I see this on Imgur and Bluesky as well. Here’s a great example, and the one that prompted me to finally ask. My daughter has autism and ADHD. She takes speed to slow down. Best friend is ADHD, same deal. But they’re basically “normal” people. I’m truly sorry is this comes off as insensitive.
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It’s normal to be aware of how people perceive us. We are apes. Need I elaborate?
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We ALL mess up more when someone is watching. Forget the word, but it’s a well-known psychological tic.
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Yes, we all conform and hide parts of ourselves in public, doesn’t mean you can’t “be yourself”. Want to see someone who doesn’t mask at all? Trump.
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If you’re not aware of threats, Darwin would like a word. And yes, many things we perceive as threats are dumb monkey perceptions. We’re all silly in this way.
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Uh, I double check my door locks. Not paranoid, but my situation in America makes that a simple, smart move. Some people live around lots of strangers, checking your private space is a normal thing.
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We all hate being stared at. That’s a monkey threat. We evolved that way.
The “suspicious sounds” thing is the only part I’d pick out as a bit strange. But who hasn’t jumped when the ice maker kicks in? I’ve often thought someone crawled in the dog door. (A bear did one time, a hybrid wolf another, so let me slide on that one.)
I can go on /c/autism and pick 100 other memes for examples. Almost every single thing I see there, “Yeah, we all go though that/feel that way/do that thing.” Here’s one:
https://piefed.cdn.blahaj.zone/posts/6k/Lb/6kLbDigyQuftk4k.jpg
Doesn’t everyone do that now and again?! I feel like I’m taking crazy pills.
Serious questions:
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Does lemmy have an above normal number of autistic/ADHD people?
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Is this perception a way for young people to feel special and different?
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Maybe young people don’t realize just how fucking weird growing up is and think they have a problem?
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Do people not realize that even after adulthood, we all have weird foibles?
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Are people so socially isolated that they think their weird thoughts are uncommon?
Just want to start the discussion. Help me understand.


It’s trendy for some reason.
In the 2000s in France, some people wrote books on children with high IQ, and suddenly all the parents had a gifted child. Psychiatricists were flooded with IQ tests from those parents. There were dozens of forums on the web with parents of gifted children, and other forums with self-diagnosed teenagers.
Then the fad died and all those web sites disappeared.
Now it’s ADHD and autism. Most are self-diagnosed again I’m sure because it’s fun and easier to have mental issues, instead of accepting that you should work in yourself. Would you rather be special, or normal and boring?
Whoever told you a diagnosis is an excuse to not work on yourself? What do you think therapy is?
There is no need for work or therapy with self-diagnosis.
I’m going to go out on a limb and say the majority of people would rather get an official diagnosis and subsequent treatment including therapy but because of how Everything Is, they can’t. Self-diagnosis, in most cases, is a last resort in the face of a desperate need to understand what is “wrong”.
Are untrained people as accurate at diagnosing themselves as the professionals with degrees who spend years to train for it?
Didn’t want to say it, but it sure seems trendy to me. Quick example from my daughter:
She had zero issues with eye contact until very recently. She reads memes telling her eye contact is a problem for people like her. Now she has problem.
I am NOT saying that issue is fake, but when a child is constantly bombarded with, “This is how you are!”, they become that way.
Part of my thoughts in the OP are, “We’re making normal behavior out to be abnormal and slapping a label on it. And perhaps we’re making it worse than need be.”
My mother constantly told me I was sickly as a child, and I was constantly sick. First year of college (without her influence) was my first year without a single illness, not even a mild cold. Miracle! Wait…