Social Skills - HELP ME! | ADHD Information

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I seem to make friends very easily and people seem to really
like me at first, but after a while I always feel like they stop liking
me or even seem annoyed by me. This has been a pattern for
me since childhood. I do have a few close friendships that have
endured many, many years, but I often feel like this happens in
new situations. For example, I just started a new job 3 months
ago and and at first I was a little shy and reserved, but after a
little while I felt comfortable and became more myself; more
funny and animated, and I felt like people really liked me for a
while (after I became more myself). But recently I feel like I'm
not liked as much, and I have found myself excluded from some
things. Since this has been a pattern since childhood for me,
I'm wondering what it is that goes wrong? What changes? How
can I fix this? HELP! Mariposa3038678.6489583333Hey Butterfly, Just be yourself.  Nothing is any wronger with you than with any of the others you work with.  Counseling with a professional could help.  You got friends here.  We like you just the way you are. Did I say "wronger"? I really should proof these before I hit that liitle butom.

that happens to me too.

i feel sad about it a little bit when it happens, but not for long. i get over it cause i know those guys are boring anyway.

i imagine it happens to me 'cause i'm a little unpredictable. i'm perpetually iconoclastic. i say what i think b4 i think about what i'm saying, & to whom i say it.

ever tell a group of born-again christians that God screwed up by letting lucifer defect? by not seeing it coming? that was a good one. shoulda seen the look on their faces. the silence was as deafening as niagara falls.

it's in my nature to challenge everything. i have only learned to self-edit with much effort and little success.

there's also the non-sequitirs. a little pause for them is light years in my brain. next thing out of my mouth could be 10 steps of free-association later. "where did that come from?" is a common question they ask.

people seem to be very uncomfortable with an unpredictable mind. it breaches all comfort zones.

breach the comfort zone, egos get deflated, the 'shields' need to be diverted-"oh no! we're under attack!", they become the group and you're a threat to the balance of power, the safe status quo.

individuals too. when they get to know us, we're not who they thought we were. unpredictable with minds that are plastic, elastic, fantastic. faster than a speeding bullet, able to leap tall societal conventions in a single bound. standing for truth, justice, and the adhd way.

my personal kryptonite is the attempt to be normal, sane, consistent, dependable, or predictable.

i do my best to be all those things for the sake of survival in this world, to help my kids. but it often feels like i am carving mount rushmore all by myself. carting all that rock away makes me tired. t-i-d-e tired!

Don't underestimate the power of anxiety to make you *not* be yourself. If you feel that you are not liked, it might change your behavior in subtle ways that are not positive or feel fake. Maybe you shouldn't worry about it if possible.

Respect people's space. If they shrink from you, let them go. If they see their space respected, they'll likely come back, unless of course they have their own social issues.

It's really hard to tell what people's motives are -- you feel excluded, but they may feel like they're just going to lunch (or whatever) with their buddies.  For better or worse, most people are indifferent to others.  They'll like you fine as long as you don't fart in public or steal their Lean Cuisines from the freezer.  They'll like you even better if you ask them about their weekend and let them talk about themselves.  If it's friends you're looking for, don't worry about who likes you -- just pay attention to who you like and invite them into your life.  You don't gravitate towards those conventional, boring drone-types anyway, do you? 

I think it is the disruption of the status quo as Seeker said.  The Norms expect certain behavior, especially certain behavior from particular age groups..To this I completely relate.

I have one close friend near my age.  Most other women my age seeem to be afraid or intimidated by me or I'm just too different.  I'ts just weird but women my age usually really bore me and I don't fit in with their strict scheduled lives and tupperware parties.

It used to bother me to be excluded, but now I'm just really glad that I'm not as boring and narrow minded as they are.

There are fun, down to earth, real people out there (and here too). Don't settle for the bla bla... Just be who you are...it's their loss! 

 

bepatient38686.6954976852We all do it, and we feel singled out.

 That is the adhd'ers way.
 

 Welcome, your among friends
I'm a little different as in I'm usually shy and reserved.  Some of the ppl I work with used to describe me as void of personality.  However, being the scenes with my closest friends, I can get pretty outspoken.  Yea, I feel the same way sometimes.  That people like me at first and then not.  Then again, I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong either so I guess I can't give you good advice.  But I'm pretty sure that everyone feels disliked at some point.  And some of those times, it may not even be true. Hey I am in your position. i started 3 months ago at new job! People always love me at first cos I am funny, confident laugh a lot but then over time the real comes through! I am all of the above but also out spoken and unpredictable. Like you say people can't cope with it, it is outside the comfort zone. Well screw those people, how boring are they. Just because they lock up their real thoughts inside and live a boring, mundane lifestyle! Of course they are gonna think you are different! Don't worry about it too much. Be proud of the way you are! I wish I could meet more people like you. xx