, I am not immune to sometimes getting brain farts as anyone does. :-D
I could also say I am a little bit OCD, but only with certain things. Along with many here, it does bug me whenever there is a error with something road-related and the sort. However, as many, I can also laugh my guts out at many hilariously terrible errors (I still haven't forgotten that insanely odd FL State Highway shield with the big circle and all that stuff HAHAHA). For most things I am not even close to being OCD. I'll see my friend rearrange desktop icons on computers into rows and such in my Video Production class, but my laptop at home is a complete cluster on the desktop (yet I still manage to find everything when I need to).
Quote from: roadman65 on January 27, 2015, 10:10:11 AM
You know, I am glad to hear that autism is not a disease, as it is to do with the way the mind functions. However, autism does have some mental illnesses as symptoms such as depression. Depression, if the doctor knows what he is doing can be treatable, with proper medication. Also you pretty much answered my question.
Anxiety and depressions are not symptoms of autism. They are disorders that a high percentage of autistic people (I believe it's about 75%) tend to also develop at some point in their lives. Also, it's not necessarily that autism itself places a person at risk. Some of it may be that autistic people tend to get treated like crap in society, especially as children, which would place anyone at increased risk of mood disorders. I'm not aware of any research that rules out one hypothesis or the other.
Is NPD a mental disease? I definitely have that.
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.
[...]
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 think some of us have long come to the conclusion that roadgeekery is a rather solitary hobby; for many of us, you drive alone, you realize things about the roads alone, read maps alone, figuring out road numbering patterns, or committing a map to memory...most of these things are typically activities one does individually, not socially. Yes, I know there's road meets, but that's usually long after the hobby is "discovered".
While complaints about traffic are commmonplace to the point of small talk, decoding the original alignment of a road is more of a history buff's fascination rather than something the public at large would care about. Most people probably don't care much about the wrong color of sign or even that one is missing, because they're thinking of something else (either far more important, nor not noticing, or perhaps a thought about something in a whole other geekiverse). Maybe that faded sign helps them remember that they should make the third right after it and then take the fourth left after the slight jink in the road.
Which is why it doesn't surprise me to hear that many people on this board say they're introverted or awkward in social situations; I think many people feel a lot of social norms are foisted upon us, but either deal with it (sometimes I'm loath to deal with people, yet other times I'm excited to meet folks I've never met), or escape (I do this sometimes, if there's not a huge burden of responsibility blocking the door), or really wish to take back what they've said (to err is human, that's why I mess my words up online and in person!)
I don't know enough about Asperger's and less about the autism spectrum, but I've met a few folks with the former that just seem to be slightly more excited versions of me. Which makes me wonder - but not enough that I want a label to hide behind when I do weird-but-harmless things. I don't think much of anybody or anything here is harmful or sick, although I've heard a few posts about one or two folks that seemed to have some ill-will against anybody and everything for totally unrelated reasons (like physical illness or just being a general trollhole).
Quote from: dgolub on January 27, 2015, 06:37:22 PM
Quote from: roadman65 on January 27, 2015, 10:10:11 AM
You know, I am glad to hear that autism is not a disease, as it is to do with the way the mind functions. However, autism does have some mental illnesses as symptoms such as depression. Depression, if the doctor knows what he is doing can be treatable, with proper medication. Also you pretty much answered my question.
Anxiety and depressions are not symptoms of autism. They are disorders that a high percentage of autistic people (I believe it's about 75%) tend to also develop at some point in their lives. Also, it's not necessarily that autism itself places a person at risk. Some of it may be that autistic people tend to get treated like crap in society, especially as children, which would place anyone at increased risk of mood disorders. I'm not aware of any research that rules out one hypothesis or the other.
I have to get back to you on that one. I did read that Aspergers, which is very much part of Autism, does give off symptoms of bipolar while reading up on it. I was inspired to check it out when I was given the name in one particular person's biography who mentioned that she had it.
One symptom for Austism that is for sure, is social awkwardness. Many who do have Autism do have trouble obtaining friendships and even relationships as they do miss "cues" in conversation. The Aspergers part of Autism even creates clumsiness as well as missing out on jokes or even seeing the humor in things as well as talking in circles and not getting to the direct point of the conversation.
Then, the part of not being an illness, is not totally true as there is one person I know who has the disorder and is collecting Social Security because of it as he cannot hold a regular job while his doctor signed off on it as an illness so that Uncle Sam could actually give it to him.
Quote from: NE2 on January 27, 2015, 09:32:46 AM
Quote from: KG909 on January 27, 2015, 09:31:08 AM
I don't have any mental issues but my sister autism.
Since I'm pop culture OCD, I'll choose to interpret this as you having autism and metaphorically referring to it as your sister.
I'm being serious, if I had autism I would admit it.
Autism/Aspergers is more a neurological condition rather than a disease bthat could be transmitted be contact or vaccines. As stated in other posts here, roadways can be a special interest and the interest can be aided bt the traits of those who have that condition.
Disclosure, I show many symptoms of Asperger's but am not formally diagnosed, for as a child only the more severe "classic" autism was the only type recognized.
I was never diagnosed with Asperger's, but I'm what would be considered a textbook example of it.
Quote from: Big John on January 27, 2015, 08:36:29 PM
Autism/Aspergers is more a neurological condition rather than a disease bthat could be transmitted be contact or vaccines. As stated in other posts here, roadways can be a special interest and the interest can be aided bt the traits of those who have that condition.
Disclosure, I show many symptoms of Asperger's but am not formally diagnosed, for as a child only the more severe "classic" autism was the only type recognized.
I have no idea if I have it officially, but I was in special ed classes in school with the school social workers classifying me with a learning disability. Then later diagnosed with depression by my doctor, with him saying that back in the 70s and 80s, that depression was not well known as it is now so no doctor back then could have diagnosed that.
I assume that autism back in the early years was only diagnosed if something very out of the ordinary that would warrant a trip to the neurologist would get proper diagnosed. Only a neurologist can diagnose it, and to have the tests done costs thousands plus finding one doctor who will commit to it as many neurologists do not specialize in autism.
For all I know I could have it as the symptoms fits. Though learning disabilities is usually not a symptom, as most with Autism are usually smart, however just because one learns at a slower pace does not either mean that he or she is not smart. Now I am not saying I am smart nor that I am not smart, but just in case some smart ass says that because I was classified in school with a learning disability automatically disqualifies me as being Autistic. I do have depression, I am slow in figuring things out, clumsy at times, I sometimes do not get the point of many discussions or events right away, I miss cues in common talk, I get preoccupied at times, I get upset real easily, and most of all it takes me longer to pick up the pace or learn things at many jobs I have worked at.
Quote from: roadman65 on January 27, 2015, 07:59:56 PM
One symptom for Austism that is for sure, is social awkwardness. Many who do have Autism do have trouble obtaining friendships and even relationships as they do miss "cues" in conversation. The Aspergers part of Autism even creates clumsiness as well as missing out on jokes or even seeing the humor in things as well as talking in circles and not getting to the direct point of the conversation.
Sure, but that doesn't mean that a person is predestined to develop a mood disorder, especially if they're fortunate enough to grow up an environment that doesn't shun them for their differences.
Quote from: roadman65 on January 27, 2015, 07:59:56 PM
Then, the part of not being an illness, is not totally true as there is one person I know who has the disorder and is collecting Social Security because of it as he cannot hold a regular job while his doctor signed off on it as an illness so that Uncle Sam could actually give it to him.
The fact that people call something a disease doesn't necessarily make it one. There was a long time that homosexuality was listed in the DSM, and the medical establishment considered it a disease. As far as people not holding down a job, the question is how much of that is the person being genuinely unable to work and how much of that is other people not wanting to put up with someone who is different in certain ways. I recognize that this question doesn't have a straight yes-or-no answer since so much of autism varies from person to person, but I don't doubt that there are Aspies who are perfectly capable of supporting themselves but get hobbled by interview processes that are more about snap judgements and first impressions than actually evaluating a candidate's qualifications. (That said, I believe that the technology field is very Aspie-friendly in terms of hiring because the interview process is primarily focused on qualifications, but not everyone's interests and/or aptitudes are in that area, so this issue needs to be addressed in the broader society.)
Quote from: dgolub on January 28, 2015, 09:07:02 AM
Quote from: roadman65 on January 27, 2015, 07:59:56 PM
One symptom for Austism that is for sure, is social awkwardness. Many who do have Autism do have trouble obtaining friendships and even relationships as they do miss "cues" in conversation. The Aspergers part of Autism even creates clumsiness as well as missing out on jokes or even seeing the humor in things as well as talking in circles and not getting to the direct point of the conversation.
Sure, but that doesn't mean that a person is predestined to develop a mood disorder, especially if they're fortunate enough to grow up an environment that doesn't shun them for their differences.
Quote from: roadman65 on January 27, 2015, 07:59:56 PM
Then, the part of not being an illness, is not totally true as there is one person I know who has the disorder and is collecting Social Security because of it as he cannot hold a regular job while his doctor signed off on it as an illness so that Uncle Sam could actually give it to him.
The fact that people call something a disease doesn't necessarily make it one. There was a long time that homosexuality was listed in the DSM, and the medical establishment considered it a disease. As far as people not holding down a job, the question is how much of that is the person being genuinely unable to work and how much of that is other people not wanting to put up with someone who is different in certain ways. I recognize that this question doesn't have a straight yes-or-no answer since so much of autism varies from person to person, but I don't doubt that there are Aspies who are perfectly capable of supporting themselves but get hobbled by interview processes that are more about snap judgements and first impressions than actually evaluating a candidate's qualifications. (That said, I believe that the technology field is very Aspie-friendly in terms of hiring because the interview process is primarily focused on qualifications, but not everyone's interests and/or aptitudes are in that area, so this issue needs to be addressed in the broader society.)
