[Miamon]

I have Asperger's syndrome, so naturally I have a lot of trouble communicating with my peers. Even when I do things normally, I start getting really anxious about what I said that may have sounded awkward and then I just start hating myself so much I can't stand it. And I know I've come leaps and bounds from where I was in middle school and high school but it's still tough and I'm sick of it. Am I ever going to get better??

[CobolCapsule]

Don't be so hard on yourself. I've found it gets better with age, for i use to struggle a lot more when i was younger. Over the years i have learned to mimic others, and use the social skills i have learned to benefit myself in social situations. Hope this helps

[catnip123]

There are a couple of books that might help. I read both of them and they were easy to understand and relate to. They are 'Socially Curious and Curiously Social', which is geared towards teens but still helpful to me and 'Social Thinking at Work: Why Should I Care'. Both were written by Michelle Garcia Winner and Pamela Crooke.

[Talthybius]

I always think about consciously perceiving layers that I am subconsciously missing. But I don't know how much layers of social nuances there are that I don't know I don't know about.

Not feeling awkward is more of a mindset in how you think about it than what other people think about you. If you think it is awkward, then that is a problem. If you think they may think it is awkward, that is something else. They may have the same feeling, and blame themselves. Or maybe they didn't perceive any awkwardness whatsoever and you are just overly conscious.