The next episode (Ep.5) is coming soon! “Was that something I said?” It was not too long ago that a friend would introduce us to our group of friends. Conversations are lively, people are laughing, and then suddenly, I feel a sharp elbow hit me in the ribs or get serious side-eyes from said-friend. It’s fine to be direct and hate polite small talk. You don’t have to go into someone else’s head or heart when you can simply take the express way. Right? Right?? Yes, it’s true that you can meet your own needs and also help someone else. What if your radar isn’t able to tell you when your foot is in front of your mouth? You might not be able to pick up social cues until you are scolded by “friends” about how rude and too familiar you are with strangers. You are so “off-putting”. Each quote you have just read is an insult/correction from anyone, from family members to best buddies. And, former best friends. The truth is that your directness isn’t your problem. It’s the other people’s judgments and narrow view of “normal” social behaviour. Normal is people who do not have ADHD, Asperger’s, or other neurodiverse wiring. “Normal” means people who can “boldly”, be direct, “boldly,” state our intentions, and “boldly”, announce their entrance to the room. Miss Manners doesn’t see anything unusual about the way we interact. “Bold” is a polite way to say “there’s something wrong” or “that wasn’t right” or any other insult that can make us doubt our abilities and cause us to lose faith. Can you see it? This is another brick we add to our wall to make us feel less awkward around others who are eager to judge us for being…uniquely awkwardly us.