You hit the nail on the head with interviews, except nowadays they use an assesment test to weed out those with disorders as they ask you a whole bunch of questions of how you rate yourself. They figure you out by how you answer the test and you cannot lie to give them the right answers they're looking for either. The test has redundant questions worded differently to throw you off, but most restaurants, even Wawa convenience stores, and most department stores issue them online when you apply. That is how they judge you as we live in a corporate world where managers do not make decisions anymore of who gets hired like in days of old.
Plus micro managing causes many Aspies not to hold job, especially if being slow is a result of your disorder. Many places require you to live up to hourly numbers and you must monitor them closely or get written up for not following procedures.
Well I had to take Ritalin and Adderall as a kid for ADHD and actually am very much a perfectionist. I would never say that I am slow, but I can get angry when I am not doing things perfectly or as well as my peers (as in not having one of the highest GPAs in my major) along with having focus issues. In interviews that would be avoiding my real interest in roads so they do not think I am weird or something.
I'll just take 2 aspirins and follow an old alignment in the morning.
Related to the topic, Bell Canada is donating 5 cents to mental health initiatives for every Tweet sent today using the #BellLetsTalk hashtag. Still a few hours left, and it's not limited to Canadian participants.
More info at http://letstalk.bell.ca/.
Quote from: Takumi on January 27, 2015, 08:50:44 PM
I was never diagnosed with Asperger's, but I'm what would be considered a textbook example of it.
My mom went a while back and was diagnosed with Asperger's; she was explaining some of the traits she carried and I found myself agreeing with every one. So while not officially diagnosed, there's no reason for me to believe I don't have some degree of it.
I have ADD and Asperger's. I like spending time alone, and peace and quiet.
I don't have any friends, nor do I really want any.
I have a hard time comprehending why "normal" people like doing the things they do.
Especially:
1. Being around other people all the time.
2. Getting drunk.
3. Having an interest in sports.
Because "normal" people are so different than me, and because they not only like things that I strongly dislike, they would expect me to do the things that I dislike in order to be accepted by them, I would rather not be around them.
I like the aspects of the world created by mother nature (ie: the earth, and the weather), but I really don't like our system, our society, or how things are done. Basically every aspect of life created by man sucks and is screwed up.
I know what I said above sounds bad, however, I really don't have a hatred for everybody like I used to when I was younger. I have met plenty of decent people. I do think there are way more nice people that bad people.
It's just that because I am different, things that wouldn't bother most people often make me miserable.
Because I am different, the system does not work well for me, and because of that, I am not able to enjoy life as much as I would like to be able to.
I am just finishing an Associate's Degree in Computer Networking. Hopefully this will get me to a somewhat better place, and I hopefully will be working with decent people. It took me longer than most people to get it because I could barely keep up with three classes at a time. I could never have done a full load in a semester.
Quote from: Brian556 on January 30, 2015, 12:12:19 AM
I have ADD and Asperger's. I like spending time alone, and peace and quiet.
I don't have any friends, nor do I really want any.
I have a hard time comprehending why "normal" people like doing the things they do.
Especially:
1. Being around other people all the time.
2. Getting drunk.
3. Having an interest in sports.
Because "normal" people are so different than me, and because they not only like things that I strongly dislike, they would expect me to do the things that I dislike in order to be accepted by them, I would rather not be around them.
I like the aspects of the world created by mother nature (ie: the earth, and the weather), but I really don't like our system, our society, or how things are done. Basically every aspect of life created by man sucks and is screwed up.
I know what I said above sounds bad, however, I really don't have a hatred for everybody like I used to when I was younger. I have met plenty of decent people. I do think there are way more nice people that bad people.
It's just that because I am different, things that wouldn't bother most people often make me miserable.
Because I am different, the system does not work well for me, and because of that, I am not able to enjoy life as much as I would like to be able to.
Oh my god, we would get along so well. I agree with pretty much everything you just said. I am the definition of an introvert, and I fucking can't stand society, nor will I ever conform to actually be accepted in it. Screw that. (Side note: I do have friends, however, I do not hang out with them, and I absolutely
hate large social events like parties where I have to actually talk to people. I am extremely anti-social in large groups of people. Small groups not so much. Depends on the context, and the interests of the people around me.)
Oh yeah, and I forgot two other things I forgot to mention about myself - I'm bipolar with a really short temper, and I'm an asexual. Never in my life have I wanted (and still do not want) to have sex with anyone else. And while I never told anyone about that during school, a lot of people picked on me because I tried to explain to them that I didn't want it. Whatever. That's probably why I suppressed my road interest until late in high school, because I was already getting picked on for other shit (though it was mainly in one class) and didn't feel like giving them even more ammo for their arsenal.
Quote from: 74/171FAN on January 28, 2015, 09:46:46 AM
Well I had to take Ritalin and Adderall as a kid for ADHD and actually am very much a perfectionist. I would never say that I am slow, but I can get angry when I am not doing things perfectly or as well as my peers (as in not having one of the highest GPAs in my major) along with having focus issues.
Do you still take your medicine? I have to take my Adderall to do anything productive. I tried not taking it for like 2 years and it ended up making my attention span 10 times worse than before.
Quote from Zeffy:
QuoteOh my god, we would get along so well. I agree with pretty much everything you just said. I am the definition of an introvert, and I fucking can't stand society, nor will I ever conform to actually be accepted in it. Screw that. (Side note: I do have friends, however, I do not hang out with them, and I absolutely hate large social events like parties where I have to actually talk to people. I am extremely anti-social in large groups of people. Small groups not so much. Depends on the context, and the interests of the people around me.)
Oh yeah, and I forgot two other things I forgot to mention about myself - I'm bipolar with a really short temper, and I'm an asexual. Never in my life have I wanted (and still do not want) to have sex with anyone else. And while I never told anyone about that during school, a lot of people picked on me because I tried to explain to them that I didn't want it. Whatever. That's probably why I suppressed my road interest until late in high school, because I was already getting picked on for other shit (though it was mainly in one class) and didn't feel like giving them even more ammo for their arsenal.
Glad to hear that I am not alone.
When I was younger, teenager, through my 20's, I had a really bad temper. I used to knock holes in walls, and at work, would kick the ashtray (the type with a "weebles" type base), almost daily. I can control my temper a lot better now, but I am still not perfect.
During that time, I also had a very bad gas problem, and people held that against me. That problem has gotten a lot better. I'm not sure why, but I do eat a lot less fast food.
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.
On a side note related to sex, I don't think that women should wear bikini's in public. I think that they are totally inappropriate. They are the same thing as bra and panties, and women would never prance around in the mall in their underwear, so why is it ok in other places to wear something that is the exact same thing. Women only wear just underwear in front of their man in the bedroom, so by wearing a bikini in public, they are basically saying to every man "come f*** me". It's bad enough that adult women do this, but the fact that they allow and encourage their very young daughters to wear this stuff also, is downright sick and wrong on every level. Why do people sexualize their own children? What the hell is wrong with them.
It makes me very uncomfortable to be around scantly clad strangers of either sex in public. I really dislike it.
It feels like our society has no morals and no common sense whatsoever.
It's always cool when people who don't get other people try to moralize.
Quote from: Brian556 on January 30, 2015, 12:50:11 AM
On a side note related to sex, I don't think that women should wear bikini's in public. I think that they are totally inappropriate. They are the same thing as bra and panties, and women would never prance around in the mall in their underwear, so why is it ok in other places to wear something that is the exact same thing. Women only wear just underwear in front of their man in the bedroom, so by wearing a bikini in public, they are basically saying to every man "come f*** me". It's bad enough that adult women do this, but the fact that they allow and encourage their very young daughters to wear this stuff also, is downright sick and wrong on every level. Why do people sexualize their own children? What the hell is wrong with them.
It makes me very uncomfortable to be around scantly clad strangers of either sex in public. I really dislike it.
No, they are not saying "come fuck me", they are saying "i don't feel like wearing a lot of clothes right now". Nudity (or near-nudity) is not the same thing as sexuality. Just because something is unusual doesn't make it immoral.
People using tobacco products (all kinds) disgusts me. But I don't invoke morality to argue they shouldn't do it, because it's not a moral issue. Neither is a person's choice of clothing state.
And in any case, bikini bottoms actually provide a LOT more coverage than what passes for "underwear" in my generation. Seriously, there's so little material in a thong that you might as well not wear anything. Trying to find panties in the store is like looking for a needle in a haystack.
You won't catch me in a bikini though. Not because I don't want to wear one (I'd actually love to wear one, but only if I'd look good), but because I have a bit of belly flab that, while invisible under my shirts and dresses, is rather unsightly if not covered. IMO, it makes me look like I'm pregnant.
So basically, I'm stuck with one piece swim suits unless I can somehow get a flat stomach.
I think yoga pants are more provocative than bikinis, and that's worn everywhere any season these days.
Not complaining at all, but I'm not sure why it's a trend.
Quote from: Brian556 on January 30, 2015, 12:50:11 AM
... so by wearing a bikini in public, they are basically saying to every man "come f*** me". It's bad enough that adult...
With all due respect, please try to clear that belief out of your head. You cannot presume that she wants any kind of attention from anyone at all. I don't want to single you out (it's definitely not just you, and at least you're not going to walk up to her and test your hypothesis)
Sorry for the derail. That phrase really just jumped out.
I have nonverbal learning disorder, which basically means that I can't pick up on non-verbal social cues. There are other issues associated with it like poor coordination and the inability to tell distances apart. The latter two are workable but the inability to read people is something that has caused me a lot of pain, embarrassment and resulted in some people having a less than positive opinion of me. I love talking to people and am extremely social, but my brain never picks on anything that the other party is sending unless it is explicitly said. Imagine trying to do simple things like dating when your brain literally cannot tell if the other party is interested.
I also have an anxiety disorder that I manage by taking long road trips in rural areas. I'm currently living in an urban area with no car so my anxiety is even more of an issue than it normally would be. Because telling distances apart is a struggle for me, I absolutely hate urban driving and if given the choice would like to live in a rural area.
