I know I have AS (yet to be Dx) but I am not sure what (if anything) else I have.
I posted this on another AS site today (before coming here). These were the examples I gave -:
Many times Aspies here have given examples of things that people have done/said to them, and it is the motivation behind them wanting to withdraw from society and never trust people again (or at least this is their gut reaction).
I (and perhaps others) have held resentment for people that wronged me in the past and feel as though they should apologize to me, even after years.
I have often held on to thing I have said or done to others for years. Then when I build up the courage to address this matter with the person and apologize (via email, because I cannot face them in person due to the shame I feel – even if it is something that most people would have forgotten or seen as negligible) they always say that there is no need to apologize, or they had forgotten about it.
(Does anyone believe, as I do, that telling someone who says sorry that there is nothing to apologize for, somehow trivializes the apologizer’s feelings? I get the feeling that people think that saying there is nothing to apologize for, is what the apologizer wants to hear. But for me it isn’t. If I have carried something like this for 10 years, then it is very important to me.)
Or even worse – you get no reply whatsoever. (Is that an NT thing? I get the feeling that Aspies ALWAYS reply)
When I don't get replies my mind just comes up with the worse scenarios and thoughts that people must have toward me
(Some NTs would say that I was a coward if I cannot face people in person to apologize and that an apology in writing means nothing to them and is perhaps even an insult. But my fear of confrontation is the main disabler.)
What I want to hear in response to me saying sorry is, “Thank you. I accept your apology and you can consider the matter closed.” This seems to be the only way I can feel I can get closure.
I feel some kind of need to physically visit places where I used to live (especially the house I grew up in from 0-17 years) as some kind of way of putting the past into present perspective.
I often dream about being back at school or in the Army, where I speak to people and say/do things I had wished I was able to do where I was there in real life, 25 – 35 years ago.
Similarly I feel like I need to reconcile with everyone I ever knew, to apologize for how I was. As if telling them I have Asperger’s would make it all acceptable and they will understand who I am and know why I was like I was.
Just posting this brings up all the things that I know people would just keep telling me I should let go and move on. But as with ALL of the stronger thoughts and behaviors I have identified in me, I suspect that this one could be another Asperger’s trait.
If it is the case then yet another piece of the puzzle will fall into place.
All of these things contribute to reconciling my behavior and thoughts within myself.
I know it is an unhealthy kind of obsession and I know I need to be able to get over these things, but it is hard when you feel so strongly about such things.