My question is about reactions to news, situations and so forth.
Does anyone have similar experiences where you would react to certain things totally inappropriately, for example if you heard of some bad news instead of feeling "sad" or expressing sympathy and so forth you would feel something totally different like either just normal or even wanting to smile or laugh.
I find that sometimes I have no control over such things, it can be very offensive and I understand that but my emotions are mixed up and I can't straighten them out, is this common with AS?
I rarely smile, but I find myself smiling in a totally inappropriate situation sometimes which is really kind of "mean"
The thing is if someone did that to me I would feel very offended.
In some really bad situations where I think I should be crying or scared I feel nothing, and if I feel nothing then it means the situation is "al-right" and logically it isn't, if I don't feel it's a dangerous situation I won't stop it, these lack or emotions be really misleading.
(I hope I haven't lost anyone by what I've written - let me know if it's misundrstood and I'll try to rewrite)
All I can think of is bursting in uncontrollable laughter when I saw both WTC's on fire on BBC. The situation was so ABSURD, as in, this has to be fake or somethin equally unreal. Anything excessive is funny. I love Steven Seagal movies because they are made to be serious but... They are all action comedy.
Other thing is movies...
I'm the jerk who laughs in theatre when people die. For example, in Apocalypse Now, there's the scene where the patrol boat stops a vietnamese peasant boat, and they are hiding something. When the vietnamese rush to save whatever they are hiding, they all get shot. Then the US soldier finds what they were hiding... a cute pup!!! They all died because of a dog!!! :lol:
Ehm.
:oops:
Sorry if I offended anyone...
I get that too, on films I have had to leave the cinema myself for laughing so much (when its not a comedy) and I laugh at others things too. Yet sometimes other people think things are funny that I don't, which is annoying.
I'm the same, with mixed up feelings. I always laugh when some one falls, trips or get hurt by others. Most of the time I feel nothing (lol we most all feel something if we think we cant feel anything). I always laugh at inapporiate situations and films. I didnt even cry when my nan died. Well I did but I didnt feel anything I just didnt know what to do, so I just went along with other people.
Mel,
xxx
I get really upset whenever anybody hurts themselves, even if they are laughing afterwards. I can't watch movies where people get hurt, physically or emotionally, even though Vernu will tell me: It's all right, they're just acting. I KNOW they are, but it still makes me feel sad. Yet I will find something funny that everybody else I'm with will be acting all serious about. (So long as it doesn't involve pain for anybody.)
Alison
I get more emotionally touched by epic stuff instead of love scenes. For example, in LOTR movie series, there's the scene where the lackey of Saruman looks down on the troll army... And he sheds a tear, because it is so evil. Heartbreaking, honestly. The beauty of darkness.
I have a lot of trouble with reactions, to the point where I have had to become in tune with them in order to make sense. I find most newsworthy deaths funny now. I just couldn't make anything of death, I didn't find it that important. But I did need something to laugh about. Put two and two together and you have a completley callous person. But then I will react really strangely to some news. I can't stand animals dieing. I just can't, it completely tears me apart. Not humans, just animals. If I hadn't become such a social outcast I would probably be having more trouble with these, but it doesn't matter now.
I have more sympathy towards animals than humans. The animals have no idea what they are doing. Everything a human does is caused by a decision. Zero sympathy.
But I still like machines better than animals, but I feel no sympathy towards machines. This is getting complicated. One could say I value machines more than people. :o
The animals have no idea what they are doing. Everything a human does is caused by a decision. Zero sympathy.
How do we know they have no idea? Hunting animals, for instance, lions, have good planning-ahead capabilities, so that one or two members of the pride hide in ambush while another flushes the animals towards them. And why would the prey animals run, unless they can think ahead enough to realise that staying still and watching the pretty lionesses coming towards you is a BAD choice? I know some researchers say it is "instinct", but again, I'd like to know HOW they know it is this and not some form of thinking ahead.
