How adaptable is a middleaged AS brain?

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Please help me think clearly on this. I am between special interests at the moment and it is kind of depressing. Can I avoid
getting a new one, in the interests of developing those parts of my brain that I don't use so much, like mingling with people?
I would never do this to my child - take away his games for example - but is it possible to volunteer for this?

Part of me says that I would just have a meltdown, that I have a string of a certain length wrapped around my brain, not a rubber band.
I know I have ignored my own needs disastrously in the past.

What if I took the same amount of "Time Out" that I needed to recover and recalibrate, but I didn't fill it with anything outwardly interesting? For example instead of going online and reading stuff, I spent the same amount of time in prayer and meditation.
And keeping daily life as dull as possible - no music, no fiction, no escapist films.

Then, shouldn't I be healthy, relaxed, alert *and* motivated to talk to people?

(I haven't forgotten that their willingness is a factor too)

Much of what you're saying sounds like a self fulfilling prophecy.
Yes your brain IS still adaptable if you believe it is.

I think those things might help but without a save environment to help you make the changes you want it will be a slow process.
I recommend choosing an interest that can help you adapt that includes people that aren't so shallow as to not allow you to make some mistakes. For example one thing that I did 7 years ago has helped me very much: I joined (and stuck with) Toastmasters.
While I am NOT a social butterfly I have improved a lot: I make eye contact now, can listen to a 'normal' conversation, and not dominate things as much as I used to.

If you want to improve you can but it might be very slow - you're fighting genetics but that doesn't mean you can't figure a way around it.
JD

Possible, but be careful of too much thinking like this. Many people push themselves well beyond their limits by assuming that limits are all in the mind and things like that.

I'm not saying the limits are in his mind; I am saying though that if you believe you CAN'T do something odds are that you won't be able to. The brain keeps growing new connections as long as it has a reason to.
As with any kind of 'change' he should start small in an environment where it is safe to fail and try again.

I think you have hit a window of change, which happens from time to time, it can be one year of a
particular interest or a life time, but if you hit a window of change then it gets a little rough,it could be a co-morbid condition is getting on top of you, depression maybe, see your GP and discuss tri-cyclic anti-depressants which seem to work better with AS than re-uptake SSRI's, you will develop another special interest, but that's cool and nothing to worry about, you will just be more aware that your interest is your personal property and not for disscussion with others, your writing seems a little obsessive at the moment so check out with your doctor OCD, again tri-cyclic
anti-depressants help with social phobias, (mingling with people afraid of), good luck.

Well this is it I don't believe the mind has strict limits, but I am aware that the brain and nervous system do. I guess I am trying to work out the boundary lines and its really confusing me. I'm a newbie of 3 months, so I am still putting the pieces of the puzzle together. But could you ever meditate or bore yourself into a meltdown?

@Patiz: thanks but I don't do drugs, however I do take fish oil which I know helps me. Maybe I could increase the dose. I don't really feel obsessive to myself, but I do have a lot of free-floating anxiety lately.

@ jedaustin : thank you, go slow is good advice and it's interesting you should mention Toastmasters as someone close to me who struggles is also interested.

BTW, I'm female for the rest of the week

If they cause frustration, yes.

I've had boredom cause frustration many times.

I think the best thing for special interests is to compromise, so you can still have them but there would be a limit on the time you spent on them. I don't think it's necessary to be hard on yourself. If you make your lifestyle really boring, then you might become boring to others. But I know what you mean - I'm scared of getting into special interests, in case I never return. These days I tend to see social stuff as my special interest...it's quite good that way, because people are usually quite interested in my ideas about people, so I can share it with them easier than I can share technical stuff.