Does anyone feel more energized by social interaction?

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MartyMoose
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05 Dec 2009, 12:47 am

Am I an anomoly?



Maggiedoll
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05 Dec 2009, 2:07 am

A lot of times I'll have lots of nervous energy.. I'll be all bouncy and babbly and stuff.. but I don't think that's really being energized.. it's being nervous.



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05 Dec 2009, 2:11 am

I think it just depends on whether it is a good or bad experience. You must be having a lot of good experiences, so count your blessings. :)


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wormsto
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05 Dec 2009, 3:39 am

yes. social interaction is great! except that i hardly have any social skills :(


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visagrunt
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05 Dec 2009, 5:04 am

Not for me. No matter how positive the environment, I have to put quite a bit of effort into higher cognition--keeping track of conversations, people; trying to interpret non-verbal cues. The brain is a huge consumer of food energy, and by the time a social event is over, I am usually pretty wiped.


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05 Dec 2009, 10:02 am

visagrunt wrote:
Not for me. No matter how positive the environment, I have to put quite a bit of effort into higher cognition--keeping track of conversations, people; trying to interpret non-verbal cues. The brain is a huge consumer of food energy, and by the time a social event is over, I am usually pretty wiped.


Do you feel this way even around the people close to you?


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RampionRampage
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05 Dec 2009, 10:08 am

After a glass of wine, maybe.
But the thing is killed either later that night or the next day when I retroactively fret about what I said/did.

Exceptions being my roommate. I never feel uncomfortable with him, unless there is somethign specific to be uncomfortable about.


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kclark
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05 Dec 2009, 10:39 am

You must have an extroverted personality.
I am definitely an introvert. I get really tired when around people for long. This happens even with my best friend. It is like I run out of things to say and do and need to recharge. Sometimes I wonder if that is because I see myself as so boring that there is nothing I am doing or thinking about that would be of interest to them.
The exception to this is when we are actively doing one of my special interests like playing a board game or rpg. I can do that with people for many hours, but as soon as the games end it is like my timer has run out and all I want is to go home or have them go home.
Alcohol does not really help with this. Every once in a long time I feel like up to interacting like at a party, but it is so rare and never seems to coincide with any party that is going on. Plus most of my friends don't even bother to invite me to most of the parties because they know I usually decline.



Lonermutant
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05 Dec 2009, 10:40 am

I personally feel as if my iq sinks below 65 when I'm around people for a longer time.



RampionRampage
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05 Dec 2009, 11:08 am

kclark wrote:
You must have an extroverted personality.
The exception to this is when we are actively doing one of my special interests like playing a board game or rpg. I can do that with people for many hours, but as soon as the games end it is like my timer has run out and all I want is to go home or have them go home.


The only people I really spend time with are going to be folks who share my interests --- any other group, I say not a word. The group I used to hang out with met once a month, which made it easier for me because I knew when we would get together. Unfortunately, the person who ran the show decided I'm the antichrist, so I am group-less and only spend time with one or two people at a time, at max.

The only time that I'm really exposed to people I don't want to be around for social reasons is family. That glass of wine turns into eight and it's still not enough. :x


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beingme
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05 Dec 2009, 11:12 am

you're a lucky one then.

i'm only happy for about the first 1/3 of the night, the next 1/3 i'm busy figuring out when i could leave and what excuse i'm giving if i'm leaving early, by the last 1/3 i'm constantly checking the time (i know it's rude, can't control it). once i get home i usually get insomnia from all the stress. but the next time my friends organise something, i still go because i love them and it makes them happy when i turn up :D

how come you feel so energized? share tips?



MartyMoose
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05 Dec 2009, 11:20 am

I have a very extroverted personality. Maybe it's my ADHD



RoisinDubh
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05 Dec 2009, 11:34 am

In my case, this totally varies by mood. At certain times, I don't want anyone near me, even close friends, but at other times, I do crave social interaction, albeit only with people with whom I'm comfortable.


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b9
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05 Dec 2009, 11:47 am

Quote:
Does anyone feel more energized by social interaction?


i never have much successful social interaction because i am unable to make it to other people's worlds in order to listen to them. their world of thought is so far away from mine, that i must reach my escape velocity to excur from my world and visit theirs to listen to what they say.
i can not do that as yet and i am stranded happily in my own world.

i have been forced (kind of) to attend social events, and i simply retreated to where i could not be talked to.

i consider uninvited attention to be a kind of trespassing on my private mind, and i can not think of how to politely tell them to go away. i also can not continue to listen to whatever prattle they say for more than a few seconds, so they get insulted that i am not in their neighborhood of thought and they go away.
it is good that people give up on me rapidly, but i wish i did not have to be there in the first place.

when i am pressed for many responses, my "response battery" quickly goes dead, and within minutes or even 40 seconds, i am unable to respond to what they are saying.

i have to be rude and say "i am sorry i am not interested and i have lost interest" so they will stop talking at me.

i feel very burned out after trying not to offend people in a social situation that i am compelled to attend.

it is a constant chore at work related parties (where i am told that i "must" worry about the impression i give) to placate disgruntled people who say they are not happy with what i say.

people are automatically distant from me, and they only sheepishly approach me if they are interested in my mental defects or if they want to touch me.

i do not live in the world of mankind.
i do not enjoy spending time away from my solitude.



RampionRampage
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05 Dec 2009, 11:57 am

beingme wrote:
you're a lucky one then.

i'm only happy for about the first 1/3 of the night, the next 1/3 i'm busy figuring out when i could leave and what excuse i'm giving if i'm leaving early, by the last 1/3 i'm constantly checking the time (i know it's rude, can't control it). once i get home i usually get insomnia from all the stress. but the next time my friends organise something, i still go because i love them and it makes them happy when i turn up :D

how come you feel so energized? share tips?


Those numbers sound about right. I'm great for awhile, then I usually 'tune out' as much as I can and focus only on one person. This makes it essential that I attend a social gathering with someone who is okay with being a sort of social crutch. Then I do bow out if I need to, even if it's early. If people are offended... oh, well. I'd rather they think I'm annoying for leaving early, than end up being short and rude with everyone because I'm too overloaded to handle them (this is where the family = eight drinks comes in, ugh).

I guess I made it sound like I have more freedom than I do, lol. There are things that *need* to happen for me to feel good in a social situation. I just stick to them so consistently and have such rare occasions to use them that I don't really think about it as a restriction.
And, the less I worry while i'm /in/ the social situation, the more obsessive I am later when I'm replaying things in my mind.

I'm not sure I necessarily prefer feeling 'freer' during social events as opposed to being more cognitive about it. They both have massive down sides.


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Oisin
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05 Dec 2009, 12:09 pm

An anomaly is any occurrence or object that is strange, unusual, or unique. It can also mean a discrepancy or deviation from an established rule or trend.

So you might be the exeption of the rule. I don't mind being with a small group of people I know, but not too long. But we are all different. I don't like to stick people into a pigeon hole. If you have symptom or behaviour A,B,C and D than you have Asperger and if you have symptom E,B,A, and F you are a bi-polar if you have all the symptoms minus A, and D on Sunday morning, you are schizophrenic.
Just be yourself.