Social isolation increases risk of early death, study finds

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hiya DrThunder welcome to our cool club
you are one of my college heroes in that i've never been able to finish college or even start it in earnest.

I hear you; I feel the same way. I retired some years ago & am living in a rural area where I don't fit in (kinda like the old U.S. cowboy movie towns, nothing but bars and churches); never had nor wanted kids, not religious, not outdoorsy, born without the creative gene & that seems to be all that other women in my age group around here are interested in. I admit moving to nearer to civilization most likely wouldn't bring me any more friends but at least I'd be somewhere with more stuff I'm interested in. But unable to move for various reasons, so here I am; I am thankful for the internet but do get very lonely.

hmmmmm..... I wonder what proportion of us are city aspies versus country aspies? I think i'll make a thread.....

I dont think this would hold for aspies....unless you take our animal friends away.....
then i would get lonely from missing my animal friends.

The adverse health effects of social isolation needs more mention; as well as inspirational stories of people esp. with Aspergers who have broken that cycle of social isolation.

I find it helps to go to familiar places with familiar people as often as possible; opportunities to work with our strengths to get to our (social) weaknesses so to speak!

I had found that reading Daniel Tammet's 'Born on a Blue Day', and viewing his 45 minute YouTube Documentary 'Brainman' boosts hope!

Tammet was able to "break the ice" and establish friendships by volunteering after high-school in Lithuania (just after it gained independence from Russia - as it was in need of Western aid).

Tammet's story offered one challenging example of "stepping out of his comfort zone" to develop friendships. Most efforts "to break the ice" so to speak" can be done much closer to home!

Daniel Tammet http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_Tammet

I've thought about social isolation a great deal over my long life... I'm 72. Most people (I resist calling them NTs) are genuinely interested in the story of other people's lives. They think about what is going on with their friends and wondering what is happening to them when they aren't together. I NEVER do that... do you? It's like soap operas... can you watch them? Care about them? Follow the plot lines?

I have a couple of kids, and one of them is really really social. She's in her 40's now and is still in contact with friends from her childhood... but anyway, when they were little, and we would go to a movie, and later I would hear her giving a recap of the movie it was amazing. She was so clear about the story and the plot. Her experience was so different than mine. She's a lawyer now... I bet there aren't many Aspie lawyers?

There's mercy left in this world yet.

like dan ackroyd and steve jobs, there seems to be a select group of AS folk who can emulate NTs very well in the social graces. your daughter seems to have been blessed in a similar way. I think gifted-level Intelligence is the gist of it, they can cognitively "brute force" or outwit their way through most things.

I hope things are different for people who are wired like us, because I'm almost completely solitary and I work the night shift. Not that I have some grand, compelling reason to live a long time anyway...

I just thought maybe this would cheer you up (or at least it cheered me up), I don't know how many friends this man has, but he is single ... and 108 year old.

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/meet-a ... ar-AA7COoy