Woah, I can relate to pretty much everything in this thread!
I do the talking to myself thing a lot - sometimes out loud (if I'm sure I'm alone) but mostly in my head. I have a constant internal monologue going and it's impossible to switch it off. My boyfriend thinks that's really strange as he claims he can just turn his thoughts off whenever he wants to! :?
The pretending to text thing? Yep, I do that too. If I'm feeling awkward and have nothing to do with my hands I'll get my phone out of my bag and fiddle about with it, pretending to write a text. If I'm out in public and don't have something to focus on I start to feel panicky.
Broken_Memory mentioned hiding in bathrooms, which I've done a lot. I used to get out of PE classes at school by pretending I had a music lesson (these sometimes clashed with other lessons) and then hiding out in the loos for an hour.
I talk to animals a lot, but I think a lot of non-SA people do that too. My brother used to talk to a hedge in the school playground when he was little, which probably isn't so common lol.
I don't tend to carry a book around with me, but I'm obsessively fond of books and have a few which I've had since I was little that I view as old friends
When I'm nervous I hum to myself or sing quietly because it soothes me.
CPA23 said:
I am getting better with the eye contact thing. I do have a few questions.
1). When someone is telling you a story or something that happened, do you look at them the whole time. I find this very difficult because I always feel like I'm staring at them.
2). When you tell someone a story (rare occasion for us!), do you hold eye contact the whole time, or do you look off during random periods.
1. Hmm... this one gets to me too. It's why I prefer sitting next to someone rather than opposite them - less eye contact necessary! I feel that not looking at someone while they're talking is rude, as if you're not paying attention, but I still feel awkward looking at them the whole time. Usually I compromise by looking in their general direction while not staring directly at them, and trying to stay quiet and non-fidgety so they know I'm not distracted.
2. When I'm the one who's talking I try to keep a balance between looking at people and looking away. It's probably best to maintain lots of eye contact for an interview or presentation (gah, I shudder at the thought!!) but for a casual conversation I think it's fine to look away for periods of time.
I've always felt like everyone but me knew this stuff instinctively, but it's obviously a common problem for people with SA. Wow, I don't feel as inadequate now I know I'm not the only one, lol! Maybe most people learn this stuff as children, but we were all too busy worrying and focusing on ourselves to pick it up!? Sometimes I wish I could go back to my early childhood and just start again :roll:
