Neurodivergent_lou

@neuro_lou

Aug 25 • 7 tweets • 2 min read Twitter logo

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Autistic and Hating to be Perceived…

All slides have my username @neurodivergent_lou in the bottom left hand corner. All slides have a light background with blackboard with black text. Slide 1: Text reads- Autistic and hating to be perceived.

Slide 2: Text reads- As an autistic person, I hate to be perceived by other people and I didn't realise that this was potentially related to being autistic. Obviously, not every autistic person hates to be perceived and some autistic people may absolutely love it! For me, the potential of being perceived can lead to a variety of different feelings including heavy anxiety, a deep sense of discomfort and an 'I want to hide and not be seen' feeling.

Slide 3: Text reads- Here are some examples of how hating being perceived may show up... Hating being watched while doing a task. Struggling to answer questions from other people due to worrying about how they may perceive us. Struggling with hearing other people's opinions of us. Avoiding situations with other people.

Slide 4: Text reads- Here are some examples of how hating being perceived may show up... Disliking posting on social media, in case we are perceived. Wearing clothes that allow us to blend in, to avoid being perceived. Struggling with occassions where we will be perceived E.g. Our birthday. Avoiding situations with other people.

Slide 5: Text reads- Why may autistic people struggle with being perceived? Fear of being misunderstood or rejected when we are perceived. The potential of someone seeing an unmasked version of ourself. Not always being able to judge how people are perceiving us at the time. E.g. Due to struggling to interpret facial expressions.

Slide 6: Text reads- Why may autistic people struggle with being perceived? The transition between being perceived and not perceived. Struggling to understand our own sense of self and identity. The unpredictability of not knowing how we are being perceived by other people. Black and White thinking and feeling the need to be perfect when perceived by others.

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All slides have a light green background with black text. All slides have my username @neurodivergent_lou in the bottom left hand corner. Slide 1: Text reads- I thought I was depressed when in face, I was experiencing autistic burnout.

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Slide 2: Text reads- Autistic people sometimes laugh at inappropriate times. This can be because we struggle to understand social cues so sometimes we might react in a way that is unexpected. Laughing can also be a way to respond to strong emotions. Sometimes for example, when I am anxious, I laugh as it is an automatic response to that feeling. It is not me laughing at anyone, it is just something that I do. We laugh at inappropriate times.

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All slides have a grey background with black text. All slides have my username @neurodivergent_lou in the bottom left hand corner. Slide 1: Text reads- Autistic and ‘over-reacting to the little things.’

Slide 2: Text reads- As autistic people, we may sometimes feel like we are over-reacting, being dramatic or 'too much'. We may react strongly to something perceived as 'little' to other people. And that can make us feel like there is something wrong with us or that we 'just need to try harder' to not over-react.

Slide 3: Text reads - Autistic people may grow up being told: 'Stop overreacting.' 'You need to just calm down.' 'You make a big deal out of everything.' ‘Don't be so dramatic.' 'The world won't end.'

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