Quote from: jakeroot on January 27, 2015, 02:13:34 AMAs 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 actually like things that are out of the ordinary and I look for them on my road trips; both in terms of landscape (be it natural or man-made) and road elements (layout, signage, etc.). Spotting the differences in signage between jurisdictions is what got me in the hobby in the first place.
I do have a few habits and traits that could be linked to Asperger's syndrome and/or OCD. I had to learn and acquire what little social skills I have the hard way (a long and sometimes painful process of being told – directly or indirectly – what is acceptable and what is a faux pas); I obsess and make deep dives into subjects that are unconventional, earning a lot of somewhat useless knowledge in the process; I am pedantic; I... am a programmer, if that counts. However, I am not diagnosed with any mental condition and I consider myself a fully functioning person (although getting there required some learning on my part).
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.
Then traffic signals were always another state thing (and in New York the difference between NYC and the rest of the state) was another thing getting me into roads.
I too have had to learn the hard way how to communicate, plus having bipolar does not help lashing out on a short fuse made other around me uncomfortable was another handicap I had to learn to deal with too.
That seems to be a big symptom of Aspergers as people I know who have relatives of the disorder claim that it causes them to be most awkward around others and missing ques in general conversations. Most of all they are introverts who see things differently and appear to others around them as being in their own world, but not mentally ill and considered smarter than the average.
Do not feel that you are alone on that one. The point is you made it.
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.
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.
(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FcFUQU.gif&hash=21b6398d15bb4b784a96c87344624fb32e7eabc8)
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.
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: 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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?
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.
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.
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:
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 ;)
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
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.
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.
(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FcFUQU.gif&hash=21b6398d15bb4b784a96c87344624fb32e7eabc8)
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.
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.
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.
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.
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. :)
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.
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.
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?
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.
Conditions are codified when they inhibit an individual's ability to interact with the world or their peers. I have a lot of friends on the mental health world and it's my understanding that the language has been tweaked continually to get the most folks the least marginalized by the words alone. There are no longer "patients" of mental health services, for example, but rather "consumers." Even "clients" seems to be passé now.
I do share concern for the way "disorder" is tossed around, because in my experience there are quite a few very different modes of thinking and engaging the world. I've worked in a variety of areas and seen how varied brains have to be to do very different jobs well.
A lot of it seems to come down to how far individuals deviate from a certain mean. Because we're social animals and organize ourselves in group functions, we tend to value compatibility with a system. Inability to join in satisfactorily is discouraged, and diagnosed. This is not all bad, but in cases where the "differentness" is mild or harmless, placing it all in the same box can be kind of harsh.
What is interesting is the fact that many do have social awkwardness around others, yet many of them think that the whole world is the problem and that they are not. I can relate to that as going through school growing up I was pretty much a loner and did not feel comfortable around other kids. Many made fun of me for it, and at times, I felt that I was actually ugly or even cursed, and did not know even why others were not either making me part of their circles. I did not pick up yet that I was different until actually rather recently. I will not get into that here, but the fact was I did not realize I did not want social interaction with others even though I did always do things to be alone.
Bottom line is now I am aware of it, and it helps me manage the situation. Had I have been aware of it back in school my life would have been so much easier then. However, I am here and its what I do with it now and am doing well with it. I can go on and on about how the teachers could have noticed (and they did actually,) and got me treated, but did not. Its in the past and at least I found the answers to it now, and like the old saying goes "Better late than never." However the hell and the pain I experienced will never be forgotten, even as I look forward its still there. Even though I purposely isolated myself from everybody else, I still endured such pain with the worst part of the discomfort is not knowing why you are different either.
No label on this all could change things, so names like "Challenged" or "Autism" and even "Aspergers" could really help, its identifying what the nature of it is and dealing with it.
I may as well "come out" and admit it folks. I am also an aspie myself......like many I also have social awkwardness and I usually find that not many like me. I don't know what it is, what do I do that gets people to turn their heads away from me. I try to do be friendly and yet in most times I can't seem to maintain it.
Intellectual Disability I think is the word we are looking for. I heard it at the Knights of Columbus Meeting where each year we hold a fund drive to raise money for charities that help those will mental illnesses. The Chairman stated that we are "Raising money to help the intellectual disabled" as his reason for the fund drive at two area Publix Supermarkets.
I actually think that term is best as basically many of us here due not fit into the category of a true illness while "Developmental Disorder" is also too strong of a label as well.
My larger point in my earlier post was, who cares how it's classified. We have the faculties necessary to live life to the fullest so let's go do that! The more I think about how others classify me, the less I get done and the less fun I have. If someone wants to say that I'm inadequate or retarded, they can go on being a hater and they can go on being wrong. It's not a disorder or a disability if I can do what I want and do what I need to. The way we think is special and it really can be helpful for people! I've got too much fun to have in this life to worry how others label me :)
The one mantra in my life that I have always stuck by is "who cares what others think of you? As long as you like yourself, there's nothing to worry about."
I'm socially awkward, but my only actual disorders as I would classify them are ADHD and asexuality. I am never afraid to admit things that classify me as weird to others. Anyone who has a problem with me, appearance or otherwise, can kindly go fuck themselves.
That was the thinking that got me through grade school, and one that keeps me from conforming into society by retaining both my integrity and individuality.
I have suicidal thoughts and a case of autism. I might have depression. Once I wrote down "put the pencil in your eye" four times while holding a pencil, because that's how bad I felt. But considering my cognitive abilities are superior to that of a 6th grader, people don't know what I'm saying, though it's clear as day for me that I know what they say. Thus, problems in social interaction (which explains why I take insults seriously and thus cry in a corner).
Don't put the pencil in your eye. When you have trouble, ask for help. This is good advice for kids and adults, even though not enough of either take it.
Nobody told me when I was a kid that when people are harsh on others, particularly on kids, it has a lot to do with their own unhappiness. Once I realized that, I found abusive people easier to tolerate.
Yes, I know this world sucks! We have more placed on now then ever! Things that used to be easy are now hard on us. Inflation is so bad that you have to work more now to make ends meet. I made less money in 1990 then I did now and back then I had more leftover in my pocket. Also micromanaging makes it quite harder now to maintain jobs as managers are no longer managers, but enforcers of the company rules set by the big guy on top. Thanks to the internet they can watch you work, and there is no need to have the hired help run the subsidiaries and each department and make decisions anymore as the top brass can now do that.
Then there is no hope in Washington at all thanks to our two party system. Each one is so stubborn now nothing gets done as both sides want things done their way or no way. So we now have it bad for us with a screwed up nation making things much harder for those with developmental, mental, or intellectual disorders function in our workforce. We have to pass an aptitude test now just to get a simple restaurant job that was designed by some Harvard type to weed out people with disorders from being hired. These tests ask you how you friends think of us, how your old employer thought of you, and most of all how you handle situations by asking you two scenarios of both which possess good merits, but you must pick only one of them, just so they know if the candidate is friendly and outgoing verses shy and reserved. The former, of course, is the correct attribute the employer looks for. And BTW, the manager does not see the results of the test, as its corporate that does and when they find the suitable candidate, they hand it over to the office or store hiring manager for interview.
Yes the world sucks, but unfortunately we have to persevere no matter how much we suffer. Consult your friends and keep them in the loop. Accepting who you are is half the battle. Once I knew what was happening with me, it made my life a lot less depressing.
As someone diagnosed with autism when I was a child, I don't feel autism is a "mental illness", scientific research confirms autism and Asperger's are neurological differences of the human brain. I was tested for ADD, OCD and Tourette's to only find I don't have these other disorders. I struggled with depression and anxiety disorder, and in my 36-year life, I don't view life as fun, easy or with optimistic, but realistic attitudes on the world can be. An interest in something like roads and highways isn't quite part of autism and Asperger's, people develop hobbies and interests, maybe it's stronger for those with autism and/or Asperger's to be able to "memorize" roads and highways by simply looking at maps.
True on that one as the symptoms of those disorders or aspects is that you focus more on things. It does not have to be roads, it could be trains, and even airlines or even overzealous with sports. Its just a mere coincidence you have a bunch of Autistic or Aspergers uniting here on this forum. As I am sure the railfan forums are also full of them too.
What amazes me is the fact how some with Aspergers love to pick on others with Aspergers as its been known to happen here quite often. Although recently a user came on here, that we do not know for sure what is his problem is, so we have to assume in the meantime he does not have anything and is just being rude and condescending. As the man will not give up on a proposal he has for a major metropolitan freeway system that he came out with over three months ago. I ignore him myself so I cannot see his rants but others on here have said he basically attacks anyone who gives his opinion against his idea which seems to not have good merit in the other users minds. However, the proposer, is hell bent on his idea that all the rest of us here are either morons or the problem of the entire road network.
Quote from: paulthemapguy on March 12, 2016, 11:01:20 PM
My larger point in my earlier post was, who cares how it's classified. We have the faculties necessary to live life to the fullest so let's go do that! The more I think about how others classify me, the less I get done and the less fun I have. If someone wants to say that I'm inadequate or retarded, they can go on being a hater and they can go on being wrong. It's not a disorder or a disability if I can do what I want and do what I need to. The way we think is special and it really can be helpful for people! I've got too much fun to have in this life to worry how others label me :)
I have AS (also depression/bipolar and anxiety, possible avoidant personality disorder) and I can definitely say that life is harder for me than if I was born neurotypical. While I have progressed to the point where I can pass for "normal" professionally for normal day to day things, that does not extend to socialization. For example, currently jobs are found based not on "what you know" but rather "who you know", and I don't have the social skills necessary to "network". I'm also lonely, as my lifestyle (and need to be alone in my apartment much of the time) is not conductive to forming close friendships, compounded with not having "normal" hobbies that allow me to meet people and there being only a limited number of people that it's not awkward to socialize with (pretty much just some roadgeeks and a couple other people). People frequently misunderstand what I mean when I say things and I find it hard to interact in groups where my difficulty with social cues causes people to talk over me (as well as the reverse) such that I often just say nothing (what's the point, when the conversations will have changed subjects by the time I get an opening?).
