7 Hidden Autistic Traits That Look Like Social Anxiety
Sometimes we’re more than just shy or awkward
I’ve always felt awkward and timid, but others around me assured me that I probably just had a classic case of ‘social anxiety’, but it always felt like something more. I couldn’t understand why socialising would send me into a meltdown and how I could be so afraid of simply interacting with others. I struggled to understand how social anxiety would be the reason that I was overstimulated by itchy clothing tags, or how it was an explanation for missing social cues. I struggled to understand how social anxiety could just exist without a cause, especially for myself, because it always felt like much more than social anxiety.
It wasn’t until I realised I was autistic at the age of 27 that my perpetual fears of socialising finally made sense. I didn’t simply have social anxiety; there was a reason for this. My brain was wired differently, which means that socialising, making eye contact, or simply speaking to someone on the phone doesn’t come naturally to me and makes me deeply uncomfortable.
It is not surprising to learn that social anxiety disorder is more commonly diagnosed in women when you realise that the majority of autistic women are late-diagnosed with autism, often being misdiagnosed in earlier life, with social anxiety…