It's not that I'm shy, it's just that I don't understand how normal conversation is supposed to work. Maybe I have aspergers or something. I have no problem speaking publicly, or speaking on the phone which is my job, or giving canned responses to questions. Any kind of interaction that can be planned or has a definite template I can work my head around. It's just that I don't want anything from other people. I don't see the need to relate to someone else unless you want something from them. The only thing I want from people is maybe a tiny bit of approval, and I can get that in other ways. I do enjoy discussing my interests with other people which is the primary reason I hang around here, and I also enjoy a good joke which is another reason, but for me to participate in that kind of discussion requires a great deal of thought and my thinking is quite slow and deliberate, it really doesn't work in the context of small talk. I need time to prepare and draft my responses to other people and small talk doesn't offer that. I give people the impression I am not paying attention to them when I am in fact trying to formulate a response (often, they walk away before I can). Which, in essence, is not how other people relate to each other- but it's the only way that I know of to relate to other people. If I try to relate to people spontaneously I end up saying the most ridiculous things which are usually the opposite of how I actually feel. So perhaps I DO understand what small talk is actually supposed to be about, I just have not been able to master it myself.
Apologies if this post make absolutely no sense.
sounds a lot like Aspergers to me. But Im not a psychologist or anything, just someone who has it.