Based on personal experience, having "normal" hobbies doesn't help.
What I hate the most is the fact when you try real hard to get a female to just notice you, and they think that you want to marry them or date them. A lot of times I have found that one out when I will see a girl that I either work with or is in a place I frequent a lot. She will socialize with everyone else because she likes to talk, but with me she won't so when I do things (or even say things) to get her attention, she assumes that I am either obsessed or infatuated with her, which I am hardly at all. I just wanted to be talked to considering that one who talks to everybody should include me as well. Also the fact that blabber mouth or gabbers usually will talk to anyone especially those who do not want them to be talked to at all, however one such person I used to know who is a gabaholic used to expect me to always start a conversation despite all others she would start talking. That is why I avoid social interaction at all costs because I end up in awkward and embarrassing situations. I do it here, but that is the extent of it. At home I do what I need and at work I do my job and keep my conversations simple with my coworkers and that is it.
If I go out to Winghouse, a knock off Hooters near me, I just order my drinks and just talk briefly. I no longer buy drinks for the ladies when they are off work as I used to just to avoid any misunderstandings as buying ladies drinks from regular customers is a common thing there. Well for me its not. I do not want any staff member to ever think that I am "madly in love with them" and I would rather be a quiet person with them questioning in their minds or among themselves what is my story then them to think I am pathetic loser who maybe infatuated with them all.
Well if you completely ignore women, they'll think you're gay or not interested.
With regards to dating, I fortunately figured out early on that I'm more in tune with European women than American women. The unfortunate part of that is that there's an ocean in the way of making it easy.
Quote from: KEK Inc. on March 14, 2016, 05:00:48 AM
Well if you completely ignore women, they'll think you're gay or not interested.
No-win situation, now I get to experience it myself in about three years!
My mental illness will really hate this.
Gotta learn to be happy with yourself if you're going to have others be happy with you. That may be no simple step, but it is also not an optional one.
I have autism and it certainly hates pseudo-love. I'm still hung over from my last lust and I've known for half a year now I'll never see her again :banghead:
Quote from: Takumi on March 14, 2016, 07:01:03 AM
With regards to dating, I fortunately figured out early on that I'm more in tune with European women than American women.
You like women who don't bathe and don't shave their armpits? :bigass: :-D
QuoteThe unfortunate part of that is that there's an ocean in the way of making it easy.
"anastasiadate.com. Dating with women from Europe."
Not that there's anything wrong with that.
Eh. Girls I've been with think my road knowledge is cute and intriguing. I've been lucky and had girls make the first move on me.
iPhone
The problem with me is that I have too many suicidal thoughts and thus murmur them or might do it in a fairly low voice. Thus, people hate that and I'm also another "out of the ordinary" student. I've been told is that people will understand me once I hit high school, and looks like I'll have to do just that.
This is what you will learn if you pay attention as you go through life: life itself, particularly in our very complicated society, is challenging for almost everyone, Even those that never admit it. Almost everyone suffers in some way on the inside. Far more people than you would imagine never take the time to say anything about it to anyone, much less find the skills to make it work.
You will find people that reject you for what you say is difficult for you. That's something you're going to have to accept because it's a small price to pay for the fact that you will also find people that understand what you're going through, and that also needed to hear that someone else knew what they were going through. Those people will make your life much better.
I don't know how much of this happens in high school, but as long as you are willing to take the first step of admitting to yourself or others what is hard for you, you're already somewhat ahead of the game.
Also, I know some of the most awkward, homely, fringy, super smart dudes that end up with the most gorgeous, well-adjusted women that appreciate them. If this doesn't happen where you live, just go to MIT.
Quote from: Pete from Boston on March 14, 2016, 09:39:13 PM
This is what you will learn if you pay attention as you go through life: life itself, particularly in our very complicated society, is challenging for almost everyone, Even those that never admit it. Almost everyone suffers in some way on the inside. Far more people than you would imagine never take the time to say anything about it to anyone, much less find the skills to make it work.
You will find people that reject you for what you say is difficult for you. That's something you're going to have to accept because it's a small price to pay for the fact that you will also find people that understand what you're going through, and that also needed to hear that someone else knew what they were going through. Those people will make your life much better.
I don't know how much of this happens in high school, but as long as you are willing to take the first step of admitting to yourself or others what is hard for you, you're already somewhat ahead of the game.
Also, I know some of the most awkward, homely, fringy, super smart dudes that end up with the most gorgeous, well-adjusted women that appreciate them. If this doesn't happen where you live, just go to MIT.
I've learned that as early as kindergarten, continuously reassured to that. I admit what's wrong with me (my parents said that I probably have a case of autism). My master plan in high school is that I'll just be a magnet. I'll wait for someone to come, and if that never happens, I'm going to MIT. I've learned from people that "Things will be better in high school." Certainly that isn't happening in middle school, but at least the 8th graders have begun to accustom me....I'm ahead of the curve, but I have no idea what's around the next one.
Quote from: Pete from Boston on March 14, 2016, 09:39:13 PM
Also, I know some of the most awkward, homely, fringy, super smart dudes that end up with the most gorgeous, well-adjusted women that appreciate them. If this doesn't happen where you live, just go to MIT.
Also known to happen with frightening frequency at BYU. Beautiful women; frumpy dudes.
It doesn't always get better. So deal with it and stagnate until you can no longer bear it. Then you finally have motivation to improve things.
Of course, that doesn't stop people from saying it will... first it's high school, then college, then when you graduate, then when you get older and more established, etc. I don't recall it magically getting better at any interval.
Quote from: Rothman on March 15, 2016, 01:23:47 PM
Quote from: Pete from Boston on March 14, 2016, 09:39:13 PM
Also, I know some of the most awkward, homely, fringy, super smart dudes that end up with the most gorgeous, well-adjusted women that appreciate them. If this doesn't happen where you live, just go to MIT.
Also known to happen with frightening frequency at BYU. Beautiful women; frumpy dudes.
And how many stay together?
Quote from: vdeane on March 15, 2016, 05:54:11 PM
Of course, that doesn't stop people from saying it will... first it's high school, then college, then when you graduate, then when you get older and more established, etc. I don't recall it magically getting better at any interval.
It got a little better for me between middle school and high school, for whatever reason, but then plateaued, if not got a little worse, in college.
I came across this thread just now and I must say this is interesting. I was diagnosed with sever depression and had panic attacks from late 98 to mid 99, this was at a time when I was transitioning with my job and then starting college. I did see a therapist and was on effexor for a year and a half and have been off of it and had no major issues since then. Also I was fascinated with roads, reading maps and signs and the history of roads since I was about 6 years old and my family always knew it. By the time I got to middle school I was very awkward, quiet and shy to the point that I was bullied every day mentally and sometimes physically, back when being bullied was not as big as it is now with awareness. In 10th grade I changed high schools and started out growing my shyness but still got picked on occasionally. Flash forward to now and I am a totally different person then I was back then but it would not surprise me if I have some kind of form of ADHD.
Quote from: Zeffy on January 30, 2015, 12:22:48 AM
Quote from: 74/171FAN on January 28, 2015, 09:46:46 AM
Well I had to take Ritalin and Adderall as a kid for ADHD and actually am very much a perfectionist. I would never say that I am slow, but I can get angry when I am not doing things perfectly or as well as my peers (as in not having one of the highest GPAs in my major) along with having focus issues.
Do you still take your medicine? I have to take my Adderall to do anything productive. I tried not taking it for like 2 years and it ended up making my attention span 10 times worse than before.
I just realized that I never answered your question. I stopped taking it by middle school because I was not fond of taking medicine (for me that is the case even for colds and allergies). It never really has affected my grades for the most part (minus English maybe which I was never good at the literature side of things but I was always decent enough with grammar to catch typos and comma errors-to the point that one of my friends corrects my texting typos). I do notice myself being obsessive over things very easily (roads, sports, grades, etc.), and I feel completely miserable sometimes even when something minor goes wrong whether it is my fault or not.
Quote from: jpi on March 15, 2016, 08:26:18 PM
I came across this thread just now and I must say this is interesting. I was diagnosed with sever depression and had panic attacks from late 98 to mid 99, this was at a time when I was transitioning with my job and then starting college. I did see a therapist and was on effexor for a year and a half and have been off of it and had no major issues since then. Also I was fascinated with roads, reading maps and signs and the history of roads since I was about 6 years old and my family always knew it. By the time I got to middle school I was very awkward, quiet and shy to the point that I was bullied every day mentally and sometimes physically, back when being bullied was not as big as it is now with awareness. In 10th grade I changed high schools and started out growing my shyness but still got picked on occasionally. Flash forward to now and I am a totally different person then I was back then but it would not surprise me if I have some kind of form of ADHD.
I definitely think I still have ADHD in some form. For me, my social skills have gotten much better over the years, but I usually get very intimidated by anyone that I do not know personally until I have gotten to know them. I have read maps and signs since I was about 4 years old, and I was always one of the smarter people in my class despite small speech impediments. (I actually remembered how to get to New York from VA, and I found out about the I-95 gap from telling my parents to go through Philadelphia once because the maps looked like I-95 went from Philly to New York.)
I know that I start pacing easily when nervous. Also I would become super-competitive with my grades to the point that I would get mad if I got a 95 and my friend got a 96, for example.
Quote from: US71 on March 15, 2016, 07:18:39 PM
Quote from: Rothman on March 15, 2016, 01:23:47 PM
Quote from: Pete from Boston on March 14, 2016, 09:39:13 PM
Also, I know some of the most awkward, homely, fringy, super smart dudes that end up with the most gorgeous, well-adjusted women that appreciate them. If this doesn't happen where you live, just go to MIT.
