Why do I feel embarrassed buying Pick n' Mix sweets?

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I don't know if they have Pick n' Mix in other countries but if you're from the UK you'll understand what I'm talking about. I always feel too embarrassed to go up to a Pick n' Mix section in a supermarket and fill up a bag with sweets. I feel like people are watching me and thinking I'm stupid, and I know this is unusual for an Aspie but I do get sensitive of other people's thoughts and feelings, even if they're not taking any notice I still imagine what if they are, kind of thing. Also I know I will feel stupid if a parent comes along with a load of little kids, because I know kids will take ages picking sweets and will be fighting over them, etc, and I feel stupid standing among them trying to pick my sweets. It makes me lose concentration. I know it sounds stupid but it's just how I feel.
I don't mind when I am with somebody, but I just can't seem to do it on my own, although at the same time I do want to have my own bag of a mixture of sweets. I do like sweets.

Does anyone else feel like this?

Only because you're getting ripped off. Pick'n'mix is expensive.

I, like most other kids, used to steal in small quantities from the pick'n'mix.

Sugar affects adults & kids basically the same way, people always throw strange glances at me when I add honey to my coffee... as if stimulants didn't burn any calories...

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People do judge you if you buy lots of sweets or e.g. more than one cupcake. Women give me critical looks for it every time I do.

I sometimes worry that if I am seen buying sweets -or candy as it's normally called over here- other people at the store will turn into health Nazis and think I'm horrible for not buying something healthier. They might even say, "no wonder you're so fat!", because years ago I read in a magazine about some women's weight-loss story and that's what someone said to her when she was overweight. I'm always hearing how bad anything with sugar in it is incredibly bad for you, and it will give you type 2 diabetes and do peculiar things to the liver, but I think it's mostly a bunch of nonsense and there's nothing wrong with it in moderation. I don't know why it's supposed to be strange for an adult to have a sweet tooth, though I probably get away with it more because I'm female. My dad loves candy too, so I don't get why. Also I know most people are too busy with their own lives to care about about what I'm doing with mine.

Who cares what they think of it? Who cares if they give an odd glance?
It isn't like they'll remember any of it 5 minutes later.

It's usually a slightly disgusted glance, but I don't care. I do wonder how critical those women are of themselves, though.

I have a sweet tooth too, I drink cola instead of coffee.
I don't really feel too worried about what others think when it comes to me buying myself some sweets. any comments mainly come from family. But I don't buy pick and mix anymore. Its cheaper just to buy a prepacked bag of sweets.

I know how you feel. I have the same problem for other things and I think it mostly extends from self-consciousness and low self-esteem so that I care too much about what others think in an effort to make myself more "worthy" or more acceptable. I have learned that other people aren't as aware of me as I am of myself. I know that thought seems silly to some people, but for years I felt like other people were as aware of me as I was of myself but they really aren't. A lot of this thought process was reinforced by childhood experiences and rejection and just plain standing out because of my quietness in certain places and events. If you want candy, get candy and get the ones you like. Those other people can think what they want; they don't know how much you eat of it, they don't know when, and it isn't their business. I am ashamed that I have had thoughts about the contents of others' shopping carts especially last year when I was obsessed with the faults of the food industry and was obsessed with what I fed myself and my family, but those people were probably looking at my cart too thinking I was one of those snobby health-nut types and for a while I was "guilty" of that. And I was wrong for that. We think things about ourselves and about others and others think things about us and it's just the way it is. I am learning to no longer be so worried about what others think; my problems with that mostly extend from the way I was raised. My mom was nearly paranoid about it and my father probably has Asperger's so you can imagine the combination that made and my own social mistakes and difficulties created the perfect storm of worry.

Worry about the opinions of people who you know care about you as a person, a real person with positives and negatives, and give credence only to how those people think of you. I know it's hard. For some reason, I tend to care more about a stranger's opinion than that of those closest to me and even feel more attracted to strangers often than to those I actually have a relationship with. Maybe that's because so much hinges on "first impressions" and it is so much harder for me to make a positive first impression especially when I was younger. Maybe you share this experience.

Over all, I was startlingly resistant to peer-pressure when I was younger. But it is the oddest things I get self-conscious of. and other times it's because I learned to be ashamed or self-conscious of something because of ridicule or rejection or strong reactions from others that sort of scared me or something.

Fun Fact: The first time I heard the term Pick n' Mix was from an Arctic Monkeys song. I thought he was saying "pecan mix" for the longest time.

We have those in the states, but we don't call it by that name. We just call it bulk candy or something. I can understand your thought process, though. Do you have social anxiety as well? I feel similarly sometimes, just not in that specific situation.

I remember kids used to steal sweets from the pick 'n' mix from a local shop. My friend used to stuff lots of extra sweets in her bag and lie about how much she had. I remember ONCE I accidently counted just *one* too many penny sweets. The shop owner decided to count them herself and gave me a really evil look as if I had done it on purpose.

For some reason, absolutely nobody used to trust me back then, even though I was probably more trustworthy than most people. I still don't understand why. People treat me so differently than they did 10+ years ago, it still bewilders me.

Oh don't worry I am in my 30s and I still eat sweets intended for kids like fruit roll ups, fruit by the foot etc.

Anyway I know it feels like to be ashamed doing this or that. I am the same way too but you know what? When you feel that embarrassed it just means that you are letting the other person control your life. It also sounds like you can't please everyone.