In your opinion, why is an asperger riddled with anxiety?

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how does an aspie think differently from others?

in general

my anxiety stems from fear and frustration and hopelessness and some loneliness thrown in for good measure. It can grow from the simplest things.

This is just an example:
Having my hairstyle changed makes me feel anxious, which is why I keep on backing away from the opportunity. This is because I don't like all the admiration I get from people after it's done. ''Ohhh your hair looks really nice'' ''ooooohh you look really pretty with that'' ''I like your hair, [name]'', and so on (I hate people using my stupid name too!) So this is why I don't want my hairstyle changed, it's because I get embarrassed of all the attention from other women I will suddenly receive. I know it's all nice - but here's the point about the thinking differently. Most people with no self-esteem at all (like myself) like to be complimented and admired, but not me. I feel embarrassed when I'm the center of attention, and I know I have no self-esteem whatsoever, I still don't want to be the center of attention either.
Is that sort of what thinking differently means?

Some of my anxiety is from overreacting to minor things and thinking something very bad will happen from them (like a minor physical symptom means I have something serious or am dying or a strange noise or smell means the house is going to burn down) but for some things I'm not even sure why I'm anxious. Maybe my social anxiety is from my being bullied so much as a child but I think I was socially anxious even before that.

I never feel anxiety. It may be a pattern, but it's not a rule.

Anxiety? Oh...yes...I have anxiety issues. Sometimes I seem to get anxiety for no apparent reason, but most of the time, there is a reason I can say is the cause such as feeling like I need to get something done quickly. Time limits often cause me anxiety. I believe a lot of this does come from my Asperger's.

As is typical with many fellow autistics, I like routine. I need routine. And when something changes that routine, I get anxiety. Why? Well...it could be that falling out of routine takes me away from my comfort zone. And I often cannot see myself getting through this change of plan. If I am asked to cover another teacher's class at school I feel incredible waves of anxiety overtake me. I just cannot imagine myself dealing with this other class. After I finish with a change in routine, I usually feel exhausted and emotionally drained.

Little things that do not seem to bother others can bother me very much. Other people can zoom through a fast food restaurant drive-thru without much problem. For me, I feel like I am climbing Mt. Everest. Well maybe that is a bit extreme, let's make it the Matterhorn. Hello, may I take your order please? Ohhhhhhh, I am just now seeing the menu. Ok...I will have...I will have...ohhh...there's cars coming in behind me...Kids!! ! What do you want...ok, we will have a chicken strip combo. Do you want that 3 or 4 piece? Oh jeez...I don't know. Ok...ok...3 piece. What do you want for your side...french fries, chips, slaw...Aghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!! ! I hate drive thrus.

Oh no!! ! The teacher I share my office and pull out classroom with (I teach Title I reading) is absent and there is a substitute in here...I don't know the sub...and he/she's wanting to talk...Aghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!! ! Awkward....awkward...awkward. And here comes the anxiety. It's taking every effort for me to speak.

Ok...I'm at the doctor for allergies. And now here come's the blood pressure cuff. I'm here for allergies, not blood pressure. What if I get nervous and anxious here and cause my blood pressure to go up just before the nurse starts the cuff up? They'll think I have blood pressure problems. Oh no!! ! Anxiety!! !! !! !! ! Ouch, that cuff's tight. Excuse me sir, your blood pressure is a little high today...it's 290 over 270. Uh...is that bad? Then the doctor tricks me and comes in several minutes after hearing the nurse's report of my blood pressure. And he quickly checks my blood pressure during his exam of my allergies. You're 120 over 80...that's fine.

I better stop here or else I'm going to get anxiety over thinking about all of this. I just finished lunch and in a few minutes I have to monitor the 4th grade restrooms...Aghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh...What if Billy pukes again while I'm on duty!! !

Not being able to read social cues means every social interaction is wildly unpredictable and has the potential to end very badly. Anxiety is the natural, normal response to that.

What's always shaken me up the most has been situations where I've been expected to do stuff I just can't do.....my mother clearly felt I should do all kinds of things I couldn't, and as a result she was always castigating me. Then school eventually became the same thing, with this bogey-man of failing my exams staring me in the face - I was supposed to understand things that made no sense, and to remember them. Either that or hundreds of arbitrary facts and figures that meant nothing to me. Then in the workplace I was expected to do work that was poorly explained, with the bogey-man of the sack hanging over my head. I was forced to deal with creepy authority figures.

Then there's been anxiety from relationships - it's very scary to realise that the behaviour of your significant other can affect your profoundly. You cannot control that behaviour, so they can do things that are extremely painful but there's nothing you can do about it except ask them not to, or end the relationship if they won't. You don't even have the mind-reading skills to alert you to trouble if they're deceiving you or have fallen out of love with you.

Also, knowing that I'm likely to need to confront people. I used to think that I'd get used to doing that once I'd been in a few situations, but it's not like Back To The Future where the guy punches the bully once and lives confidently ever after. No matter how many times I get tough with people and win, the next time will be just as daunting as ever.

Thanks to those who shared their personal experience.

strikes me.

I always thought it was so we would stay at home.

My mom did this exact same thing to me constantly. She would tell me "Do that." and I would say "I don't know how " and she would respond "Well, learn!" and then walk away.

How is someone supposed to learn if no one will teach?

The fact that I mis-read social cues really easily and get really confused with vague verbal instructions contributes to this. Low self-esteem doesn't help.

The woman who diagnoses me said that "Perhaps the simplest way to understand Asperger’s syndrome is that it describes someone who thinks and perceives the world differently to other people and this causes anxiety. "

When pharmaceutical researchers need some rats to test anti-anxiety drugs on they have to first make the rats anxious. They do that by putting them in a cage in which they are randomly electrically shocked and given no way to escape. That apparently quickly turns them into nervous wrecks, cowering the corners of their cages.

So, I'd say for me (more so when I was younger, though) that getting unpredictable, frequent, negative reactions from other humans is one reason. Especially in adult life where it can effect employment or housing (dealing with landlords) which can result in homelessness or worse. Also, my processing speed is very slow, and people usually want a fast (from my POV) answer. Pushing to answer faster is stressing to me because it feels like driving too fast in a heavy rain -- where you can't properly see the road.

Also, an environment that is not designed for hypersensitive/filter-less senses doesn't help.

And I suspect part of it is simply "chemical."

And, lack of social support systems probably magnifies it.

They want to fit in but have a lack of knowledge of social rules so they always seem to get it wrong every time they try, or most times.
I like Apples answer too. Negative experiences seem to strengthen this anxiety.

Also, the autistic brain is hard wired for fear. I don't have social anxiety but a kind of paranoia of burglary, monsters (yes, monsters) and dying. I'm basically afraid of everything except for fitting in with my peer group.

That sounds like when I was in school.