Also known to happen with frightening frequency at BYU. Beautiful women; frumpy dudes.
And how many stay together?
Quite a few. Marriage is a big deal amongst Mormons.
I've battled depression since 14 and I was actively suicidal from 17 to about 20. Things got better for me later in college when I began to accept my autism and take pride in it, and stopped actively trying to hold myself to society's standards that I can't meet so I might as well just be who I am and do the things I enjoy doing. I still struggle sometimes, but I feel like I've figured a lot of things out that I couldn't have imagined I would have even five years ago.
Honestly, even if you did meet society's standards people would give you a lot of shit for being too perfect or too well-rounded. People just want to bring you down whether it's for being too good a person or too bad of one, and as someone said earlier it's largely because of their own unhappiness that these assholes feel compelled to do shit like that.
It's obviously far easier said then done, but fuck them and find that pride in yourself in whatever way that works for you.
Quote from: vdeane on March 15, 2016, 05:54:11 PM
Of course, that doesn't stop people from saying it will... first it's high school, then college, then when you graduate, then when you get older and more established, etc. I don't recall it magically getting better at any interval.
It doesn't stop people from saying it will get better because for some people they know that it can. If you have never known that it can, of course all you're going to say is that it can't.
"No" is an easy thing to attach oneself to, because it can be guaranteed. "Yes" is risky to believe in.
Quote from: TheHighwayMan394 on March 15, 2016, 10:09:33 PM
I've battled depression since 14 and I was actively suicidal from 17 to about 20. Things got better for me later in college when I began to accept my autism and take pride in it, and stopped actively trying to hold myself to society's standards that I can't meet so I might as well just be who I am and do the things I enjoy doing. I still struggle sometimes, but I feel like I've figured a lot of things out that I couldn't have imagined I would have even five years ago.
Honestly, even if you did meet society's standards people would give you a lot of shit for being too perfect or too well-rounded. People just want to bring you down whether it's for being too good a person or too bad of one, and as someone said earlier it's largely because of their own unhappiness that these assholes feel compelled to do shit like that.
It's obviously far easier said then done, but fuck them and find that pride in yourself in whatever way that works for you.
I've dealt with this since my birth (so that's 11 years and counting...almost 12). Except, I didn't take pride and eventually separated myself from social interaction and decided to learn at an accelerated rate (which explains why I joined this forum).
Personally, I can't do social interaction correctly.
I get along better with the teachers because of my learning at an accelerated rate (and genes). So I get along better with people older than me. But it's not here, it looks like.
I know how y'all feel. As I post, I'm here at a private school for us people with ASD and what not. Thankfully, likely because I'm here, it seems that I'm growing out of it. Usually, the symptoms are worst around age 9-12 and you never even know it was there (hopefully) by 21-22 (especially if it's moderate). In short, being a roadgeek is only about 75-80% dependent on autism or some other mental illness. But what do I know. I'm crazy. ;-)
Quote from: TheHighwayMan394 on March 15, 2016, 10:09:33 PM
Things got better for me....when I began to accept my autism and take pride in it, and stopped actively trying to hold myself to society's standards that I can't meet so I might as well just be who I am and do the things I enjoy doing. I still struggle sometimes...
With apologies to TheHighwayMan934 for taking hedge clippers to his quote, I think that's when I finally figured out the secret, when I stopped trying to appease to people. Sure I got less attention, but I realized I liked being on my own better. The phrase, "I live in my own little world, but it's okay...they know me here," has more or less become my mantra.
I've never been officially diagnosed with anything, but a lot of my tendencies lean towards Asperger's. I've had a few people notice that in me as well. All through elementary school, I was picked on somewhat, but then things started to mushroom in junior high. I think part of it was just the kids in the school, but I feel I had a part to play as well. At that time, I wanted to feel included or noticed. With interests in traffic signs, roads, and school buses and none whatsoever in sports, I might as well have had an "open season" sign stuck to my back. Things got a little better in high school but not much. Sure I had my circle of friends, but there were others who were simply jerks. And I can't help but think some people were nice to me out of pity.
Nevertheless, I pressed onward and I think when I hit college was when I finally turned a corner and quit caring. I could distance myself from those people I had to spend so much time with and I had the time to indulge in what I liked. The internet started getting bigger at about that time and I was able to find others who shared my interests. Whether meeting people I talked to online, or just maintaining an e-relationship, it helped me to figure out that maybe I'm not THAT weird (or, conversely, there are plenty of people out there just as strange as me).
Today I still keep going with my interests and find joy in following them. I try to repress myself and not necessarily carry my interests on my sleeve the way I used to, which goes a long way in my being able to handle being around other people. Sometimes I've caught myself wondering what other people would think as I'm standing on the roadside taking a photo of something, but then I quit caring about it the split second before I click the shutter.
Quote from: TravelingBethelite on March 16, 2016, 10:13:45 AM
I know how y'all feel. As I post, I'm here at a private school for us people with ASD and what not. Thankfully, likely because I'm here, it seems that I'm growing out of it. Usually, the symptoms are worst around age 9-12 and you never even know it was there (hopefully) by 21-22 (especially if it's moderate). In short, being a roadgeek is only about 75-80% dependent on autism or some other mental illness. But what do I know. I'm crazy. ;-)
So is the entire high school solely for people with Asperger's or are you in a special program inside the private school just for ASD.
In my personal opinion, I don't think these kind of autism programs work in my opinion. I was in one at my public high school and well almost none of us in the program got anywhere. Personally I don't think it's wise to isolate people from your peers and have "special" places to run to if things get too overwhelming. You can't very well do that outside of high school. That's just my two cents on this issue.
Some of you may know who I'm talking about, as you may be friends with him on Facebook (I don't think he has an account here). A friend of mine and a fellow roadgeek recently posted a rather personal and distressing message on Facebook, and the majority of responses he got were basically saying, "suck it up."
Well, it's not always possible to just "suck it up" if you're suffering from depression. Depression is basically a physical ailment that affects the brain via chemistry, but it can have very real worldly causes. "Sucking it up" won't help if you have a real need. It doesn't put food on the table or gas in the car or money in the checking account. I was shocked at the insensitivity some of this person's friends showed. They weren't supportive at all.
I guess what I'm saying to those of you, especially you younger folks who have voiced some suicidal thoughts, is to seek support. If it's a medical issue, seek treatment. A chemical imbalance is no different than a malfunctioning thyroid or high blood pressure, and is nothing to be ashamed of. Issues with school or bullying or with your peers will go away in time. You're young and you don't have to deal with trying to earn enough money to pay the bills and support a family.
Quote from: hbelkins on March 16, 2016, 10:45:26 PM
Issues with school or bullying or with your peers will go away in time.
Unfortunately, in my experience, the adult workplace is more like high school than adults care to admit, bullies and all.
I became a road geek largely because of my anxiety issues. Driving around helps to calm me down.
Quote from: Rothman on March 17, 2016, 12:59:05 AM
Quote from: hbelkins on March 16, 2016, 10:45:26 PM
Issues with school or bullying or with your peers will go away in time.
Unfortunately, in my experience, the adult workplace is more like high school than adults care to admit, bullies and all.
Which is why learning coping skills is critical. Sure, culture should change, but there's no reason to leave oneself at the mercy of the pace of that change.
I've never been diagnosed professionally, but my doctor and I both agree I have some form of anxiety. I'm definitely ok when it comes to social interactions and what not and I'm actually pretty social, but I tend to overreact and overwhelm myself a lot leading to panic attacks and straight up anxiety. I've noticed for me that when I'm traveling and seeing new places whether that's going on a road trip or looking at roads and such online, it calms me down.
Quote from: Pete from Boston on March 17, 2016, 06:33:09 AM
Quote from: Rothman on March 17, 2016, 12:59:05 AM
Quote from: hbelkins on March 16, 2016, 10:45:26 PM
Issues with school or bullying or with your peers will go away in time.
Unfortunately, in my experience, the adult workplace is more like high school than adults care to admit, bullies and all.
Which is why learning coping skills is critical. Sure, culture should change, but there's no reason to leave oneself at the mercy of the pace of that change.
This is totally crucial. People want to blame everyone else for what's wrong. And even when the people around you are the reason for your sadness or suffering, the only thing you can control is how you react to it. After experiencing enough negativity from other people, you start to realize that the reason for their crappy behavior is because they're broken just like you are. Happy, productive people don't have time to stop and bring others down. So if other people are being douches, it's because they're making their problems known in a loud fashion because they can't control their shit. If you can already control your own shit, you're already doing better than the douches are! And if you're already taking responsibility for yourself enough to control yourself a little bit, then you can figure out the rest of this stuff no problem. But it is YOUR responsibility to seek help and try to get better. Don't just sit and blame society for what they've done to you; get up and fight for a better outlook. Talk to people, start discussions, look to those close to you or paid professionals for help. You can change jobs, change friend groups, change locations, or change any aspect of your practical life. It takes dedication and it takes work, though.
Quote from: paulthemapguy on March 17, 2016, 09:32:18 AM
Quote from: Pete from Boston on March 17, 2016, 06:33:09 AM
Quote from: Rothman on March 17, 2016, 12:59:05 AM
Quote from: hbelkins on March 16, 2016, 10:45:26 PM
Issues with school or bullying or with your peers will go away in time.
Unfortunately, in my experience, the adult workplace is more like high school than adults care to admit, bullies and all.
Which is why learning coping skills is critical. Sure, culture should change, but there's no reason to leave oneself at the mercy of the pace of that change.
This is totally crucial. People want to blame everyone else for what's wrong. And even when the people around you are the reason for your sadness or suffering, the only thing you can control is how you react to it. After experiencing enough negativity from other people, you start to realize that the reason for their crappy behavior is because they're broken just like you are. Happy, productive people don't have time to stop and bring others down. So if other people are being douches, it's because they're making their problems known in a loud fashion because they can't control their shit. If you can already control your own shit, you're already doing better than the douches are! And if you're already taking responsibility for yourself enough to control yourself a little bit, then you can figure out the rest of this stuff no problem. But it is YOUR responsibility to seek help and try to get better. Don't just sit and blame society for what they've done to you; get up and fight for a better outlook. Talk to people, start discussions, look to those close to you or paid professionals for help. You can change jobs, change friend groups, change locations, or change any aspect of your practical life. It takes dedication and it takes work, though.
