Has anyone ever tried acting NT?
A lot of it is mimicry, which is a skill and can be learned like any other. Do it enough, examine it carefully, talk to people who understand and you can probably do pretty well after a while. Eventually a lot of it becomes habit and requires no further thought.
Yeah... this is like me. It's gotten a little out of hand for me now; are you able to stop if you choose? I can't seem to without a lot of conscious effort.
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Yes, I have autism. No, it isn't "part of me". Yes, I hate my autism. No, I don't hate myself.
Pretty much this, I do it subconsciously now, but it's still exhausting. If I consciously decide not to a lot of the traits come flooding back and my brain goes into overdrive (which is actually kind of nice, shame it's tied into that though).
Yes! I was diagnosed at 16, and until then, I had no clue that anything was wrong, just that people got upset at me for reasons I did not know, I got bullied for weird body language/speech etc...
I was admitted to psychiatric hospital at 16 after a mental breakdown. I was given the diagnosis Aspergers Syndrome.
Since then I was in conflict. Some times I overanalyzed myself to hide my quirks. When I became exhausted from that, I just decided to go "all in" and just let 'er rip, just openly stim when feeling for it not giving a second thought as to how people might react.
That was empowering, but I became anxious from all the weird looks I got, and that got to me eventually and I figured out none of the extremes were feasible.
Closing in on 30, in retrospect I can say half my life was lived not knowing I was autistic(just that I was somehow different), and the other half trying to figure out how to deal with it.
I spend a lot of time in solitude, reading, practicing musical instruments, writing, doing creative work. I spend time with my pets, as they don't drain me mentally the same way people do.
Then when the urge to socialize becomes sufficient to leverage me to do something, I seek out company.
I can be sort of bi-polar in that regard. Suddenly I get a spark of energy, and I feel like a superhuman. I can do things that would seem impressive even for NTs. But then one disappointing experience and *zap* goes my energy and I stay in the house for the next two weeks.
Pretty much this, I do it subconsciously now, but it's still exhausting. If I consciously decide not to a lot of the traits come flooding back and my brain goes into overdrive (which is actually kind of nice, shame it's tied into that though).
It's weird for me. I don't feel drained or tired after a lot of social interaction anymore (I did for the first couple years after I decided to really take it on). My problem is now that I've kind of lost myself in the process of adapting to it and it's hard to figure out what's just me going through motions, and what is actually me. I'll have hours-long conversations with people and then wonder where half of what I said even came from.
I was admitted to psychiatric hospital at 16 after a mental breakdown. I was given the diagnosis Aspergers Syndrome.
Since then I was in conflict. Some times I overanalyzed myself to hide my quirks. When I became exhausted from that, I just decided to go "all in" and just let 'er rip, just openly stim when feeling for it not giving a second thought as to how people might react.
That was empowering, but I became anxious from all the weird looks I got, and that got to me eventually and I figured out none of the extremes were feasible.
Closing in on 30, in retrospect I can say half my life was lived not knowing I was autistic(just that I was somehow different), and the other half trying to figure out how to deal with it.
I spend a lot of time in solitude, reading, practicing musical instruments, writing, doing creative work. I spend time with my pets, as they don't drain me mentally the same way people do.
Then when the urge to socialize becomes sufficient to leverage me to do something, I seek out company.
I can be sort of bi-polar in that regard. Suddenly I get a spark of energy, and I feel like a superhuman. I can do things that would seem impressive even for NTs. But then one disappointing experience and *zap* goes my energy and I stay in the house for the next two weeks.
This sounds really familiar. I like a bit of "me time" but I'll get very lonely and upset with too much of it. Also, totally with you on the extremes thing. I've kind of come to the same conclusion. I don't want to just go with what autism pushes me towards; a lot of it gives me small, fleeting comforts but leaves me pretty miserable if I do it too much. But at the same time, acting NT any time I'm interacting with others has left me wondering if anyone I've met in the past few years even knows me, or if they just know a persona I've fabricated. I'm not sure I even know me, now... and that's pretty disturbing.
Ever felt anything like that?
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Yes, I have autism. No, it isn't "part of me". Yes, I hate my autism. No, I don't hate myself.
lostonearth35
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Joined: 5 Jan 2010
Age: 50
Gender: Female
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Location: Lost on Earth, waddya think?
I've never deliberately tried it, but if I'm in a place or situation where talking about my special interests a lot might not be a good idea, I suppose that's like being NT. Kind of.
Personally I think it's stupid and that we should all just be ourselves and anyone who won't allow us to be is not worth our time. I know that's a big sappy cliche, but I think we're a lot happier when we're being ourselves.
Except maybe if we have a career in acting, of course.
Ever felt anything like that?
Get out of my head!
I always act like myself, because what's the point of wearing a mask and being something that you're not?
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Before I was diagnosed I did, people had expectations of me that I could not forfill, I would be that 'character' but I could not be it for long as it was exhausting and also if I met that person out of the context of where I would usually see them I couldn't become the 'character' and they would ask what was wrong. It didn't provide me with any fulfilment I felt more of a failure.
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If you asked someone where self help books were, would they tell you, or would that defeat the purpose?
[\quote]
I can be sort of bi-polar in that regard. Suddenly I get a spark of energy, and I feel like a superhuman. I can do things that would seem impressive even for NTs. But then one disappointing experience and *zap* goes my energy and I stay in the house for the next two weeks.[/quote]
I feel like I get ehasuted after pretending to be NT or what I call pretending to be human and then do just this.
It's too much. NTs are strange. It's exhausting.
More to add -
I am now doing a speech class at my local high school, during fifth period. I still act NT with everyone in that class, even though my teacher said "this should be a community where you can talk about anything you wish, and do a speech about anything." Problem is, I am not releasing my two special interest topics into a group of 26 NTs...and it has been a little tough trying to come up with topics for my speeches sometimes.
We did an introduction speech...where we had to talk with someone new and ask them 10 questions about themselves. Thankfully the partner didn't ask me about special interests. He did ask me about my favorite music, where I did mention '80s/'90s pop, and smooth jazz. I did feel a little worried after he did my speech...I'm hoping that the NTs don't make fun of me for enjoying "elevator music".
I am still "Acting NT" at lunch with the student council students. I forget talking about special interests, because they will either - not care, call me "weird", or walk away.