Severe Inferiority Complex

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For most of my life i have had a Severe Inferiority Complex which over the past 5 years i had been able to, for the most part, suppress but over the past week it has been resurfacing and has been pushing me away from all my friends and gotten me really depressed, been contemplating suicide(i dont even agree with suicide) and have been told by 3 of my female friends that i need to smile and that i look as if im about to cry

That sounds very difficult, I've had times where I've felt like I wasn't good enough, I guess everyone has times when they go through depression, I always remind myself when I'm going through a spot of depression that it's just a mindset or a mood and that it will pass.

well its always there just usually pretty manageable and now i dont know how to manage it i used to just bury it but its not working anymore and i just dont know what to do im scared of pushing my friends away to the point where they leave me thats usually how it happens, its happened 3 times now in my life at different times

In ways we are all inferior--at least at some things. By the same token, there are things we are superior at. For me, becoming very good at the things that obsess me more than makes up for my inadequacies, which are legion.

For me, part of being an aspie is being who I am. In particular, I'm no diplomat. So let me come right out and say it: I notice you identify as a strident atheist. As an agnostic, it has been my experience that those who identify as atheist don't so much not believe in God as hate God. As one who neither believes nor disbelieves in a divine being, I encourage others to be religious. Religion on the whole is a healthy thing. Bearing this in mind, could it be that you have a problem with God?

I also noticed your quotes. I maintain just the opposite approach. For me, happiness is being able to accept things for what they are rather than what I may want them to be, beginning with myself.

King, I haven't figure out how to quote from a reply, but this reply is to yours:

I don't mean to sound patronizing, but if you're seventeen (or even a couple of years older now), you're really just beginning in life. I'm not much into pop culture, but I did see one movie perhaps you can identify with: Scarface. If you saw it, please recall the scene where Tony and his partner were sitting on the beach discussing women. Tony was right when he said that the way to get the women is to have money.

When you find what your talents and develop them, the money will come, as well as deserved self-esteem. In addition to being financially secure, it's been my experience women want a man who is emotionally secure as well. I can only speak for myself, but at seventeen I was an unholy mess. I really didn't become completely comfortable in my own skin until I was in my late thirties.

As far as religion goes, I'm NOT trying to proselytize; I'm not a believer myself, and wouldn't be caught in a church anyway, as I can't deal with crowds. In my opinion you would have been better off asking something to the effect of: Religion is good compared to what? My answer would be: Between 1917 and 1976--in fifty-nine years--the left managed to kill 120 MILLION innocent people if we include fascism. All the religious wars in history wouldn't amount to more than a tiny fraction of that number.

Religion is good because it provides a stable, immutable set of values. When humanitarians would gently chide the communists over their horrific governing ways, the standard reply was that they didn't accept "bourgeois morality". In other words, when nothing is forbidden, all is permitted. Who is to say that killing twenty or thirty million innocent people is wrong if you create your own moral code?

I would add that few people have the ability or inclination to work out an acceptable moral code. In fact, nobody does. What Christianity in particular does is provide a ready-made code for living that will keep the individual out of trouble. It has worked well for the better part of two thousand years. (I'm not out to disparage other religions; it's just that Christianity is the tradition of the US, and the one with which I'm most familiar.)

I can offer you some deeper explanations if you are interested, but I don't care to digress too much in this forum. You are welcome to PM me if you wish.

Inferiority complexes go with AS. First, they are a common component of the "unknown goody assortment" that is high-functioning autism-- perfectionism + black-and-white thinking + a tendency to take others' self-promotion at face value = inferiority complex.

Second, they're pretty well reinforced by the available literature and quite a few of the attitudes that are prevalent in the, ahem, therapeutic community.

A nurse in the psych ward where I spent this late summer said something very profound: Arguing with those negative thoughts empowers them. Try ignoring them instead. As follows:

Inaccurate Thought: "You know, I really suck. More than other people."

You: "Hello, Inaccurate Thought. You are in inaccurate thought. Bye."

Inaccurate Thought: "Yeah, right. You so deep in deNile that you're being eaten by de crocodiles."

You: "You're an inaccurate thought. Bye."

Inaccurate Thought: "OPEN YOUR EYES, f**ktard!!"

You: "That's a nice cloud over there..."

Everything about an inferiority complex makes it a vicious circle. You can get out of it, but it takes self-respect and it has to be defended tooth and nail. Don't mean to pry but how is your complex expressed?