Alison
My main "problem" is callousness or whatever you want to call it. Sept. 11 meant nothing to me at all. You REALLY feel weird when a national/international massive tragedy happens and you don't feel it has anything to do with you whatsoever. There were all these rallies, candlelit vigils, prayer meetings, all this communal mourning, and I didn't care, couldn't pull an appropriate reaction out of my sleeve. I feel compelled to add that I don't side with the terrorists! I understand that thousands died. I just couldn't connect to it emotionally at all. I suppose you could say, typical spoiled selfish b**** ...I don't know. One of my friends was too upset to talk to me on the phone the day after. People at work were distraught. I felt a little left out but I couldn't pretend.
My main "problem" is callousness or whatever you want to call it. Sept. 11 meant nothing to me at all. You REALLY feel weird when a national/international massive tragedy happens and you don't feel it has anything to do with you whatsoever. There were all these rallies, candlelit vigils, prayer meetings, all this communal mourning, and I didn't care, couldn't pull an appropriate reaction out of my sleeve. I feel compelled to add that I don't side with the terrorists! I understand that thousands died. I just couldn't connect to it emotionally at all. I suppose you could say, typical spoiled selfish b**** ...I don't know. One of my friends was too upset to talk to me on the phone the day after. People at work were distraught. I felt a little left out but I couldn't pretend.
The same thing goes for me, whenever some major "disaster" occurs.
By the way, you don't have any reason to think less of yourself for not feeling anything over such things. Think of it: why should you be upset? You don't mourn everytime a person dies in great pain somewhere, every few seconds, and neither do the ones who react strongly to the disasters they hear of. If anything, you should be glad that you are less of a hypocrit than them; the total amount of suffering in the world is hardly affected by a major disaster, yet the victims of such disasters are about the only ones mourned in great sadness around the world, for no significant reason.
That is a good point. I suppose I'm all-around callous; it's just that I'm a little more so than most people are. I know the people starving around the world unknown to our eyes are just as valuable as the victims of major disasters, and I'm sure my more sensitive friends know that as well. I just wonder why I don't feel the shock that they do. I mean, for thousands of people to be killed all at once, in any disaster, shocks most people. Most people FEEL SOMETHING. I still feel as if I'm somewhat lacking in humanity. Oh well, at least I don't pretend otherwise! I suspect that in the years ahead, as the concept of neurodiversity catches on (as I think it will---it makes sense that every brain reacts uniquely!), more people will feel brave enough to admit their seemingly "wrong" reactions or underreactions, and pretty soon we'll all understand each other a lot more clearly.
Pardon the optimism...I may still be punchy from staying up till 1 a.m. posting last night! :?
shocking but I think I'm the opposite... when i hear about things like hurricane katrina or homeless people beaten to death etc, I get very upset and wish i could do something. i was just following the Christopher penley case-- the troubled kid who did suicide by proxy and was really upset about it, whereas most others thought well ah too bad serves him right etc. or "oh that's sad" finis. I think the worst one that affected me was this photo of a street kid getting stomped to death by a crowd for stealing.
everyone around me always says why are you getting upset when you dont know these people? illogical, sentimental etc. But I just do.
shocking but I think I'm the opposite... when i hear about things like hurricane katrina or homeless people beaten to death etc, I get very upset and wish i could do something. i was just following the Christopher penley case-- the troubled kid who did suicide by proxy and was really upset about it, whereas most others thought well ah too bad serves him right etc. or "oh that's sad" finis. I think the worst one that affected me was this photo of a street kid getting stomped to death by a crowd for stealing.
everyone around me always says why are you getting upset when you dont know these people? illogical, sentimental etc. But I just do.
Just another example of people judging each others' feelings instead of simply respecting that everyone feels differently. For what it's worth, the people who say these things to you may mean well. Either they want to comfort you or they may feel guilty about their relative lack of compassion and want to reassure themselves that they are not BAD. I often joke to myself that I am seriously lacking in humanity...but sometimes it really bothers me that I seem so callous compared to my more sensitive peers. Well, it's all so pointless to count tears & compare feelings like that. Your compassion is valid and I think the world is a better place for it...be yourself and disregard the critics. In their clumsy, defensive way, maybe they are trying to figure out how to become more like you.