Thursday, August 19, 2010

Stigma and discretion

When I was growing up of course nobody knew yet about AS but knew something was wrong. I certainly did. Once I asked my father why he didn't get me help and he said, "I didn't want the stigma," which of course was a fancy, evasive way of saying "I'm ashamed of you." Understandable. But wrong.

Who do you tell about this? We want to be logical and half-expect the world to be the same. Just talk it over and everything will be fine; people will understand.

No.

People aren't logical. More likely somebody will try to use the information against you.

So knowing about AS is "intel," insider secret knowledge to help yourself.

Don't tell anybody else unless you have to, like if you're in trouble with an employer. Socially only tell people you've gotten to know well; those who have to know like a serious girlfriend.

Sorry, but stigma's real. Lots of things in life are hard and unpleasant. You just have to learn to deal. Just like the the normals.

It's why I blog this anonymously!

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