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I hate family gatherings (feddit.org)
submitted 1 day ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
10 comments fedilink hide all child comments

This is just something I want to get off my chest. I don’t have autism (at least I’m not diagnosed) but I just hate this.

All these people I’ve last seen when I was a kid and they all want to talk to me and hug me. They tell me I’m so tall now and know so much about topic x (tech most of the time) and I just want to tell them to shut the f up.

Sometimes I need to go into a dark, quiet room and just lay down. Sometimes playing the piano with noise cancelling headphones helps, but then all these people ask me where I’ve been the whole time.

I’ll do things I normally hate, like the dishes, just to have an excuse to be in a different room and put in my headphones.

I just wanted to vent a little, but if you have any, I’m open for advice.

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[-] [email protected] 9 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

I wish I could say it gets better man. The only advice I can offer is to keep doing what keeps you functional. I cannot count the number of times I had a breakdown because I forced myself to be in a situation I could not handle being in. If stepping away for a while and playing some piano works then it works. Its better than the humiliation of a crashout. If there is something you can do while in a room of people that is soothing I would recommend doing that as well. Personally I like to fidget with pens or metal spheres, I find the weight of them to be pleasant.

Edit: I almost forgot the best advice possible. Find a safe person. Connect with the people who normally attend family gatherings but connect with them in a more 1 on 1 setting. Text works for this just fine imo. Find someone who understands your struggle and go out of your way to hang out with them at these gatherings. I got lucky that one of my cousins is autistic so we just talk at these things and it keeps most people away from us bc we look busy. Its a great system

[-] [email protected] 5 points 21 hours ago

Thanks, sharkfucker420

this post was submitted on 26 Jul 2025
61 points (100.0% liked)

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