*this is especially important: these days on Tumblr thereās a wonderful atmosphere of being able to talk openly about your mental illness or your struggle. And thatās great! But thereās a difference between sharing in order to help yourself and other people and sharing just because you have no other coping mechanisms. As much as youāre able, try to work on developing a different outlet. People arenāt qualified to be your therapist because theyāre nice to you a couple of times. Please remember that they have lives too, and their job is not to make you feel better or pity you, no matter how difficult your life is.Ā
I really donāt have a way to better this.Ā
Your interests are your own. I canāt advise anyone to change their interests to fit in with a certain group of people - thatās stupid, and actually quite damaging to your sense of self.Ā
Instead, I would recommend that, maybe if you feel like your topics of conversation are falling flat with this group of people, you move on to other, greener pastures. There are bound to be places where your ideas mesh better with an audience.Ā
And of course - try to be considerate about what you say and how you say it.Ā
Sometimes, what might seem like a harmless comment to you might be a very discomforting thought to another person. I recently had a conversation on a forum with a guy who was telling me that his headcanon was that Pearl (from SU) would soon get a male love interest who loved mechanics and weapons next, and that would be her best arc, because she would finally get a āhealthyā love interest.Ā
His intentions were good, but he was entirely unaware of how cringey this kind of thing was to a bunch of (probably queer) people, who have spent their entire lives being told that the onlyĀ āgoodā character development for them would be to get aĀ āmale love interestā. No one wanted to be the jerk to sayĀ āfuck off, we donāt want that to happenā but everyone was answering him in a flat way, trying to discourage the discussion further. Instead of picking up on the hint, he bulldozed on, thinking he was having aĀ ālively conversationā which was, in fact, in its late stages of death.Ā
I know Iāll probably get a few messages to this saying: What about people on the Autistic Spectrum? Sometimes, people canāt pick up social cues orĀ āhintsā. And if thatās the case, itās incredibly difficult to understand why youāre not having any luck communicating despite your best efforts.Ā
I feel that on a person level, please believe me. I made this infograph for THAT VERY REASON. Because I WAS that awkward kid who didnāt pick up on hints well. In fact, I still have trouble talking to people. If any of you have had the misfortune of being my conversational partner, youāll know that I tend to be overly blunt and come off as very unfriendly. Itās something that I, myself, am working on currently in order to grow into a better person. Itās a struggle in progress, but I am aiming towards the progress side, and I just wanted to help out others while I was at it.Ā
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janainaart