I would echo a lot of this, but with maybe a spoonful of compassion. It is indeed difficult to rise above life's hurdles. But it's unlikely the world is going to make you happy unless you decide that is what you are going to become. You have to take the first step.
I've actually been registered here for almost a year now, but I haven't been able to use 10 months of it because of a foster house, where I formed my seemingly endless lust for this one girl. The mom was worried about my social interaction, so she put me in a behavioral unit for juvenile delinquents. She also had me in an after-school program that was literally designed to make kids unhappy, probably because she wanted me out of her house as much as possible.
And to think I successfully refrained from suicide in that emotionally abusive household :bigass:
Quote from: Alps on January 27, 2015, 01:27:58 AM
High degree of autism spectrum correlation because of the tendency to want to put things in order, to have lists, and to devote oneself to one or a few highly specialized fields.
Same here.
Could be relevant to this thread: Beyond the catchphrase -
The pain and intransigence of obsessive-compulsive disorder motivates researchers plumbing its depths. (http://www.washingtonpost.com/sf/national/2016/03/21/beyond-the-catchphrase/)
QuoteThe computer screen and joystick are similar to those used with many virtual-reality games. It's just that at the New York State Psychiatric Institute, the players compete while lying inside a highly sensitive MRI scanner.
QuoteThe frontier in mental illness treatment: In the struggle over the future of psychiatry, researchers look deep within the brain to understand mental illness and find new therapeutic tools.
QuoteIn one challenge, the youths maneuver through a maze of corridors, searching for bright green dollar signs. Another tests their ability to recognize an error on the screen. All the while, the scanner is photographing "slices" of their brains. The ultimate reward is far more than a game: In the first clinical trial of its kind, those multi-band images are mapping the unknown territory of obsessive-compulsive disorder.
Quote from: cpzilliacus on March 25, 2016, 12:15:42 AM
Could be relevant to this thread: Beyond the catchphrase - The pain and intransigence of obsessive-compulsive disorder motivates researchers plumbing its depths. (http://www.washingtonpost.com/sf/national/2016/03/21/beyond-the-catchphrase/)
QuoteThe computer screen and joystick are similar to those used with many virtual-reality games. It's just that at the New York State Psychiatric Institute, the players compete while lying inside a highly sensitive MRI scanner.
QuoteThe frontier in mental illness treatment: In the struggle over the future of psychiatry, researchers look deep within the brain to understand mental illness and find new therapeutic tools.
QuoteIn one challenge, the youths maneuver through a maze of corridors, searching for bright green dollar signs. Another tests their ability to recognize an error on the screen. All the while, the scanner is photographing "slices" of their brains. The ultimate reward is far more than a game: In the first clinical trial of its kind, those multi-band images are mapping the unknown territory of obsessive-compulsive disorder.
I think I lack the words to describe my awe with how much more we are going to know about how brains work in even 10 years thanks to the wonders of fMRI. The word "revolutionary" has been diluted too much to convey how this is occurring, but it is exactly accurate.
I was diagnosed with schizophrenia when I was about 17. It's not a problem. I know how to rock it!
Just think: You have an honest-to-goodness schizophrenic posting on your forum! Some of you have even met me in person, so now you can accurately say you've met a person with schizophrenia.
This diagnosis still appears on my medical record (unless it's changed in the past 2 months), so I guess I still have it. Still not a problem. Not sure why I should be ashamed of it. I know other people who (by their own admission) would probably be diagnosed with it except they've never visited a shrink.
Think. Do. Be.
I have Asperger's Syndrome and moderate depression. I was verbally abused in middle school. In 8th grade, this one girl kept calling me "shorty". She was (and still is) shorter than me. What a hypocrite. I am only 5'6" and very self conscious about my height. I am almost 160 pounds (almost 30 lbs overweight), because I have an eating problem. The signals that tell my brain I'm full are impaired, and I can eat more food than people twice my size (e.g. I can eat a large pizza without getting full). I also have a short temper, especially towards adults. I am quite introverted, so outside of school, I don't talk much.
Well, one year later, and my post has been narrowed to anxiety, depression, and suicidal thoughts. Much better than autism, but 7th grade so far has been a uphill grade to combat.
I will remind everyone here to watch their language and be respectful of other posters.
Quote from: Tschiezberger123 on December 14, 2016, 09:22:26 PM
I have Asperger's Syndrome and moderate depression.
I have Asperger syndrome. Without the 's as Hans Asperger didn't have that. Another thing is Hutchinson's disease. Or Garcia Longares' syndrome (the nickname I gave to Pearson syndrome, after the case I befriended).
Quote from: noelbotevera on December 14, 2016, 10:25:30 PM
Well, one year later, and my post has been narrowed to anxiety, depression, and suicidal thoughts. Much better than autism, but 7th grade so far has been a uphill grade to combat.
If it's any comfort, 7th grade is an emotionally exhausting ordeal for lots of folks without such a list. (For some, it's probably because no one's made that list for them but should.) It's about the hardest point of growing up to get through for many more kids than you would ever believe.
Fortunately, the first and hardest step to coping strategies is knowing what you're dealing with, and you have that already.
Things will get better.
Quote from: Pete from Boston on December 15, 2016, 07:09:47 PM
Quote from: noelbotevera on December 14, 2016, 10:25:30 PM
Well, one year later, and my post has been narrowed to anxiety, depression, and suicidal thoughts. Much better than autism, but 7th grade so far has been a uphill grade to combat.
If it's any comfort, 7th grade is an emotionally exhausting ordeal for lots of folks without such a list. (For some, it's probably because no one's made that list for them but should.) It's about the hardest point of growing up to get through for many more kids than you would ever believe.
Fortunately, the first and hardest step to coping strategies is knowing what you're dealing with, and you have that already.
Things will get better.
And solutions have already been sought for such ordeals. I'm currently in therapy, and if needed I'll have to take medications. I'm trying to avoid medications, however.
But, considering that 7th grade has been an ordeal because of puberty, which I know of, I feel like I expected this, but not to hit me this hard. So, because of profane language over the last few months, I was hit with a 1 day suspension. It could've gone worse, but I'm not happy about it.
Quote from: bandit957 on December 14, 2016, 10:58:23 AM
I was diagnosed with schizophrenia when I was about 17. It's not a problem. I know how to rock it!
Just think: You have an honest-to-goodness schizophrenic posting on your forum! Some of you have even met me in person, so now you can accurately say you've met a person with schizophrenia.
This diagnosis still appears on my medical record (unless it's changed in the past 2 months), so I guess I still have it. Still not a problem. Not sure why I should be ashamed of it. I know other people who (by their own admission) would probably be diagnosed with it except they've never visited a shrink.
Think. Do. Be.
That's not really all that unique. I deal with a lot of mentally ill on a daily basis. Including various flavours of Alzheimer's and dementia. One of the floors in my place is pretty much all mentally ill.
XT1254
Quote from: Rothman on March 15, 2016, 01:23:47 PM
Quote from: Pete from Boston on March 14, 2016, 09:39:13 PM
Also, I know some of the most awkward, homely, fringy, super smart dudes that end up with the most gorgeous, well-adjusted women that appreciate them. If this doesn't happen where you live, just go to MIT.
Also known to happen with frightening frequency at BYU. Beautiful women; frumpy dudes.
Returned missionaries are a hot commodity at BYU. There is a lot of pressure on young Mormon men to do a 2 year mission devoted to the Lord, not do normal teenage stuff, not swim, limited contact with family, many times in a foreign country and then come home and get married and start popping out kids after a short courtship because "no sex until marriage"
For an introvert 2 years of evangelizing is hell. And then the pressure to meet cultural norms is rough.
Returned missionaries get the girls
I am glad I'm not Mormon one of my friends is... There are a lot of other issues but this is not the forum for it
LGMS428
Well, I am something of an introverted Mormon that served his two years as a missionary. Have to say, if anything, it helped me break out of my shell. Go through two years of having doors slammed in your face makes social interactions seem so much smaller and easier, including getting into relationships.
Of course returned missionaries get the girls! There are only a couple of good reasons for a good Mormon girl to get involved with a guy that hasn't or will not serve a mission and many more reasons for them to seek out returned missionaries. Sort of makes sense to seek out partners with common values and culture.
Quote from: jwolfer on December 18, 2016, 12:49:38 AMcome home and get married and start popping out kids after a short courtship because "no sex until marriage"
IME of friends, sexless courtships usually take slightly longer, than sex-filled dating when it comes to moving in, committing exclusively to someone, etc. The only difference that the sexless courtships bring marriage forward to that point as they see marriage as the commencement of that form of relationship, rather than the confirmation of it that those who do the cohabitation thing for a few years first.
I imagine that this slightly longer timeframe has to do in part with the higher level of commitment being made - for life (or longer if you are Mormon!), rather than something that can be undone. However there is the widespread (in both LDS and Protestant groups, no matter where on the cultural and theological conservative-liberal spectrums they are) over-elevation of marriage and seeing singleness as strangeness for special people creating pressure on people to pair up pronto that works to negate the lengthening effect that the more-at-stake nature of the decision to take the plunge has.
