Emotional baggage

Post Reply New Topic

Say, do you guys think that having autism is a form of "emotional baggage"? A lot of my friends say stuff like they don't date certain people who have "emotional baggage" or who are "damaged". There's also a saying, though it's often modified to be unisex: 'don't stick your d--k in crazy'.

What do you guys think 'emotional baggage / damage' is, is it a form of neurodiversity like saying oh they have autism or Aspergers? Does it refer to stuff like schizophrenia? Or is it something else?

"Emotional baggage" consists of things people had problems with in the past that have either scarred them permanently (figuratively, of course) or something from the past they find themselves unwilling to let go of. A bad relationship/break up could very well be a form of emotional baggage if it will affect the current relationship, etc etc.

Yes, having AS could mean that you have emotional baggage stemming from events/issues that arose due to that fact, but having AS in and of itself does not constitute emotional baggage. For instance, somebody that was not diagnosed until later in life is probably going to have more baggage due to AS than somebody who was diagnosed in childhood and was handled properly by adults.

Hope this clears things up a bit for you.

I agree with calstar2's comment, and I would add that everyone as they go on through life, even NTs, accumulate emotional baggage of one kind or another, even those who consider themselves as consciously trying to stay emotionally "healthy." Baggage is part of LIFE. You can't be human and live through life without getting some wounds (emotional) along the way, and maybe not dealing with them perfectly.

Your friends must be either very young, or rather immature. As you all get a little older you will all learn that nobody goes through life unscathed, and that they are starting to have baggage themselves. EVERYONE's "got something." Everyone, even NTs, are messed up a little bit in one way or another. And with divorce in the western hemisphere having long been at something like 50%, good luck finding someone to date when you get to a certain age, who HASN'T got at least one serious failed relationship in their past, or some kids, or a bitter breakup behind them.

It's life, and for the good or the bad of it everyone has SOME baggage. It then becomes a question of which kind, and to what degree, and you decide whether all the wonderful things about the person are worth the things that they have problems with. Bearing in mind that EVERYONE has some of kind of problem. Some kind of downside to them. Some kind of baggage in the end.

.

It's what we do with the baggage we are given.
Read The Shipping News, or watch the movie.

The only guys who expect you to be perfect are the ones who think they're perfect and you wouldn't want to be with a narcissist anyway.

Maybe emotional baggage in the sense that we carry the enormous weight of anxiety around with us in situations where it is not necessarily needed but the nature of our disorder will not allow us to let go of it.

No autism would not be a form of that, seems like a term people who don't understand mental illness/or being in a dysfunctional situation throw around a lot as a sort of umbrella term for anyone who's doesn't completely have their sh*t together regardless of reason....there is a myth that associating with people who are struggling in any way might tarnish ones reputation, or that people that fall in that catagory are just dying to drag down anyone they can find with them(this is largely BS I am pretty sure).

I wouldn't want to hang around with people who talk like that about people who struggle with mental illness, perhaps they should stick their dicks in a blender?

But yeah sounds like ignorant crap talking about things they don't understand....unless this is about some specific person that really screwed your friends over or something and takes no responsibility for their harmful actions then I could maybe see it as venting...but seems like they are generalizing mentally ill people in general and being rather nasty about it. Also though a secret they may not know, everyone has emotional baggage all it could technically mean is pent up feelings/emotions or stuff from the past still floating around in your head and I am sure everyone has that to some extent.