No Stupid Questions

The same way not everyone who gets sad has depression or not everyone who gets nervous has anxiety

Yeah most of it is just human symptoms. I definitely have it more compared to my friends though who cant keep up in conversations with me because I go so fast and switch topics in a millisecond. Its fun when I meet someone who can also do this.

Also. A large amount of people online do have adhd because of the dopamine hits triggered by arguing and getting comment responses. Go in the real world. Bob at the tire store is probably normal.

I was in denial about being autistic for around a decade after I first had suspicion because of exactly the reasoning you provide.

To provide some insight to my experience is that I had to manually decode all the non-verbal communication with logic while keeping track of the verbal stuff and monitoring my own expression back when I was masking. That shit is exhausting. Masking isn't just picking a personality to wear based on the occasion, it's doing that while it doesn't come naturally and consciously tweaking behavior. Jokes on us, we give of the uncanny valley vibes when do that because it "feels off".

If there's something loud around me I will intensely try to hear what people say to me but I just can't because the surrounding is louder.

I was so bad at throwing and kicking balls that I was made fun of despite actually practicing both football and handball.

I went to sleep scared for a long time because I imagined people breaking in because of slightest squeek in the house.

It's also hard to explain how easy it is to have conversations with other autistic people vs normies.

White college educated males were considered the default in a lot of early and mid 20th century experimental psychology due to the availability of test subjects and biases of people running the experiments. The definition of neurotypical behavior came from a subset of the population.

ADD and ADHD are known to hinder progression through the education system. So, the cohort of people on that part of the spectrum were underrepresented. The bounds for being normal were skewed.

Also, medical intervention is typically only looked at when the mental condition causes a reduction of quality of life. Over the past generation, the need for a formal collegiate education has become greater in developed countries due to shifts in economics. A kid which would be considered energetic and absent minded a few generations ago would have a far greater chance in being economically successful compared to now.

Well you see, I have my diagnosis paperwork

The answers to all those questions may be yes.

People who make those works aren't necessarily the best authorities on their condition even if they have it: they're still fallible humans with blind spots who've only lived as themselves without another version of themselves to compare. Much like how competent speakers may lack explicit awareness of the subtle nuances of their language & may succumb to over-analysis suggesting false rules, just having a condition doesn't make someone acutely aware of the distinctions that set it apart, so they may misattribute.

They may also be flat out wrong about having the condition, since it is the internet after all.

Some of it is a matter of degree where it's relatable to everybody within manageable limits but a dysfunction beyond those limits.

Here’s one:

https://piefed.cdn.blahaj.zone/posts/6k/Lb/6kLbDigyQuftk4k.jpg

Doesn’t everyone do that now and again?! I feel like I’m taking crazy pills.

I do. Not autistic. Do have ADHD, but not sure if it affects this. Sending memes requires very little conscious thought besides "oh hey that person I like communicating with, might like this meme" whereas responding to the actual text requires reading said text, processing it, and coming up with a response. Depending on the day, person in question, and the subject matter, this may take a lot of effort or none at all. Depending on the day, person in question, and the subject matter, I may consider it a high priority or not.

But some of these issues I think are also a matter of how much you do it. At least something I've noticed with ADHD, particularly the executive dysfunction part of it: It's normal to not want to get out of bed the second you wake up, but is it normal to stay in bed for 4 or 5 hours before your bladder finally forces you up, while actually holding back the need to pee for 2 or 3 of those hours?

As for the fear of being perceived image:

1. Everyone does this to some degree, but maybe people for people with a disorder it happens so much it affects their life in a negative way?

2. Literally happens to everyone I know of. I think there's things I do better on autopilot than consciously because I'm so used to doing them - and if someone's watching, I become conscious.

3. Pressure to conform or mask - I think this is most people too, to some degree. Maybe for people with a disorder the pressure to mask is so strong it overtakes their brains and they feel they aren't completely functional in social situations because of it.

4. Hyper aware of threats - again, I think this is everyone is aware of threats, that's evolutionary. But how aware is "hyper aware"? If you can't stop blocking out trains of thought that go like "that guy on the other side of the street looks like he has a bulge in his pocket and hey maybe it's a gun, and though he's not at point blank range, he IS close enough that if he shoots multiple times, it might hit?" Then I think it's an issue.

5. I double check too, I'm just forgetful. I used to not be suspicious of all sounds, but with my ex-wife living even in the same country as me, you never know... So it's justified IMO lol

6. I think that's most people. If you LIKE being stared at, you'd probably be great at being a public figure of some sort. Actor, politician, whereever you have to talk in front of a camera or a bunch of people, or both.

Deep down we all have some insecurities, and that can lead to a fear of being perceived, that doesn't necessarily mean it's autism. I used to be super awkward into my teens. Definitely had a fear of being perceived. As I grew less awkward, the fear of being perceived got smaller. Started hanging out with friends more, and by the age of 18 I became a clown. Not a literal clown, but I'm literally the comedic relief character in any group of friends. No longer afraid to make myself look stupid on purpose for a joke, etc.

I think these memes use these super common "actually everyone does this" traits on purpose. Makes it easier to relate, whether or not you actually have the disorder - though if you have it, chances are that you do these things a lot more, or they affect you more.

Capitalism and consumer culture expects as all to be robots. Autism and ADHD labels help people feel more comfortable excusing their humans behavior so they self assign. Also because more people are ADHD and autistic so a mix

Yes to four out of the five serious questions.

Do you know the Barnum Effect? In my country they did a funny test on TV once, they'd do people's astrological charts and then read one chart to them, and every single person was like "Woah, this is so about me! That's totally me!" and then they would be like "Oops, I picked the wrong chart, this one is actually Hitler's"

I'm diagnosed with Asperger's (mild Kanner's, but with low emotional intelligence), and this happens all the time.

Because ever since 2016, the Great Societal Meltdown of the World (moreso America), everyone became armchair psychologists, scientists, researchers and therapists. Where, we just toss that bundle of word salad around, play label games and guesstimate who has what. There is no longer a thing such as 'normal' because everyone has to have something with them.

Quite frankly, we've gotten too fucking bored as a species.

"Popular" definition of autism changed from actual disorder to anything "on the spectrum" and since everyone is on the spectrum somewhere everyone can say they have autism now. It's like saying you're gay because you don't find all men disgusting.