I have been plagued with several mental illnesses, with the most problematic being schizophrenia. Looking back on it, I started showing symptoms of OCD as early as 2010, but significantly starting in 2012 and 2013, and it became very severe starting in 2015. I joined this forum in July 2014, one month after I started showing symptoms of Major Depression & Generalized Anxiety Disorder in June 2014, which sapped my happiness. However, I seemed to have trooped along moderately okay until early 2015, which is when I started showing symptoms of several subtypes of Schizophrenia. This is when I really started to change, having hallucinations, delusions, paranoia, disorganized speech, and more. This is when I dropped off of the face of this forum, and why you haven't seen any trace of me in almost 2 years. Thankfully, I have been on both antidepressants and antipsychotics for over a year. The latter of which has helped me the most, as it has stunted further development of schizophrenia, and seems to have tamed it and saved me. If any of you show serious and numerous symptoms of schizophrenia, I think it is crucial that you seek a doctor, psychiatrist, psychologist, or all of the above (like I have), and if it is for certain or almost for certain that you have it, be put on antipsychotics medication (because believe me it helps) before any further damage is done. I will now strive to continue to contribute to this forum, and end my days of hiatus. Because of all of the aforementioned things I have developed in the last few years, sometimes I forget that I have Autism/Asperger's (which I have had my whole life), because everything else has become so problematic. Sorry for the length of this post, but it has been my first one since early 2015.
Regardless of what some point think, I do not have a any mental illnesses. I gained interest about roads and transportation when I was very young. My family took many road trips to Pennsylvania and to Florida and that's what pretty much what got me started. That's carried over to today where I still take many road trips (now on my own) and I still enjoy seeing progress on new road projects.
On a side note, I am also very interested in railroads. I'm less interested in public transit and air transportation. Mainly because I've hardly ever used either mode of transportation. Railroads are everywhere so it wasn't hard for me to find interest in those.
I have dysthemia, major depression and ADD. Currently on a few meds for this.
That having been said, I've always been fascinated by roads. When I was a kid, I'd always draw not only maps, but fictional drawings of roads, right down to lanes.
Meanwhile, back at the lab... (http://m.mentalfloss.com/article.php?id=90602)
Quote
Could Living Near a Highway Increase Your Risk of Dementia?
There are a number of reasons why it could be hazardous to live near a highway—noise and traffic ranking pretty high—but according to a new Canadian study in The Lancet, your risk of developing dementia could increase the closer you live to a major road.
In a study of more than 6 million people, researchers found a link between dementia development and a person's proximity to a major road, such as an interstate highway or parkway. People living less than 50 meters (164 feet) from a major road were 7 percent more likely to develop dementia than people who live more than 300 meters from one. The risk drops as you get further away, with a 4 percent higher chance at 50 to 100 meters away and a 2 percent higher chance at a distance of 101 to 200 meters. The study was conducted on people living in Ontario between 20 and 85 years old from 2001 to 2012.
This is mostly meant as an apology post, because I've been having a lot of shitposts back in 2015 and early 2016. I was just immature and forgot that this forum is pretty mature, and that I should post less and learn more. I eventually learned, so kudos to those had to put up with my bad posts. I didn't mean to be a troll.
I feel this is just a result of depression - people seem to not listen to me, and after the problems I've had in school, I guess I just didn't think right then. I'm working on improving my posting history, so I've been more quiet.
I have aspergers.
Quote from: Roadgeekteen on April 25, 2017, 09:02:03 PM
I have aspergers.
We have several people here who have Aspergers. Acknowledging it and working with it is half the battle from what others have told me.
Quote from: US71 on April 26, 2017, 12:00:13 AM
Quote from: Roadgeekteen on April 25, 2017, 09:02:03 PM
I have aspergers.
We have several people here who have Aspergers. Acknowledging it and working with it is half the battle from what others have told me.
I have it myself, and besides my attention meds, you'd hardly, if at all, know I'm diaganosed with it. Heck, sometimes
I forget I have it (because I've dealt with it/worked on it so well). :bigass:
I'm pretty sure I don't fall anywhere on the autism spectrum (I went to preschool and it was never mentioned there), so my weirdness and general obsession with weird topics seems to be more of a nurture/personality trait more than anything else. However, both sides of my family have exhibited symptoms of obsessive-compulsive disorder, and given some of my weird habits/preoccupations, it shouldn't come as a surprise that I inherited the illness. (You might notice that >75% of my posts have been edited–that's a result of me reading each of my posts multiple times and correcting small wording/grammar mistakes that I made in my first draft.)
Quote from: US71 on April 26, 2017, 12:00:13 AM
Quote from: Roadgeekteen on April 25, 2017, 09:02:03 PM
I have aspergers.
We have several people here who have Aspergers. Acknowledging it and working with it is half the battle from what others have told me.
I also think I have adhd, or at least it seems like I do.
Quote from: Roadgeekteen on April 30, 2017, 01:41:09 AM
Quote from: US71 on April 26, 2017, 12:00:13 AM
Quote from: Roadgeekteen on April 25, 2017, 09:02:03 PM
I have aspergers.
We have several people here who have Aspergers. Acknowledging it and working with it is half the battle from what others have told me.
I also think I have adhd, or at least it seems like I do.
Heh....I had a really early ADHD diagnosis back in the 1980s. The pills they used to give you for that kind of thing (Ritalin...which I'm not even sure if it is sold anymore) to help focus in school made you feel like a literal zombie. I used to pretend to take them because I didn't like how they made me feel, eventually I convinced my parents that I didn't need them. I have my doubts personally on how much of a "disorder" something like that truly is when you consider the symptoms include not liking boring things and having lots of energy.
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on April 30, 2017, 08:21:17 AM
Heh....I had a really early ADHD diagnosis back in the 1980s. The pills they used to give you for that kind of thing (Ritalin...which I'm not even sure if it is sold anymore) to help focus in school made you feel like a literal zombie. I used to pretend to take them because I didn't like how they made me feel, eventually I convinced my parents that I didn't need them. I have my doubts personally on how much of a "disorder" something like that truly is when you consider the symptoms include not liking boring things and having lots of energy.
I'm very skeptical of ADHD. When I was a kid they called it "being hyperactive" and "having a short attention span" and the cure was doing something constructive to burn off that energy. All of a sudden it became a "disorder" and they started medicating it.
Quote from: hbelkins on April 30, 2017, 04:46:19 PM
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on April 30, 2017, 08:21:17 AM
Heh....I had a really early ADHD diagnosis back in the 1980s. The pills they used to give you for that kind of thing (Ritalin...which I'm not even sure if it is sold anymore) to help focus in school made you feel like a literal zombie. I used to pretend to take them because I didn't like how they made me feel, eventually I convinced my parents that I didn't need them. I have my doubts personally on how much of a "disorder" something like that truly is when you consider the symptoms include not liking boring things and having lots of energy.
I'm very skeptical of ADHD. When I was a kid they called it "being hyperactive" and "having a short attention span" and the cure was doing something constructive to burn off that energy. All of a sudden it became a "disorder" and they started medicating it.
Exactly, it never seemed that far fetched to understand that something perceived as boring to a person might constitute a lack of attention to it. The irony is that through out Grade School and High School I couldn't find much in the way of topics that interested me and it was reflective in my GPA being 2.9. In college when I had not only an interest in my major given I was already underway into my career but a financial investment as well. My GPA through college was 3.9....really nothing had changed other than I had a reason to make the grades count.
As far as the "hyper-activity" part of the equation, I don't see how being active and wanting to constantly be active is a problem. For me the most relaxing thing to do with my free time is to occupy with some sort of engrossing activity. For me I think that is reflective in the volume of travel I do since I genuinely find it enjoyable and a much more relaxing time as opposed to staying on the couch. Hell even going to a movie and doing something productive like looking up the history on a subject that interests me keeps my mind active to which I also find enjoyable. I guess the worst thing I can think of to do is spend the day just sitting around and not having something productive to do.
But then again some people might really enjoy the reverse situation, does that make something like that a disorder as well?...because it sure seems to be what is perceived as the "normal way." Really though, it seems like that there was a spat of disorders that came into vogue as a popular diagnosis in the 1980s and 1990s. I'm pretty sure that most people would fall under one clinical definition or another given certain analysis.
I was diagnosed with ADHD as well, and drugged heavily, for years and years. It's a scam by the psychiatric industry and school officials.
Quote from: bandit957 on April 30, 2017, 11:10:04 PM
I was diagnosed with ADHD as well, and drugged heavily, for years and years. It's a scam by the psychiatric industry and school officials.
I wouldn't go as far as "conspiracy." Really back in those days it was pretty clear that the parental units as a whole seemed to be believe the problem was real. I can certainly say that I've met some folks that were in way worse shape in regards to ADHD and likely had some sort of higher level of mental impairment/learning disability than was probably diagnosed.
Hell, I remember in those days you had to be really careful getting your kid diagnosed with even a learning disorder. You could wind up on the short bus or the resource room pretty damn quick and be classified as a "slow kid."
Re: ADHD...
Nowadays it's called "ADHD." Thirty years ago, it was called "being a boy."
I have a mild form of Autism. Really mild form.
Quote from: kphoger on May 01, 2017, 01:11:30 PM
Nowadays it's called "ADHD." Thirty years ago, it was called "being a boy."
Quote from: bandit957 on April 30, 2017, 11:10:04 PM
I was diagnosed with ADHD as well, and drugged heavily, for years and years. It's a scam by the psychiatric industry and school officials.
There's a tiny handful of children who really do have it, to the point where new stimuli tosses aside any sort of behavioral pattern, or a sensory imbalance which constantly disrupts even the most basic activities (like eating and sleep). It's just that some parents are quick to label their children, and some do not understand that it's normal for kids to be (hyper)active on occasion, especially if they don't have enough time and place to make use of their growing bodies and metabolism.
Also, once a phrase enters the realm of popular psychology, it has a tendency to be over-used and under-scrutinized, even if in jest.
Quote from: kphoger on May 01, 2017, 01:11:30 PM
Re: ADHD...
Nowadays it's called "ADHD." Thirty years ago, it was called "being a boy."
Madd Alex would beg to differ: she has ADHD
Quote from: formulanone on May 01, 2017, 10:05:44 PM
Quote from: kphoger on May 01, 2017, 01:11:30 PM
Nowadays it's called "ADHD." Thirty years ago, it was called "being a boy."
