One symptom of autism is loneliness. If you ever feel lonely, then you are certainly autistic to some degree. (No surprise here as psychologists claim that something like 99% of the population are autistic to some degree.)
In other posts I have described how autistic people gradually lose touch with other people, cease to interact with them as people and cease to feel any connection between themselves and others.
Healthy people, in contrast, feel very much a person among other people, are very aware of their shared humanity, are good communicators and are very much “in touch” with the rest of humanity. Such a person may be alone for long periods of time but will NEVER experience loneliness.
So, to return again to the idea that to be autistic is acceptable because autistic people are just “different” and that that difference may result in special gifts: that attitude condemns a lot of people to a life of loneliness — it seems a true horror to me to conceive of being truly autistic since that is to be utterly alone in the world.
By this account I am a very healthy person, and yet I am sure that have no special immunity from loneliness.
My intuition is opposite of the case you’re putting forward. The closer the connection you feel with others the more painful their absence/neglect. Loneliness isn’t merely about being alone, you’re right, but about feeling alone when you long for company/companionship. Loneliness is a void. Loneliness requires the capacity to connect with others, and the higher the capacity the more intense the loneliness. Something is missing; you are left wanting after going from having to not having. The more autistic person never had a lot (of social connection) in the first place, so the void doesn’t necessarily grow as heavy in absence.
Someone who’s naturally distant from others and easily loses touch with them could be lonely, too, but not, I would think, more lonely than a healthy person. The might be more profoundly alone, however.
Loneliness is a symptom of mental ill-health. There are other symptoms of mental ill-health, therefore just because you do not suffer from one of these symptoms e.g. loneliness, does not mean you do not suffer from others. So you may well be suffering from mental ill-health despite the fact that you do not suffer from loneliness.
You are employing logic to try and tease out this phenomenon. As usual, logic leads you astray. What is needed here is the use of your senses and intuition and experience.
Confused by your response. I didn’t say anything to the effect of loneliness being the sole indicator of mental ill-health. In fact, I don’t even believe loneliness is so much a symptom of mental ill-health as it is a perfectly normal mental state in many circumstances. I consider it healthy to feel lonely from time to time, and this loneliness means you are a mentally normal human being. Feeling lonely all the time may pertain to mental ill-health – you know, the extreme cases – but even more abnormal/concerning in my opinion is to be spared of loneliness in all situations where it is typical for others.
It’s odd that you suggest I use intuition and experience when I was very candid that my position comes from intuition.
It also comes from experience.
I didn’t say anything to the effect of loneliness being the sole indicator of mental ill-health. In fact, I don’t even believe loneliness is so much a symptom of mental ill-health as it is a perfectly normal mental state in many circumstances. I consider it healthy to feel lonely from time to time, and this loneliness means you are a mentally normal human being. Feeling lonely all the time may pertain to mental ill-health – you know, the extreme cases – but even more abnormal/concerning in my opinion is to be spared of loneliness in all situations where it is typical for others.