Quote:
Originally Posted by samj40
I feel like this is kind of dumb because I'm an adult, but...
The thing is, I've NEVER been able to express myself properly. If I'm depressed/angry/any negative emotion, I always withdraw and breakdown. If I try to express how I'm feeling, even in therapy, I can't express it without sounding like I'm being dramatic over nothing. Likewise, positive emotions are hard for me as well. I get really chatty when I'm excited/proud/happy, but I go overboard and push people away because I'm so intense.
Basically, it doesn't matter if it's a 'good' or 'bad' emotion I'm feeling, whenever I try to share my emotions it always backfires. It's ALWAYS been like this, ever since I was a kid. I'm nearly 30 now, so it's been a while...
I feel very deeply but when I try to express myself, more often than not, it's a negative reaction I recieve. I'm... Not sure how to express myself in a more 'socially acceptable' manner? It makes me feel like I'm some sort of freak.  I suspect I'm ASD because of this and some other things, but I dunno. It's the only thing that makes sense, y'know?
Anyone else deal with this sort of thing? |
My communication skills have never been as good as I would like and sometimes I am hyperactive (and talk way to much). This may not be exactly the same as your concerns but I just think that only a very few people are great communicators and even the ones that are probably learned a lot of their skills by practicing......
PC is a good place to practice some of your communation skills (It's writing but it feels like a conversation to me--and it's safe because we're anonymous). I noticed that my city's public library has a toastmaster's club that meets weekly. According to Wikipedia "Toastmasters International (TI) is a nonprofit educational organization that operates clubs worldwide for the purpose of helping members improve their communication, public speaking, and leadership skills." I have also noticed there are great tips for communicating effectively on YouTube. Despite being a terrible communicator, I have had many jobs that have forced me to practice (teacher, call center agent, etc). The more you do it, the better you get. Practice doesn't make you perfect (communication is messy) but it will help you improve!!
As for some of your negative emotions holding you back--I was able to figure out where some of mine were coming from by reading other people's posts here and examining the triggers. It usually stems from unresolved childhood emotions (sometimes we were so young we didn't understand we were effected) but with a lot of self reflection, you might be able to understand where the emotions were coming from. I like how Wolfgaze expresses it in post #21 of this thread
https://forums.psychcentral.com/othe...o-cruel-3.html