Quote from: bandit957 on April 30, 2017, 11:10:04 PM
I was diagnosed with ADHD as well, and drugged heavily, for years and years. It's a scam by the psychiatric industry and school officials.
There's a tiny handful of children who really do have it, to the point where new stimuli tosses aside any sort of behavioral pattern, or a sensory imbalance which constantly disrupts even the most basic activities (like eating and sleep). It's just that some parents are quick to label their children, and some do not understand that it's normal for kids to be (hyper)active on occasion, especially if they don't have enough time and place to make use of their growing bodies and metabolism.
Also, once a phrase enters the realm of popular psychology, it has a tendency to be over-used and under-scrutinized, even if in jest.
Well I guess I don't have it.
Quote from: bandit957 on April 30, 2017, 11:10:04 PM
I was diagnosed with ADHD as well, and drugged heavily, for years and years. It's a scam by the psychiatric industry and school officials.
One of the school districts I went to pulled the same bullcrap. "Oh you don't like school? OH MY GOD!! YOU'RE MENTALLY INSANE!!!" - 99.99% of school districts.
A lot of people forget or are unaware that getting distracted very easily is a problem for people who actually have ADD, and some of the meds prescribed to treat the condition help with that issue considerably. And then there's the "hyperfocus" aspect of ADD, which can potentially be a strength in limited circumstances, but comes with its own downsides.
Seems there's a lot of misunderstanding and downplaying of ADD in this thread.
Sad.
I would say that ADD is overdiagnosed as a result of kids being expected to sit still and act like adults through long school days combined with the practice of evaluating kids by grade rather than age (since kids in a grade can be nearly a whole year apart simply by an accident of what month they were born in; there's actually a correlation between increased ADD diagnoses and kids who were born towards the end of the school year), but it is also a legitimate condition that some people have. The two are not mutually exclusive.
Despite what the Church of Scientology and batshit hippies might say, psych meds are the real deal. They can save your life. They don't help everybody but just because they don't help you, don't come to the conclusion that they help nobody.
Quote from: bugo on May 25, 2017, 11:26:24 PM
Despite what the Church of Scientology and batshit hippies might say, psych meds are the real deal. They can save your life. They don't help everybody but just because they don't help you, don't come to the conclusion that they help nobody.
I think to some degree they are over-prescribed. I've seen doctors simply write prescriptions without attempting to diagnose the problem. I knew someone about 30 years ago who got the wrong meds and killed himself in the hospital.
Quote from: bugo on May 25, 2017, 11:26:24 PM
Despite what the Church of Scientology and batshit hippies might say, psych meds are the real deal. They can save your life. They don't help everybody but just because they don't help you, don't come to the conclusion that they help nobody.
A lot of it is dependent on getting the right medication and the right dose. 25 mg of "Pill A" may not help you, but 20 mg of "Pill B" may be just what you need.
Speaking of meds, I have seen doctors and usually with them and depression meds its all trial and error. TV gets it wrong when you go to a shrink, lay down and spill your guts while the doc answers probing questions to isolate where your bad feelings are coming from. In real life you tell them your symptoms like loss of interest or eating too much and wham you have a prescription in your hand being told to return a week later to see if that is working.
I had trouble getting over rejection of a girl I asked out. Had absolutely no romantic feelings for her and even prepared myself for her saying no, but became obsessed anyway. Not toward her at all, but my mind kept focusing by itself and it was driving me crazy as I wanted to move on with my life and not be thinking about a petty situation. I went to Raritan Bay Mental Health Center as I was unaware at the time Health Insurance covers that stuff and all I had to do was tell my primary care the issue and he could have recommended a shrink of his and the HMO's choice with no copay and deductable. I told their interns (as because it was like a free clinic, you get fresh out of college therapists who are not able even to prescribe meds at all) my situation and all I got was to join a rap group with activities catered toward age regression adolescents or partially challenged individuals. No concern at all for my obsession, and even tried to shame me into mentioning the petty turn down, not figuring out I could be having Aspergers or even Mild Autism and telling me to see my own family doctor for recommendation to see a specialist.
I even told him I have no interest in things and that I have to live my life for others. He said, you need to live for yourself, which is true and he pointed that out to me of course, but did not seem concerned at all and ask probing questions to diagnose a solution and maybe even realize that I could have a spectrum that is uncurable and needs a real doctor to treat.
Necro bump, just because I feel like sharing this.
I have schizoaffective, and I developed it in August of last year. I used to hallucinate all the time shortly after I developed it(now I only do a little bit). It happened a lot when driving - I would see police, flashing lights in the distance, billboards on fire, and signs telling me I was stupid. I have to wonder if this is my brain hijacking my interest in roads for those hallucinations.
Quote from: index on March 25, 2022, 03:57:13 PM
Necro bump, just because I feel like sharing this.
I have schizoaffective, and I developed it in August of last year. I used to hallucinate all the time shortly after I developed it(now I only do a little bit). It happened a lot when driving - I would see police, flashing lights in the distance, billboards on fire, and signs telling me I was stupid. I have to wonder if this is my brain hijacking my interest in roads for those hallucinations.
Yikes that's not good. Can you still drive or not? Hope it keeps getting better.
Quote from: index on March 25, 2022, 03:57:13 PM
Necro bump, just because I feel like sharing this.
I have schizoaffective, and I developed it in August of last year. I used to hallucinate all the time shortly after I developed it(now I only do a little bit). It happened a lot when driving - I would see police, flashing lights in the distance, billboards on fire, and signs telling me I was stupid. I have to wonder if this is my brain hijacking my interest in roads for those hallucinations.
That sounds like a terrible thing to be going through. My condolences. I hope you're getting the care you need to help you through it.
Quote from: Roadgeekteen on March 25, 2022, 04:22:51 PM
Quote from: index on March 25, 2022, 03:57:13 PM
Necro bump, just because I feel like sharing this.
I have schizoaffective, and I developed it in August of last year. I used to hallucinate all the time shortly after I developed it(now I only do a little bit). It happened a lot when driving - I would see police, flashing lights in the distance, billboards on fire, and signs telling me I was stupid. I have to wonder if this is my brain hijacking my interest in roads for those hallucinations.
Yikes that's not good. Can you still drive or not? Hope it keeps getting better.
Yeah, I can still drive. It definitely affected my driving, like I'd see fake police and slow down because I constantly speed, but it never got to the point of impairing it, and 99% of the time I'm able to tell when my hallucinations are fake.
Quote from: SectorZ on March 25, 2022, 05:03:14 PM
Quote from: index on March 25, 2022, 03:57:13 PM
Necro bump, just because I feel like sharing this.
I have schizoaffective, and I developed it in August of last year. I used to hallucinate all the time shortly after I developed it(now I only do a little bit). It happened a lot when driving - I would see police, flashing lights in the distance, billboards on fire, and signs telling me I was stupid. I have to wonder if this is my brain hijacking my interest in roads for those hallucinations.
That sounds like a terrible thing to be going through. My condolences. I hope you're getting the care you need to help you through it.
Yeah, I'm fortunately getting it taken care of. I was just in the hospital for it recently but I got out today. Honestly, the hallucinations, although sometimes frightening, aren't even the worst part of it, the affective part is - unstable mood. I have been in some horribly low lows that I'd count as some of the worst moments of my life.
I have bipolar type schizoaffective. What schizoaffective is is essentially a combination diagnosis when symptoms of bipolar disorder or depression + schizophrenia occur independently of each other. Fortunately I do not get the delusional part of schizophrenia (except when I would use weed, which would trigger my symptoms. So far I have quit, hopefully for good).
Quote from: index on March 25, 2022, 03:57:13 PM
I have schizoaffective, and I developed it in August of last year. I used to hallucinate all the time shortly after I developed it(now I only do a little bit). It happened a lot when driving - I would see police, flashing lights in the distance, billboards on fire, and signs telling me I was stupid. I have to wonder if this is my brain hijacking my interest in roads for those hallucinations.
I don't mean to make light of this, because that sounds awful and I'm glad it's not happening so frequently. But since this is a roadgeek forum, I just gotta ask–were the signs you saw MUTCD-compliant?
I've mentioned in another thread that I think I may have inattentive-type ADHD. Several of my friends have it, and I can see the same symptoms they have in myself. What's worse, is I think it's getting worse with age. My brain often fuzzes over and I am becoming more and more forgetful. What really sucks is the executive dysfunction, though. Nothing's worse than wanting and
needing to do something to make money or pay taxes or whatever and yet instead of getting it done I keep ending up browsing some stupid Wikipedia page or something. Sometimes I even end up in the Sports forum here. I don't even like sports, why am I reading the Sports forum?
Quote from: Scott5114 on March 25, 2022, 06:38:10 PM
Quote from: index on March 25, 2022, 03:57:13 PM
I have schizoaffective, and I developed it in August of last year. I used to hallucinate all the time shortly after I developed it(now I only do a little bit). It happened a lot when driving - I would see police, flashing lights in the distance, billboards on fire, and signs telling me I was stupid. I have to wonder if this is my brain hijacking my interest in roads for those hallucinations.
I don't mean to make light of this, because that sounds awful and I'm glad it's not happening so frequently. But since this is a roadgeek forum, I just gotta ask—were the signs you saw MUTCD-compliant?
Yeeup. I remember, I read a real yellow diamond sign, except instead of saying what it was supposed to say it said
"YOU
DUMB
BITCH"
in crystal-clear series D.
I'm so sorry to hear you've been going through this, and I hope it continues to improve.
I have rarely had hallucinations, but I tend to deal most with delusions and paranoia. These seem to have become a permanent fixture after an incident back in Summer 2018 that made me extremely fearful and paranoid; however, thankfully, my psychosis has gradually been improving after a recent low in late 2020 (although there were even lower lows, separately in early 2015 and early 2017).