I have had repeated experiences in my life of people misunderstanding how I feel. People who misinterpret the look on my face as unhappiness when I feel fine. People who assume I think certain things that I don't. At times, people have accused me of having wrong motives that I truly didn't have. Or occasionally, people have accused me of doing something that I would never do! It really bothers me because I don't understand why people would get me so wrong - especially if it is someone I've known a long time and who I feel should know me better and know what I'm all about.

Other things I've been told (or heard people have said about me) are:

I act like I am not genuine, but seem fake.

I am wishy-washy.

"When I first met you, I thought you were so stuck up, but when I got to know you, I realized you weren't that way at all."

When I was 12 and was jumping on the trampoline with my friend, she accidentally landed on my wrist and it caused a hairline fracture. When I showed up at school with an ace bandage on it, she thought I was faking it for attention and stopped being my friend.

At work, a person told my friend, "When I walked down the hall past her, I got very bad vibes from her." (I don't even know this person and don't even remember passing her in the hall).

One friend I was close to used to say the thing she liked the most about me was that I was honest. Later down the road, she accused me of being a liar and deceiving her about things.

As a little girl, I had problems with forgetting things, or not noticing things, but my parents always assumed I was just lazy or being lackadaisical. Once I set my friend's boombox on the stove because I assumed the burners were off, but they had been left on, so I melted it. My dad was so mean to me, telling me how stupid it was, etc. (Years later, he said he assumed I was on drugs, which explains why he was so mean to me.) But I wasn't! I just didn't notice the burner was on.

As a teenager, my friend's mom (who was a psychologist) told her that I seem "like a person who is hiding something."

As a child, my dad was constantly accusing me of having feelings, thoughts, and motives I didn't have. It bothers me so much when I experience this sort of thing as an adult. I truly don't get it!

I can work with someone on a project at work, but later I don't recognize they are somebody familiar when I see their face.

People tell me, "I saw you at a stop light and waved, and you ignored me."

Is this something that happens when you are dissociative? I can't figure out what I am doing that gives people the wrong impression...it has happened since childhood...

Any ideas what is causing this?

Peaches