addressing only one person in a group
i got stoned with a group of high schoolers at the park the other night. they were passing around a joint and the offered me some hits. after i got pretty stoned, i realized how poorly i handle group situations and how i can change. in the past groups have always rejected me because they either thought i was really odd/a creeper or aloof and arrogant. i have offended people by only addressing one person in a group. for example, if i'm talking/sharing my input i'll only look at one person instead of surveying the group and making brief eye contact with everyone.
or i'll be leaving and they'll all say something like "bye" or "nice meeting you" and i'll just say "bye" and look at one person only. i never realized just how socially awkward i am and how aloof/arrogant i must seem. no wonder why people have thought i didn't want to talk to them, i ignore people! >.< it's so hard to keep track of multiple conversations.
anyway, after getting high, i was able to see myself from an outside perspective. i apologized to the group for "acting weird" and told them that people think i'm really anti-social but i just get anxious. they all looked relieved and less annoyed with me (because they understood my social deficit after explaining it to them) and they were warm and accepting. it was great. i realized things i wouldve never realized while sober. does anyone do this in groups too? do you ever feel a heightened awareness of yourself in relation to others when you're high?
Last time I was high around a group of people was way before I ever heard of AS, so I don't recall thinking about it much, but I do know that it did wonders for my social anxieties. Situations I would have run away from normally were much more tolerable to me, because the buzz allowed me to feel insulated even in a group, instead of naked and exposed. Even then, though, I tended to address one person when I participated in the 'group' conversation, either the person who spoke last, if I was commenting on what they'd said, or the person with whom I felt most comfortable. I'm not sure any of them ever noticed whether my socializing was odd or awkward because they were all high.
They were already aware that I was 'different', and didn't have a problem with it (in fact I think it was the reason they accepted me, we all felt we were misfits in one way or another) so I don't suppose it would have mattered.
When leaving a group, I don't think I usually look at anyone. Either I slip out while everyone else is talking and distracted, or I just sort of generally wave at the group as a group without really looking at anyone. Eye contact. Yuk. ![]()
I only will talk to one person at a tine in a group, I just can't address the group as a whole and because of that I always get left out of the conversation. Mainly my problem is that someone is always saying or about to say something so I feel like I'm interrupting unless I just talk to a single person who isn't deeply involved in the conversation at that moment.
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