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Here's my Intro.....

Ritchie Aprile

Ritchie Aprile

Member
I'm a 41 year old self diagnosed with HFA. I've wondered about autism in the past but it wasn't until recently that I realized I have it. It certainly explains a lot about me. Without getting into full detail these are the main symptoms for me:

Difficulty socializing/isolating myself
Extreme anger (which I often hide)
Lack of other emotions/flat affect
Sensitivity to sounds smells invasion of personal space

I suffer from anxiety social anxiety panic attack disorder depression and body dysmorphia. I get very overwhelmed by every day life. I'm not a virgin and I'm even currently dating someone now but as you can imagine, it's impossible to sustain a long term relationship due to my condition. My mental health has been getting much worse over the past year due to this current "relationship" I'm in.

Decades of weed, drug and alcohol use. I've cut back drinking so much over the past 8 years but that's limited my social life even more since I depended on it. Coke makes me more sociable but I can't rely on that. Too dangerous and I was close to turning into an addict in February but I managed to fight it off. I've snorted a bit since then but I've been able to control it.

Now that I know what the issue is, it's time to finally do something about it. I refuse to live so miserably. Interacting with like-minded people is probably a good start. Thanks for reading.

FYI- I often use humor to deal with my condition hence the user name avatar and profile. Jokes are often sarcastic and vulgar.
 
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Hello and welcome.
I hope you can find some kindred spirits and acceptance here.
It’s a great place if you can give it a good chance.
 
Apologies for not responding yesterday. I haven't been on the forum much and the thread got buried.

Welcome, I hope you stick around. We have both current and former addicts on the site as well as people who are currently or have had issues with relationships, some quite serious ones. I think it is very important to have a community to turn to in your worst struggles. Best of luck.
 
Welcome.

In consideration of those with sensory challenges, would you consider changing your avatar to a standard image rather than an animated gif perhaps?
 
Stuttermabolur said:
Apologies for not responding yesterday. I haven't been on the forum much and the thread got buried.

Welcome, I hope you stick around. We have both current and former addicts on the site as well as people who are currently or have had issues with relationships, some quite serious ones. I think it is very important to have a community to turn to in your worst struggles. Best of luck.
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I'll definitely be sticking around, thank you.
 
Ritchie Aprile said:
What's funny is that if GIF's are against the rules you'd think that the mods would be able to prevent them from being added in the first place. HA!

But I'll change it. Cheers.
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Hi and welcome to the Autism Forums, Ritchie!

Depending on the platform the forum is made out of the admins might not have control over the avatars as the gif extension can be static or animated. Some other forums just make animated ones not animated but the forums these are have the capabilities that suit this site for the most part. It is hard to find a perfect platform but over all I find this place very welcome and nice. I used to admin a kidney patient forum for 10 years so I know a little of why things are a certain way on many types of forums.

Anyway I did not see your thread until now but wanted to welcome you! I am just a regular member who has not been yet diagnosed but self-diagnosed myself as being on the Autism Spectrum. I am still learning a lot about the terms and acronyms and even had to look up what HFA meant and found out it is High-functioning autism. I am glad I found this site. How are you finding the site so far?
 
AspiAngie said:
Hi and welcome to the Autism Forums, Ritchie!

Depending on the platform the forum is made out of the admins might not have control over the avatars as the gif extension can be static or animated. Some other forums just make animated ones not animated but the forums these are have the capabilities that suit this site for the most part. It is hard to find a perfect platform but over all I find this place very welcome and nice. I used to admin a kidney patient forum for 10 years so I know a little of why things are a certain way on many types of forums.

Anyway I did not see your thread until now but wanted to welcome you! I am just a regular member who has not been yet diagnosed but self-diagnosed myself as being on the Autism Spectrum. I am still learning a lot about the terms and acronyms and even had to look up what HFA meant and found out it is High-functioning autism. I am glad I found this site. How are you finding the site so far?
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Hi, thanks for the reply. I like the site because I feel like I can finally be completely honest about my issues without being judged or looked at funny. Of course I don't necessarily blame non-autistic people for doing that as it's just impossible for them to understand. I'm content with the support I've received so far and I look forward to finally trying to improve my mental health now that I have a better idea of what I'm dealing with.
 
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