SAUK Discussion Board

Go Back   SAUK Discussion Board > Social Anxiety Discussions > Other Issues and Conditions
Join! Blogs FAQ Calendar Search Today's Posts Mark Forums Read

Notices

Reply  Post New Thread
 
Thread Tools
  #1  
Old 15th December 2018, 00:51
firemonkey firemonkey is offline
Banned at own request
 
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: Calne,Wiltshire
Posts: 6,597

Mood
Doubtful

Default Social interaction and severe mental illness

I’ll freely admit social interaction problems are my greatest deficit. With whether it being to do with mental illness or more to do with co-morbid things a point of debate.

It’s comparatively easier online but still not easy. I don’t know about the USA and elsewhere but here in the UK it’s something that very much overlooked with the primary, and overwhelming, focus on things like delusions and hallucinations.

They can say you have poor social skills but very little is ever done to help you remedy the situation and improve them. Indeed NICE don’t even see social skills training as an essential part of treatment.

Some people instinctively pick up the unwritten rules of social engagement but people like me really struggle with it especially in meatspace. We don’t know how and when to approach people. We really struggle to initiate conversations. Making small talk doesn’t come easy. Timing -knowing when to interject into a conversation-is especially problematic in group settings .

For me the difficulties rate as quite severe/severe. If I said I don’t really know how to make friends that wouldn’t be a lie.

As it is I’ve become quite asocial(as opposed to anti social) and make very little attempt to proactively engage with others in meatspace. People getting too close and wanting to be too personal has me going into avoidant mode and feeling very awkward.

You could count on one hand the number of friends I’ve had in meatspace over 61 years.
Reply With Quote
  #2  
Old 15th December 2018, 03:03
newbs16 newbs16 is offline
Member
 
Join Date: Nov 2012
Posts: 13,285
Blog Entries: 1
Default Re: Social interaction and severe mental illness

What is meatspace?
Reply With Quote
  #3  
Old 15th December 2018, 03:10
firemonkey firemonkey is offline
Banned at own request
 
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: Calne,Wiltshire
Posts: 6,597

Mood
Doubtful

Default Re: Social interaction and severe mental illness

meatspace in British
(***712;mi***720;t***716;spe***618;s )
noun
slang
the real physical world, as contrasted with the world of cyberspace
Collins English Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers


https://www.collinsdictionary.com/di...lish/meatspace
Reply With Quote
  #4  
Old 16th December 2018, 02:46
newbs16 newbs16 is offline
Member
 
Join Date: Nov 2012
Posts: 13,285
Blog Entries: 1
Default Re: Social interaction and severe mental illness

^ Oh okay thank you for your reply.
Reply With Quote
  #5  
Old 16th December 2018, 17:30
firemonkey firemonkey is offline
Banned at own request
 
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: Calne,Wiltshire
Posts: 6,597

Mood
Doubtful

Default Re: Social interaction and severe mental illness

I'm due the start of the ASD assessment process in February. I am not sure I will fit though because I'm not certain I meet the early onset of symptoms criteria.It's hard to tell as the only person who knew me as a toddler is my 88 year old father who has admitted his memories of my early years aren't good. Having said that atypical autism might cover it.

The point about instincts is good. I seem to lack that natural ability re knowing how to interact with people. I get anxious re social interaction. That traces back to social anxiety and a measure of paranoia due to being bullied at public school because I was physically and socially awkward. Not knowing what to do certainly doesn't help either.
I would say though not knowing what to do and the possible reactions due to that fuels the largest part of it.

My confidence is low . I don't have much faith in my ability to do things. That may stem from a probable, though undiagnosed, learning difficulty where my verbal intelligence is much higher than my non-verbal(practical) intelligence. I also have quite strong signs of dyspraxia though again not diagnosed as such. At 61 I come from a generation where such things were scarcely recognised, or picked up on ,especially if you were seen to be fairly intelligent.
Reply With Quote
  #6  
Old 7th January 2019, 01:48
Austere_Lemur Austere_Lemur is offline
Member
 
Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: London
Posts: 155

Mood
Grumpy

Default Re: Social interaction and severe mental illness

I was diagnosed with Social Anxiety Disorder when I attended university at age 18 (when everyone was expected to attend university since I attended a private school and gap years weren't even an option).

When I started GCSEs (I'm talking UK), I tried to reach out to the school counsellor, but things were so crappy even then. I mean that the school head-mistress and chaplain threatened my Mum with legal action like Social Services and Child Protection Services - the school was so ill-equipped to deal with these issues that they threatened the worst things possible. You can imagine how my Mum (and my Dad) reacted. To be honest, I have the best parents in the world (they support me, for the most part - I can't, at the very least, complain about that!).

But my secondary school was just so ill-equipped. I hope very much that my case helped the school for its future - I mean I was very much a test case and my whole educational career went to shit because no one knew how to handle me (they legit treated me like a ticking time bomb).

I hope that things have changed since then; I can't even begin to fathom those who were pre-millennium...
Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools

Forum Jump


All times are GMT +1. The time now is 08:54.


SAUK Award
Logo designed by abc
Powered by vBulletin
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.